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THE BEACON OF TRUTH

Monday, June 10, 2013

Issue No. 1795

EPA to be revamped See story on page 9

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WHAT'S INSIDE:

Irish teen sorry for P2 threatening Ramotar

Linden still getting P7 blackouts Consultation urges speedy completion P7 of national youth policy P8 Truancy rate high in Manawarin

Regional govts urged to market countries in China P12

U.S.-based company builds $20M IT lab at police college See story on page 13 Acting Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell assists in the unveiling of the plaque of the Guyana Police Force/Zara Computer Centre. Also in photo are executive members of Zara Reality Holdings, Jay Sobhraj, Nardeo Singh and Sarvan Budhu

DDL accountant dies in Sheriff St crash See story on page 2

Moruca residents air concerns about bad roads, solar panel to Edghill See story on page 3

Mother of three found dead at P13 Mahaicony

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monday, june 10, 2013 | guyanatimeSGY.com

DDL accountant Irish teen sorry for threatening Ramotar dies in Sheriff A Street crash

By Bhisham Mohamed

T

he chief accountant of the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) is the latest road fatality, taking the death toll to 48 for the year, after he was killed by a speeding SUV while crossing Sheriff Street, Georgetown on Saturday night.

The accident occurred about 22:30h. Fifty-eightyear-old Harrybarran Singh, of Lot 63 Garnett Street, Campbellville, had just left Francine’s Fish Shop on Sheriff Street when a silver grey Honda CRV bearing registration number PJJ 6094 slammed into him.

Singh reportedly suffered head injuries and died while on his way to the Georgetown Public Hospital.

The driver, Mervin Mangru of Friendship, East Bank Demerara was taken into police custody. At the Kitty Police Station on Sunday morning, Mangru was sitting on the bench.

Singh’s home was locked up, as his wife and three children were overseas and were expected in the country on Sunday evening. A few relatives

Dead accountant: Harrybarran Singh

congregated at his brother’s residence on Thomas Street, Kitty and were in shock upon learning of his unfortunate demise.

One of his nephews, Randolph, explained that the family received a call about 02:30h from Singh’s daughter enquiring about the accident of which they had no knowledge. After receiving the call, he and his family went to his uncle’s home where they called out for him, but there was no answer.

The young man said they left and went to the

hospital, but did not get any information, so they turned to the Kitty Police Station where the officers confirmed that his uncle was involved in an accident and succumbed to his injuries on his way to the hospital.

Randolph added that based on reports his family received, his uncle was at Francine’s Fish Shop and was on his way home when he met in the accident.

A neighbour told this publication that she has known the family for a while and recalled seeing Singh on Saturday night about 20:30h in the company of a friend. Singh, she added, only returned from the U.S. a few weeks ago.

Guyana Times understands that Singh had worked at DDL for the past 37 years and was described as a jovial and hard worker. His body is at the Georgetown Public Hospital mortuary awaiting a post-mortem examination today.

He leaves to mourn his wife, three children, and relatives. (bhisham@guyanatimesgy.com)

n Irish teenager expressed regret and relief following the dismissal of criminal charges against him for making a drunken threat against Guyana’s president.

Cillian James Crossan said he was eager to move past the incident. “I am happy it’s all over,” 17-yearold Cillian, from Co Louth, Ireland said. “If I could do anything to change what happened I would,” the Irish Independent reported him as saying. Cillian is spending a year in Guyana as a volunteer teacher. He was arrested in April after a conversation with two bodyguards of President Donald Ramotar in which he said he would shoot the leader.

Crosson was accused of threatening to shoot the Guyanese leader at City Boy Club, Tabatinga, Lethem.

He had appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts on April 2. According to the police, on March 29 at Central

Cillian James Crossan

Rupununi, Crossan said he would shoot the president who was not present at the time, but Amerindian Affairs Ministry Permanent Secretary Nigel Dharamlall overheard the comment and approached the young man, asking him what he said and he repeated that he would shoot the president in his head.

The matter was then reported.

The director of public prosecutions (DPP) last week dropped charges against the teenager.

Crossan’s lawyer, Glenn Hanoman had said the teen

was having an alcohol-fuelled conversation with two bodyguards of the president at an international rodeo event in April and was joking when he said he would shoot and kill Ramotar – saying it because he did not believe the two men were really the president’s bodyguards. The president was not there at the time.

“He had been drinking beer since early the morning and had even mixed rum and beer and had them at the same time,” Hanoman said. “I think that was the main factor at play when he argued with two of the guards.”

Prosecutor Vishnu Hunte had objected to bail, stating that the threat was aimed at the president of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, and that the defendant is also a flight risk. Crossan gave a caution statement, admitting to what he did. However, Crossan pleaded not guilty to the charge and was released on$60,000 bail.

PNCR mourns passing of Burnham’s doctor

T

he leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Brigadier David Granger and the members of the Central Executive Committee have expressed condolences to the immediate family of Dr Kenrick Orrin Evan Barrow, who died in Jamaica last Tuesday.

According to a release, he was 75. Dr Barrow, the PNCR said is a product of an illustrious Guyanese family

with a long tradition of professionals, had a long list of academic achievements and a distinguished medical career.

He was truly a product not only of Guyana but of the Caribbean. He was the son of Dr P G Barrow, the long-serving and highly respected medical officer of health for Georgetown.

Dr Barrow was physician to the late founder leader of the PNCR and executive president

of Guyana, Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, as well as former Jamaica Prime Minister PJ Patterson.

Dr Barrow was the recipient of many professional and national honours, including Guyana’s Cacique Crown of Honour (CCH).

The Guyanese doctor leaves to mourn his wife Pauline Hayle-Barrow, three children, Philip, Paige and Peter, relatives and friends.

News

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monday, june 10, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

bridge openings

The Demerara Harbour Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Monday, June 10, from 05:30h to 07:00h.

The Berbice River Bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic on Monday, June 10, from 05:00h to 06:30h.

Weather

Countrywide: Thundery showers are expected during the day, with thunderstorms in the evening. Temperatures are expected to range between 24 and 27 degrees Celsius.

Winds: East north-easterly at 3.58 metres per second to east southeasterly at 1.78 metres per second.

High Tide: 05:11h and 17:37h reaching maximum heights of 2.61 metres and 2.48 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 11:12h reaching a minimum height of 0.61 metre.

saturday, June 8, 2013

LOTTERY NUMBERS C 01 05 06 14 17 25 03 FREE TICKET

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Daily Millions

02 03 08 11 18 LUCKY 3

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Draw De Line

02 03 04 08 11 16 18 DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ERRORS IN PUBLICATION. PLEASE CALL THE HOTLINE FOR CONFIRMATION - TEL: 225-8902

Moruca residents air concerns about bad roads, solar panel to Edghill

O

ver the last weekend, ministers of the government fanned out to several communities in the Moruca sub-district of Region One. Junior Finance Minister Juan Edghill visited and interacted with residents of Haimacabra, Kamwatta, Santa Rosa, Sheba and Koko.

In explaining the reason for the outreach, Minister Edghill said that President Donald Ramotar is committed to improving the welfare of all people, and ensuring that development takes place across the country. Members of the Cabinet, he said, have a responsibility to assist the president in fulfilling that mandate.

He explained that while a secondary school cannot be built in every community, investments have been made to build schools outfitted with dorms and teachers’ quarters, and modern learning facilities as well. In other instances, students can travel to school and return home the same day through provision of transportation.

One good example of a new school being built in the hinterland is the $728 million secondary school that is being constructed in Kato, Region Eight. Other provisions made by the government to ensure every school-aged child gets an education are the schoolfeeding, and uniform assistance programmes and the provision of textbooks.

and organisations such as the Women’s Affairs Bureau, the Human Services Ministry and other entities that exist to empower women, especially single mothers. The gathering was also informed about the Women Of Worth (WOW) programme, which allows women to access loans from the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) to establish income-earning projects.

Solar panel

A resident of Sheba raising concerns about her community during a meeting with junior Finance Minister Bishop Juan Edghill

is another way of allowing Guyanese access to more information via the Internet.

Minister Edghill indicated that while the government is steadfastly working towards the improvement of people’s

communities, we are not doing you a favour… we are ensuring that your rights are respected, protected and that you are engaged in and mainstreamed into national development,” he emphasised.

Widening skill set

Minister Edghill pointed out that apart from the investments in infrastructure, government is keen on ensuring that teachers receive the best training because the wider their skill set, the more students will learn. “We are adding to this dimension of training by the establishment of the learning channel and it is coming as part of a menu of measures to improve the quality and access to education and knowledge,” he said. Importantly, this takes the people out of the darkness and brings them to a point of enlightenment by increasing their knowledge.

Further, the expansion of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) thrust through the One Laptop Per Family (OLPF)

Residents of Haimacabra gathered for a community meeting

livelihoods, it is operating in a hostile environment. The minister was referring to the current impasse in Parliament and the recent budget cuts to several projects. In highlighting the achievements of former President Bharrat Jagdeo, Minister Edghill recalled his enthusiasm in engaging with the indigenous people regarding the improvement of their lives. He made reference to the institution of the Presidential Grant which sought to transform the village economy through vibrancy and dynamism.

“When we talk about Amerindian development and engaging with Amerindian

At the meetings, the residents were given the opportunity to share their thoughts and concerns with the minister. Some of the concerns related to the installation of solar panels, development for women, issues relating to students’ failure in maths, support in agriculture, access to the learning channel, road work and lack of malaria testing equipment.

With regards to the developmental opportunities for women, those at Haimacabra were encouraged to form themselves into an organised group since this would enable them to get the support they need from agencies

Meanwhile, at Kamwatta, concerns were raised about the $500 maintenance fees the recipients are expected to pay for the use of the solar panel. Minister Edghill told the gathering that over 11,000 of the panels were distributed to families free of cost.

As such, the maintenance fees were to be put towards ensuring the equipment is operating adequately and that, if necessary, for the replacement of parts such as the switch.

According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) release, at Santa Rosa, one of the main issues of concern was the state of the road.

Minister Edghill stressed that the contractors are not allowed to do whatever they want, but that there should be strict management on the part of the engineer or work supervisor and greater enforcement of the system. This is to ensure that the work is done to specification.

With regards to the challenges students are facing in maths, the minister told the residents that Education Minister Priya Manickchand had brought that concern to the Cabinet.

However, Guyana is not the only country faced with such challenges, but sister Caribbean states as well.

He also told them of the initiative implemented by the Education Ministry to improve performance in maths and English.

At Sheba, concerns were raised about the inadequacy of malaria treatment and care.

Minister Edghill indicated that the government sends in malaria kits to the region.

However, there may be issues that what is sent may not be enough or the supply finds itself in other places.

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guyanatimesgy.com

monday, june 10, 2013

Views Editor: Nigel Williams Tel: 225-5128, 231-0397, 226-9921, 226-2102, 223-7230 or 223-7231. Fax: 225-5134 Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com

Editorial

Stubborn speedboat operators

I

t is very unfortunate that despite several calls by various stakeholders, including this newspaper, for there to be stricter monitoring of speedboat operators, especially in the outlying regions of Guyana, we are once again forced to address the issue. Accidents on our waterways continue to happen routinely, resulting in the death and injury of persons.

Over the past few days, there have been at least two more deadly accidents involving speedboats – one at Matouk Falls Cuyuni River and the other at Pomeroon River. Prior to this, there was the Mazaruni River boat collision which claimed the lives of 10 persons and another at Pomeroon River, which resulted in the deaths of six persons and injury to quite a few others.

What is striking is that in all of these accidents it was found that basic safety procedures were thrown out of the window, including the need to use life jackets. The general perception is that speedboat operators just take life for granted and they basically operate by their own rules. This level of lawlessness certainly cannot go on unchecked. It is time for action on all fronts.

In relation to the recent Matouk Falls accident, one of the survivors was quoted as saying that only the captain of the vessel was wearing a life jacket at the time of the mishap.

What is even more shocking is his revelation that he was told if they (the passengers) needed life jackets, the onus is on them to make the request before the boat leaves. It was a similar situation regarding the Pomeroon tragedy where it was found that there were limited life jackets available.

Now, this is enough reason for the authorities to take stock of what is happening in the water transport sector in relation to passengers’ safety and comfort. Surely, if basic safety rules were followed, the deaths and injuries of these persons could have been avoided. We urge that a detailed investigation be launched into these accidents not only to determine culpability for what went wrong, but to come up with concrete recommendations as to what actions could be taken to ensure that such tragedies do not recur.

Further, from the information gathered, it is clear that there is very limited, or no monitoring in some cases, of the operations of speedboats in these outlying areas. Captains are allowed to speed, ‘carry overweight’, boats are not subjected to regular checks and fitness test to ensure that they are safe to transport passengers and goods, and basic safety rules are completely disregarded.

Minister Robeson Benn had told this publication in an interview that for years the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) and the ministry have been educating boat captains and travellers on the need to wear life jackets.

However, most operators have not been complying. But we are forced to ask – what if boat operators continue to refuse to adhere to the request of the authorities, since it is clear that this is currently the case. What other actions would the ministry be willing to take to ensure compliance?

On this basis, we believe that MARAD working collaboratively with the other agencies would have to adopt a stricter monitoring system to ensure speedboat operators comply with statutory safety requirements. Serious fines or penalties will need to be imposed on those bent on breaching the rules. This is needed if we are to reduce the number of accidents taking place on the ‘water top’.

In the meantime, citizens also have a role to play. In addition to lodging reports to the authorities when it is found that operators are disobeying the rules, they will have to take the necessary action to ensure their own safety, especially if speedboats are not adequately equipped with safety gear, or simply do not care about the safety and comfort of passengers.

Another issue which we had raised before and must be addressed is the licensing of boat captains. Because of the fact that there is very limited or no enforcement of the rules, persons tend to take advantage of the situation whereby untrained persons take command of the vessels. What they fail to realise is that in the process, they are putting people’s lives at risk.

Certainly, the time has come to rein in those responsible for the transport sector and to have the various agencies review its entire operations so that it could be brought to a higher standard. Passengers’ safety and comfort are a must.

The streets of the historical city of Passau, Germany, which was flooded by the swollen Danube River and the Inn River on June 6 (The Atlantic)

Teen obesity Dear Editor, Teen obesity is on the rise. The number of overweight teens is increasing rapidly, which mean teenagers are at risk of developing health problems due to weight. However, while having a few extra pounds does not suggest you are obese, it probably points out a tendency to gain weight easily and it’s an alert for changes in diet. Besides,

obesity occurs when a person eats more calories than the body burns up.

There are many risks and complications associated with being obese, such as increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and breathing problems, among others. Obesity also corrupts the mind in making you feel unwanted in the eyes of the world, because peo-

ple would make negative comments about obese people.

So let’s fight against obesity and change the lives of these obese teenagers, which no other but the parents will be best at, by reducing the time spent in front of the television and computer to less than two hours a day.

Parents should encourage them to eat light, hy-

gienic and healthy foods and visit the health clinic regularly; persuade them to drink water and natural juices rather than carbonated beverages; and urge them moreover to do regular exercises.

With such a lifestyle, obesity could become less prevalent.

Yours truly, Jane Davis

Errant vendors must be sought out Dear Editor, As a resident on the Essequibo Coast, I support the move by the Anna Regina Interim Management Committee (IMC), which has vowed to take strong action against those vendors and stallholders who owe the council large sums of money.

Vendors from Anna Regina and Bush Lot markets owe the council $7.4 million in arrears. This is for fees for the rental of stalls and tables. These vendors had to be doing good business. If not, they would have not stayed on.

What can happen now is that these erring vendors should be made to start

paying their outstanding fees.

The IMC should have never allowed the matter to get this far. Maybe it inherited a few of the problems, but it still took too long to address the issue of the money owed. Since the matter is serious, I support the enforcement of the by-laws of the mar-

kets. The council must now proceed to send notices to the defaulting stallholders and vendors, see how this is going to be handled, and then ultimately resort to the court.

Yours sincerely, Business owner Name withheld by request

Permission to play music is supportive of noise nuisance Dear Editor, I am most affronted that people can actually defend the excessive noise making at wedding houses.

Whenever there is a wedding, it means disruption of life. My position comes in the wake of a person who was complaining that there is too much bureaucracy in getting permission to play wedding house mu-

sic. No man has the right to enjoy himself while disrupting others. If most wedding houses play music as part of their wedding activities, this does not make it right.

Not everyone looks forward to this traditional practice. Some invitees are for peace and understanding and not for carousing.

The writer of the letter

is not speaking on behalf of me and many like me, when he says that wedding house neighbours are all very tolerant towards the playing of music. Many are the reports from neighbours who are against this practice.

When the liquor bites, that is when wedding hosts and others should simply throw caution to the wind.

If the noise is from a wedding house, it must be reported. As for the long and tedious process for granting permission to play music at wedding houses, I ask that hosts be instructed that, in the event they are reported, they can be fined.

Yours truly Khadija Karimullah

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You can send your letters with pictures to: Guyana Times, 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown, Guyana or letters@guyanatimesgy.com

Workplace woes Dear Editor, These days, all kinds of explanations are given for problems at workplaces. In Trinidad and Tobago, the research is saying that one in 10 people in the workplace suffer from some form of mental illness and one of the root causes is the attitude of management towards workers.

Now I am not talking about extraordinary cases. I want to point to things like when a junior staff walks off a job because a senior disrespects or embarrasses him or her.

I watched the movie “A Burning Train”, and Danny Denzongpa could not stand being outdone. He then resorts to a vengeful act.

There are many in our working environment who are blind to everything, because hatred consumes them.

Then, how’s that stress factor?

Not too long ago, a security guard approached me for a ‘raise’ to go home.

I refused on a number of grounds. He went and slept the night away, even while on duty. How about these kinds of situation?

Then the stress of ‘seeming’ low salary is a big concern for many. It affects them a lot. Everyone wants more money. I remember asking a worker why he is not turning off the tap. His abrupt response was about a small salary.

When the economic meltdown struck America, one employee went home and shot to death his family of a wife and three children. He then killed himself with the same weapon.

I think that one common denominator is most important for workplaces – respect. When people treat workers in a disdainful manner, the atmosphere loses it appeal and production suffers.

I also cannot handle when junior employees cringe upon seeing their supervisors. These things never bode well for the workplace. So it is not madness for me, but it is simply bad mannerisms and bad personality traits.

Yours truly, Angela Seymour

A boost for the My cousin did not Deaf Association die from diabetes Dear Editor, The Deaf Association of Guyana just received a quantity of complete table tennis gear for the development of deaf sports in Guyana. These came compliments of Rubis Guyana Inc. I make mention of this, because I just cannot fathom why more people are not involved in table tennis. I am sure that most people have played table tennis at one time or the other. It is one of the most popular sports in the world.

Games for the deaf have reached a very high

plateau. I refer here to the Deaflympics, previously called World Games for the Deaf and International Games for the Deaf. This is an International Olympic Committee-sanctioned event.

The Deaflympics is held every four years, and is the longest running multi-sport event, excluding the Olympics.

So when a little push is given here in Guyana, I am happy for our deaf brothers and sisters.

Yours sincerely, Akil Haniff

Dear Editor, My cousin was just killed on the Essequibo Coast. He was only 11 years old. He was a happy and a healthy boy.

One day, when he was in school, it was reported that he got into a heated argument during a cricket came.

He pulled a bat out of some kids’ hand and in turn, they pulled it back and hit him three times.

One was in his head, the other was in the neck, and the other in the lower back.

On his way home, he passed out. My family took him to the Charity Hospital, but he was later transferred to the Suddie Hospital, where he died.

Now, because of his death, the Education Ministry came to us and

said it would be investigating the matter. But it turned out that someone told the entire class not to say anything about my cousin being beaten in school.

When the post-mortem was done on my cousin, no family member was allowed in the room. Only the doctor and the Education Ministry official.I believe they covered the whole matter up by saying he died from diabetes.

My cousin never showed symptoms of diabetes during his life.I still cannot believe the Education Ministry is willing to put other kids’ lives in danger by covering up this matter.

Yours sincerely, Name withheld by request

Modern-day child labour in schools

Dear Editor, I wish to refer to an article published in the Kaieteur News on June 5, 2013, under the headline, “Hinterland primary students trek miles with logs for ‘hot meals’”.

I am particularly disturbed by the contents of the article which seem to indicate that modern-day child labour exists at the Kato Primary School, Region Eight, as schoolchildren are forced to carry logs on their backs for the supply of hot meals daily.

The conditions of this in-

stance of young Amerindian students fetching logs bare footed and often times hungry have been rightly decried as showing the lowest levels of man’s inhumanity to man.

But, perhaps the conditions under which these boys worked were much worse than the conditions under which the poor majority of children worked in those first dark and satanic mines and mills.

For progress to be made in the hinterland regional administrative and educa-

tional sectors, the ‘desk attitude’ of most of the senior education managers and regional executive officers will certainly have to change.

The delivery of quality education requires students to be in school for continuous professional development, as this is the best pathway to embark on to improve student performance, and certainly not to have them daily fetching wood for hot meals.

This is ample evidence that some officials in Region Eight are stuck in the outmoded, traditional approach

to education.

It was clear that little was done by the regional administration of Region Eight to address the problems facing these students and the schools.

No parent-teacher conferences or consistent deficiencies updates on this school was ever presented to the Education Ministry or Olato Sam, chief education officer to the minister of education.

Yours faithfully, Mohamed Khan

Collateral damage Dear Editor, The head of the Presidential (HPS) Secretariat said that the opposition parties are displaying an anti-national and anti-development posture in Parliament. Do we have to look and observe to discover this?

Judging from their behaviour last year, and also from open statements made this year, their members are bent on everything that is subversive and destructive.

Last year, the budget was chopped down most willy-nilly. The opposition even pitched in their war talk about “collateral damage”, as regards loss of jobs

and truncated programmes, if there were to have been any. This year, they have added vendetta to the list and so the reasons are mounting in number.

They spoke already of quite a few things: not being consulted on the budget, although this was not so; planning to oppose and remove a government minister; moving a no-confidence motion; and stymieing the passage of bills.

So what the HPS is saying we all know. The thing is that we must find a way forward. Guyana cannot allow these kinds of setbacks.

Yours sincerely, William Hodges

Private contractors may be the way to go

Dear Editor, This may be a pivotal month for New Amsterdam.

The recent talk surrounds affordable and reliable waste disposal services through private contractors.

The word from the Region Six chairman is that the people will gladly accept the initiative with open arms, given the current situation of waste disposal.

The move to take the waste management in New Amsterdam to the private sector is a smart one by the government, because the municipality is failing in this area. But there is a matter that must be addressed.

I believe that when there are repeated cases of failures, new methods and personnel must come to the fore. This is really the situation in New Amsterdam. For too long, people have been putting up with all kinds of irresponsibility.

Now, if there is a switch, I am hoping that the private contractors will stick to rules set out – they cannot

change the goal post – not in the quality and quantity of work output, nor in prices agreed to.

This move in New Amsterdam may turn out to be the fillip for other such moves in many places here.

I am very fed up with what is happening in Georgetown.

Some innovative thinking and action are needed.

Sincerely yours, Troy Wilson

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Foundation Parenting For Success

Guiding children to make nutritional food choices

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arenting for success is about: guiding children to make nutritional food choices.

Nutritional foods are important to a child’s physical growth, brain development, and ability to fight disease. Food also affects a child’s emotions, sense of well-being and ability to learn. Parents and family members can guide children to make smart choices from every food group, allowing children to understand the importance of a balanced meal. Creating a nutritional home is one of the most important steps you can take to ensure the health of your child. Your children will learn their food smarts from your example.

While peer pressure and TV commercials for junk food can make getting children to eat well seem impossible, there are steps parents can take to instil healthy eating habits without turning mealtimes into battlefields. By encouraging healthy eating habits now, you can make a huge impact on your children’s lifelong relationship with food and give them the best opportunity to grow into healthy, confident adults.

Teaching children healthy food choices Keep healthy food at hand.

Children will eat what’s readily available. Keep fruits in a bowl on the counter, not buried in the back of your fridge. And have fruits for your own snack. Your actions speak louder than anything you will ever tell them. Remember,

– ChildLinK’s vision is a Guyanese society where every child enjoys the right to a childhood in a safe and caring family, free from poverty, violence, and exploitation

your child can only choose foods that you stock in the house.

Don’t label foods as “good” or “bad”. Ideally we avoid the terms “good” and “bad” when we are talking about food because if we say a food is bad then, we may feel bad for eating it. Rather, it is important to explain to children that there are some foods we eat “every day”, because they make us big and strong and give us all of the energy we need to have a fun and busy day. Remind them too, that there are foods that we only want to eat “sometimes” because they are lowenergy foods that don’t help us grow to be big and strong.

Don’t nag about unhealthy choices. When children choose unhealthy foods, ignore it. Or if your child always wants fatty, fried food, redirect the choice.

You might try roasting potato sticks in the oven (tossed in just a bit of oil) instead o f

buying French fries. Or, if your child wants candy, then keep naturally sweet dried fruit at home for quick snacks.

Try not to use food to punish or reward your children.

Withholding food as a punishment may lead children to worry that they will not get enough food.

For example, sending children to bed without any dinner may cause them to worry that they will go hungry. As a result, children may try to eat whenever they get a chance. Similarly, when foods, such as sweets, are used as a reward, children may assume that these foods are better or more valuable than other foods. For example, telling children that they will get sweets if they eat all of their vegetables sends the wrong message about vegetables.

Cook more meals at h o m e .

Eating homecooked meals is healthier for the whole family and sets

a great example for children about the importance of food. Restaurant meals tend to have more fat, sugar, and salt. Save dining out for special occasions.

Sit down to family dinners at night. If this isn’t a tradition in your home, it should be. Research shows that children who eat dinners at the table with their parents have better nutrition. Start with one night a week, and then work up to three or four, to gradually build the habit.

Don’t ban sweets entirely.

Having a no-sweets rule is an invitation for cravings and overindulging when given the chance. Instead limit the amount that is being given to the child and let family members know not to give sweets.

Praise healthy choices. Give your children a proud smile and tell them how smart they are when they choose healthy foods.

Children who begin each day as healthy individuals can learn more effectively and are more likely to complete their education. It is important for families to work together with schools and community to model and support children in their growth and development. Our children are faced with many decisions and it is our responsibility to guide them in healthy choices.

Please contact us on telephone number 231-7174 or email us at programmes.childlink@networksgy.com for any support you may need on parenting and other challenges you are experiencing with your children.

Healthy habits can save you money

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e know that not smoking, being active and making healthy food choices are good for our bodies. But what about our wallets? Research shows that healthy habits can save us money.

Gayle Coleman, nutrition education specialist with University of WisconsinExtension, offers tips for increasing your health and wealth in 2013. *Take a brisk walk for 30 minutes (or more) each day.

“Research shows that people who get regular physical activity are less likely to have heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers,” says Coleman.

Being physically active helps people manage their stress, blood pressure, blood sugar and body weight and save on medical costs. “And, if you walk or bike to short destinations instead of taking a car, then you could save on transportation costs.” *Enjoy your food but eat less. Choosing smaller portions of food often means consuming fewer calories and maintaining a healthy weight, especially if you’re cutting back on desserts, high-fat meats, and sugary beverages. Eating smaller portions also means savings by purchasing less food. *Wash your hands.

Lathering up with soap and water, and scrubbing your hands for 20 seconds is key to preventing illnesses such as colds and flu. *Drink water in place of sugary beverages. Replacing sugary beverages with water can save thousands of dollars a year. * Munch on raw veggies in place of snack chips.

“Vegetables are another nutrition bargain,” says Coleman. *Plan and prepare lowcost meals. A few hours a week spent planning your shopping and preparing meals can save your family thousands of dollars a year. Include foods that are a good buy – produce that is in season or lean meat that is on sale. Planning a weekly menu also increases the chances that food you purchase will be used before it spoils. *Read labels and follow directions. For example, if you or a family member have a nut allergy and are not able to read food labels, the consequences can be significant. *Prevent illness. You’ve probably heard the phrase “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The same thing applies to healthcare costs. Early detection and treatment of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer through lowcost screenings, could save you the costs of more extensive treatment down the road. (www.uwex.edu)

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monday, june 10, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Linden still getting Third-party insurance payout ridiculously low – Roshan Khan blackouts

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hile electrical power disruption in Linden has lessened, the community continues to face constant blackouts for short periods.

In an effort to bring relief to residents of Linden who have been affected by constant blackouts, approximately two weeks ago, Bosai Minerals Group Guyana Incorporated (BMGGI) deployed three temporary MACORP generating sets to the community. The issue was caused by technical problems arising from two of the company’s generating engines, which sustained damage to their crank shaft and bearings.

BMGGI sells electricity to the Linden Electricity Company Incorporated (LECI), which supplies electricity to the Mackenzie shore of Linden, and in turn sells power to the Linden Utility Services Co-op Society Limited (LUSCSL), which supplies the Wismar shore.

Plant maintenance supervisor at BMGGI's electrical power plant, Oswald

Prince said the generating sets were expected to ease the blackout woes by at least 90 per cent when they became fully operational last Thursday. Prince had explained that each generator has a capacity of 1.6 megawatts and collectively they provide 4.8 megawatts.

“We plan using them more or less on the mines and we are going to feed the community from the power plant, the power plant has three gensets running at nine megawatts so the load at the community at peak is 6.6 megawatts and during the day, it’s roughly 5.4 megawatts,” he noted.

The company was forced to make a decision to shut down the two kilns operating within the bauxite plant so that the community could receive its scheduled electricity supply.

When the generating sets became operational, the BMGGI was able to resume kiln operation. Prince said in the meantime, maintenance personnel are working to restore the damaged engines.

“While these gensets are working, we will be carrying out repairs to our engines and the estimated time to do the repairs is three months...

by September month-end, they are supposed to be back in full operation,” he noted.

Prince further explained that while the supporting generating sets will take care of the electricity problem, issues arise at peak hours when persons are more liable to consume electricity. “The peak hours like from about 18:00h to about 22:00h in the night, within that time, it may go up about one more megawatt, so it may go up from about 5.5 to about 6.6 megawatts.”

BMGGI Community Relations Officer Vanessa Davis stated that the blackouts currently being experienced by the community were expected since the generating sets have much load to carry.

She assured that maintenance personnel are currently working to have the original system restored.

Consultation urges speedy completion of national youth policy

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ommonwealth youths last week renewed calls for the implementation of a national youth policy here and for the formation of a National Youth Council.

These calls were made during the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP) Caribbean Centre National Consultation last Thursday at the Regency Suites Hotel, Brickdam, Georgetown. The consultation focused on the establishment of a regional youth council. The forum sought to establish the background between the first and second Commonwealth Youth Summits, while engaging in constitutional discussion on an update on the agreement to launch a Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC).

ly. Government had hired consultants with support from the United Nations Development Programme to compile the document.

Thus far, Belize is the only country that has successfully launched and commissioned a National Youth Council in the region. Guyana is still waiting for the national youth policy to take effect before being constitutionally able to launch its National Youth Council and become part of the Commonwealth Youth Council and Regional Youth Council.

The Commonwealth Youth Council is envisioned as an independent youth-led body that will strengthen youth participation in the Commonwealth.

Policymaking

The Commonwealth Youth Council was recommended as an independent body that would strengthen and widen the current Pan-Commonwealth Youth Caucus in order to represent a wide crosssection of youths in the Commonwealth. With the creation of a National Youth Council, Guyanese youths will be represented by the majority and be able to voice their concerns and participate in the discussion and policymaking process.

The National Youth Council will allow for all youth organisations to be represented by one major body which will, in turn, represent Guyanese youths

During the meeting, youths associated along with various non-governmental organisations (NGOs) spoke about promises that were made to young people to integrate youths in policymaking and decisions at the highest levels of governance. Others noted that this was promised through the National Youth Policy, which was supposed to be completed years ago.

Meanwhile, it was noted that, young people for years have continuously called for the document to be finalised; however, the only explanation forthcoming is that it is in its draft stages and will be completed short-

Youth council

at the regional and international councils. The body will be governed by the Commonwealth Youth Project Constitution.

The Commonwealth Youth Project Constitution is the culmination of several years of work by young people across the Commonwealth with support from the Commonwealth Secretariat through the CYP and its partners. The constitution was drafted by a committee of young people and was reviewed by national and regional youth conferences in all the four regions of the Commonwealth.

Consultations

It was expanded to worldwide online consultations followed by a transparent youth-led peer review of expert reports and opinions from youth workers, youth ministries/departments of member governments, civil society, private sector and NGOs. They all represented the voices and aspirations of half of the Commonwealth’s population; with a view to establish an international youth-led Commonwealth organisation to replace the Commonwealth Youth Caucus and further advance the youth development agenda.

It also seeks to help achieve the objectives and principles of the Commonwealth in ensuring a relevant, vibrant, effective, and prosperous Commonwealth in the 21st century and beyond.

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he Guyana Road Safety Council (GRSC) and a number of hire drivers are all in support of the call by head of RK’s Security Service Roshan Khan, to increase insurance payouts for full third-party coverage in cases of collision.

In a letter last week, Khan said it was unbelievable and irrational for the minimum insurance permitted for minibuses, hire cars, lorries and even heavy-duty vehicles to be a mere $25,000 and $20,000 for injuries and death. “$25,000 can barely purchase a small signal light and some cost as much as $50,000 and $100,000 for just one light,” he said.

Speaking to Guyana Times, a number of hire car drivers said it is a policy worth revising with an increase in mind. Hire car driver Wendell Charles said he agrees with the call made

by Khan. He said, “The hire cars them gotta take out full coverage and that insurance does run you over $120,000 a year… $20,000 can’t do nothing, that can’t even buy parts like lights, fender, bonnet and so depending on the model of the vehicle. All like them Allion and Premio, a headlight is over $100,000.”

Another driver Anesh

Head of RK’s Security Service, Roshan Khan

Sookram said, “I think it’s a good idea.”

One driver of a Premio vehicle, Mohammed Saffee, reiterated that “one front light alone is $175,000 and $95,000 alone for a back light. These vehicles very expensive to maintain so I think they should raise it a little more.”

Meanwhile, GRSC executive member Romona Doorgen noted that the council shares the sentiments that led to the call being made. Explaining the basis for her agreement, she questioned that “if a minibus has 15 persons and 12 persons get injured, who will receive the money?”

Doorgen pointed out that the GRSC has been engaging insurance companies on

this matter on a number of occasions and will continue to do so. Khan in his statement argued that “In many cases, an accident can wipe out a vehicle but the insurance companies will only pay the $25,000 or even less if they can get away with it.”

He further highlighted that under the minimum insurance, it is “nonsensical” to pay out $20,000 for injuries, as “replacement of parts such as AC systems, radiators, computer black box and other electronic equipment now in most modern vehicles can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and even millions at times”.

He outlined that at RK’s Security, “We are protected for a much larger sum, so that if I or staff is involved in accidents and we are at fault, the other party will not be left in the cold or we do not have to end up in our pockets, or cause the other party to file legal action.”

Khan is questioning how government could allow “such ridiculous vehicle insurance limit”? He suggests that as a policy, government should with immediate effect, set regulations that would ensure all vehicles' minimum insurance be $500,000 and protection for injuries $1,000,000.

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monday, june 10, 2013| guyanatimesGY.com

Truancy rate high Eyew tness in Manawarin

– residents say lack of transportation a major bugbear

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esidents of Manawarin in the Barima-Waini region are calling for urgent intervention in solving the problem of students’ absenteeism at the St Nicholas Primary School in the village.

According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) report, residents attributed the situation to transportation issues caused by the fact that more than 90 per cent of the school’s students travel by river from three points, five to nine miles away from the school. This translates to paddling for over two to three hours in the dry weather; in the wet season, most, if not all, of the students do not come out to school.

Whittaker also held meetings at Waramuri,

to transport students to and from school. The other villages that will also benefit from this intervention are Santa Cruz and Warapoka.

This intervention will bring some relief to transportation concerns at the intermediate level, Minister Whittaker pointed out.

Manawarin residents also called for immediate repairs to their health centre, a provision that is also covered under the region’s 2013 budget of $2.5 million. Minister Whittaker told residents that the regional administrative staff will soon visit the community to inspect, with the village’s toshao and councillors to determine the priority areas that will be addressed under the allocation.

In Waramuri, Minister Whittaker told residents of

Minister in the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development Norman Whittaker at the meeting in Manawarin

Haimacabra, Cabrora, Morcupha and Kumaka during the weekend as part of a ministerial outreach to the region.

On the issue of the need for transportation for education delivery, Minister Whittaker promised to bring it to the attention of Cabinet.

He also enlightened residents that under the education delivery capital projects for 2013, Manawarin is among three communities that will benefit from $1 million each, for the procurement of dug-out canoes and 15 horsepower engines

the Culture, Youth and Sport Ministry’s, Community Ground Enhancement Project, after one resident asked for assistance in developing the community ground to facilitate the playing of football. According to this resident, the youths in the village had already through fundraising, brought some level of intervention to the ground, but they lacked resources to get it to the full standard that it must achieve.

In 2012, the Sport Ministry commenced the programme under which it gave

Through a prism W

Headmaster of St Nicholas Primary School raising the village’s concern about students’ absenteeism at the meeting in Manawarin

$1 million to communities to do work in this regard, an effort that aims to encourage youth involvement in sporting activities.

Road upgrade

Concerns were also raised about the upgrading of roads linking Waramuri to other communities in the region. Over $11 million is provided in Budget 2013 for the cutting, filling, compacting, grading and shaping of culverts, drains and shoulders for roads in Moruca and Mabaruma sub-regions.

Minister Whittaker said the region would work out which roads in the sub-region will be provided for under the allocation.

In Haimacabra, residents differed on whether they need government’s assistance with a land cruiser or a tractor to help with transporting students and to bring vegetables from Moruca into the villages. The residents were advised to work out which mode of transportation will be more suitable and how, if provided, would the vehicle be sustained.

Government will in time, as resources are available, seek to assist the village with the identified vehicle.

Residents of Haimacabra also called for a nursery school for the village.

Minister Whittaker promised that this could be pro-

vided if there are enough children of nursery school age in the village, resources to construct the facility and to furnish the building, and staff to conduct the classes.

Resources

This year, government has increased the funding allocated to Region One from $209.5 million in 2012 to $243.7 million in 2013.

This will cover among other things, an upgrade to the Moruca Power House ($3 million) and upgrades to the health buildings, inclusive of Kamwatta’s Health Hut ($2 million), the sisters' living quarters in Moruca ($3.5 million), and the medex living quarters in Kwebanna ($1.5 million).

Repairs will be done to a number of education buildings, namely Santa Rosa Nursery, Father Beach teachers’ quarters, Santa Rosa Primary Sanitary Block, Santa Rosa Primary male dorm, and Santa Rosa Secondary. The region will also benefit from several infrastructural interventions.

Under the Amerindian Affairs Ministry’s budget, communities such as Warapoka will be supplied with $1.5 million through the Amerindian Development Fund (ADF) as a grant for the construction of a hotel kitchen. A tractor costing $8.8 million will also be purchased for Manawarin.

Order signed for repairs to San Jose Bridge

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variation order valued $15.7 million has been signed for repair work to recommence on the Kumaka-San Jose Bridge, with changes in the project specification.

Region One Regional Executive Officer (REO) Nigel Fisher signed the document with Deodat Singh in the presence of junior Local Government and Regional Development Minister Norman Whittaker and his Cabinet colleague with responsibility for finance, Juan Edghill over the weekend.

Both ministers were in the region conducting separate outreaches to communities.

Region One Regional Executive Officer (REO) Nigel Fisher hands over the new variation order for the Kumaka-San Jose Bridge to contractor Deodat Singh

In 2012, Singh was awarded a contract valued $28 million for the rehabilitation of the bridge which

facilitates crossing for hundreds of residents and nonresidents in the Moruca subregion; however, following

concerns over flaws in the earlier engineering design, and the material used, the work was stopped.

Work on the bridge will re-commence in two weeks, as the time given will cater for the mobilisation of resources and materials inclusive of greenheart from Georgetown for the project.

This bridge is expected to be completed by August 22, as the new contract has a sixweek duration. The existing narrow walkway of the bridge which lies between Kamwatta and Parakeese will be expanded to create a better linkage between those communities, allowing the movement of light vehicles.

...Big brother watches e’ve seen enough modern spy movies to know that it happens. No more James Bond seducing voluptuous young women while he ferrets out the secrets of his country’s enemies. These are the days of hardware making “hum-int” (human intelligence) redundant. We’ve seen all those satellites a hundred miles above our atmosphere that can be directed to take pictures of our car licence plate numbers as we drive from Houston to Georgetown.

Hey, that information is what directs those drones that are directed from armchairs in Nebraska to take out targets in Peshawar or Kandahar 10,000 miles away. (Don’t talk to me about the incidental killing of innocents. Never heard of “collateral damage”? You cannot make omelettes without breaking some shells...

OK?) But what we didn’t know was that trillions – like in a one followed by 12 zeroes – of our phone calls, emails, Skype calls, and any other electronic transmission you can honk about are being monitored by the U.S. government. It’s called the “PRISM” system.

Now don’t get sidetracked by all that righteous indignation emanating from Americans about their “privacy and civil rights being violated”. More than 90 per cent of the intercepts were from out of the U.S. or emanating from outside the U.S. We’re talking about me and you, folks. And just because we have about 10 per cent of our population who are Muslims, you can be sure that Guyana is quite high on that intercept watchlist.

Now President Barack Obama says that “not to worry”. Everything’s gonna be all right. And if you believe that, we have a bridge we’d like to sell you!

For Americans, this might be an academic “violation of privacy” issue, but for those of us outside the U.S. it might mean being harassed at airports, renditioned, bumped off, or pretty soon, maybe having a drone headed towards your house. You should worry.

The sad thing is that we always felt that this sort of action would only be done by the “bad guys”. You know...the guys who didn’t believe in truth, justice, and the American way. People like Fidel Castro and such like.

So what can we do? Truth is, not much. With America, it’s pretty much like the elephant who asks, “Where do I sit?” And if you value your life, you reply, “Anywhere you like, Sir.” The scariest thing we heard is that from the iPad 2 and up, the ears in the sky can listen to any conversation in the vicinity. Maybe it’s a rumour. But truth is now stranger than fiction.

Parliamentary autonomy We’ve had another set of foreign experts pronounce that our Parliament needs more “autonomy”. Really?

Autonomous from what? Certainly not from the executive. Right now we have a Parliament that has tied up the executive every which way but up. Executive budget? The Parliament has chopped at it with gusto and impunity. Spending on infrastructure? Ditto.

Appointments? Don’t ask.

So we were a bit surprised when we read that the foreign experts (after having a legislature as long as every other colony, we still don’t have any local experts?) had recommended that parliamentarians’ salaries be massively increased to improve their “autonomy”. We guess, being foreign, these experts don’t know that we had a local seer who advised us that “the mouth is muzzled by the hand that feeds it”.

So if these parliamentarians start earning mega bucks, aren’t they going to be more amenable to pressure from party leaders – from whichever side of the aisle you’re talking about? The problem with our Parliament is that we have a bunch of politicians who view their vocation as a continuation of war by other means.

Electric shock We hope those parliamentarians who lopped off the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) subsidy, while retaining the one for Linden, have taken note of GPL’s 26.7 per cent rate hike threat. Elections, snap or otherwise, can be their Waterloo.

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monday, june 10, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Govt to pay $80M owed to City Council – Whittaker

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unior Local Government Minister Norman Whittaker said the $80 million in taxes owed to the Georgetown Mayor and City Council will be paid within days. The taxes are owed for government buildings.

During a recent interview with Guyana Times, Minister Whittaker said Cabinet has signalled its no-objection for the processing of the money which is due for the first and second quarters of the year.

He said acting Town Clerk Carol Sooba was updated on the situation.

When the money is released into the hands of the municipality, Whittaker said it should be used to execute rehabilitation projects and aid in cleaning the city.

His comments come a few days after City Mayor Hamilton Green told reporters that the government of Guyana had owed the council more than $100 million

Junior Local Government Minister Norman Whittaker

for the first two quarters of the year.

“Indeed, the government has not honoured its legal obligation to the city by paying their taxes. As I speak to you, the government is in the default of taxes for the first and second quarter of 2013,” said Green.

Green also fought off calls by the Private Sector Commission (PSC) for the installation of an Interim Management Committee (IMC) at the Georgetown Mayor and City Council.

Green said his council was voted into office in 1994 and will not step

down until the next local government elections.

“When the people of Georgetown voted, they expressed their views eloquently,” he lamented. The city mayor said the PSC should push for the longawaited local government elections. Local government elections were due since in 1997 after being held in 1994.

In its campaign for the installation of an IMC, the PSC said a non-political group is needed to execute the mandate of the City Council. According to the commission, politics is crippling the progress of the municipality. It was explained that the push and pull at the Georgetown Mayor and City Council is directly affecting its work, such as the collection of garbage.

Clogged drains across the city and the build-up of garbage are the evidence the commission said that makes its case.

Lindeners still to see 2012 town week promises

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pproximately one year after the staging of 2012 Linden Town Week, Lindeners are yet to benefit from four projects that were promised.

Shortly after the staging of the week of celebration in May 2012, the Linden Town Week Committee had announced that $4.8 million was garnered with an expenditure of $4.1 million. A series of ambitious plans were laid out, including the rehabilitation of the once-thriving Bamia Creek and the Silvertown playground.

Linden Interim Management Committee (IMC) Chairman Orin Gordon, speaking with Guyana Times on Sunday said the Social Works Committee had encountered a series of problems hinder-

ing the execution of the four projects.

It was further explained that councillor Eon Halls was elected chairman of the Social Works Committee in February 2013. As a result, he was handed $1.2 million of which $600,000 was set aside for the execution of the projects. Projects include construction of a court at the Silvertown playfield, and construction of a bleacher and installation of lights at the One Mile Extension playfield.

Additionally, the playfield was identified for the clearance of unwanted vegetation which continues to dominate the area. Similar works were earmarked for the Mackenzie Primary School playfield, while the council had promised to conduct rehabilitative work at Bamia Creek to pre-

vent erosion.

According to reports, Halls had agreed that under his stewardship the projects would have been executed. However, according to the IMC chairman, none of the projects has been completed, with the money allegedly already spent.

Gordon told Guyana Times that all of the $1.2 million was spent to facilitate the 2013 Linden Town Week celebration.

Halls, when contacted, said he will not comment on the four projects until further notice. Reluctantly, he said that a financial report on the 2013 Linden Town Week celebration will be made before the end of June. “I want to prepare y’all for this, because some people will get heart attack,” he told Guyana Times

during a telephone interview on Sunday.

In 2012, the Linden Town Week Committee made about $1.4 million from stall rentals and some $3.3 million from various franchises that were given out for the staging of a series of events, but the whopping $4.1 million expenditure meant less than $1 million in profit was realised.

EPA to be revamped

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EPA head and PSC Chairman Ronald Webster

nvironment Minister Robert Persaud last week announced that plans are in train to reorganise the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as part of efforts to strengthen the agency’s functions to be at the forefront of environmental issues at various levels.

The agency’s head, Ronald Webster, who is also chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), has been in talks with Persaud, the minister disclosed during the World Environment Day observance at the Umana Yana.

“We have just completed a review of 77 new guidelines and… we will be putting into effect a number of regulations that go after the issue of littering and garbage disposal. We are also looking at creating a new compliance division within the EPA to ensure that businesses, companies and indi-

viduals too, carry out their responsibilities,” Minister Persaud said.

The EPA came into effect 17 years ago on World Environment Day, June 5, after then acting President Samuel Hinds, assented to the Environmental Protection Act (Number 11, 1996).

It was mandated to oversee the effective management, conservation, protection and improvement of the environment, and to take the necessary measures to ensure the prevention and control of pollution, assessment of the impact of economic development on the environment, and the sustainable use of natural resources. Recognising that the task of safeguarding the environment is an ongoing process, Minister Persaud said government is open to suggestions and ideas such as earning revenue from trash.

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News

CPL can develop cricket in the Caribbean – sport minister S Jokes of port Minister Dr Frank Anthony is in support of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) tournament, as he believes the region stands to benefit from this annual competition. The inaugural tournament replaces the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament and builds on the Indian Premier League (IPL) model of the game, where money is generated and some of that is pumped back into the game.

“Sports at the international level can be very expensive so we need to find a way of generating resources,” the Government Information Agency (GINA) quoted the minister as saying. “I think IPL has found that and I think that with CPL, this is going to help the region develop cricket, certainly the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) will benefit from the resources that come through CPL.”

Young players

Dr Anthony also pointed to the fact that part of the initiative is the training of young players, so a rule of the tournament is that every team must have a quota of young players from each country. He said that this

est stage.

The CPL games, which will be played in several venues in the Caribbean, will run from July 29 to August 26. Guyana will play host to four of the matches.

Guyana

Sport Minister Dr Frank Anthony

would only serve to give the young players more playing time and exposure to seasoned players.

In addition to that, as part of the CPL contract, a stipend or retainer would be paid to a number of young players. “I think that is a good thing so that they can focus on cricket and the development of skills... they get a stipend and basically they play cricket every day,” he said.

In order to receive the stipend, the players must engage in community services, where they visit communities and schools in their countries and guide other youths in the game, an effort aimed at lifting the level of the game and the expertise of the youth at the earli-

For Guyana, Minister Anthony said the CPL will be very advantageous, as it would allow for global exposure of the country. “You know when you have international matches in Guyana, they are broadcast all around the world and CPL affords that model, so we stand to benefit as a destination, as a country, tremendously from the exposure we will be getting,” he said.

The tournament will be broadcast in Asia, Australia and all the other cricketing nations. Minister Anthony also reported that the agreement for CPL matches that will take place in Guyana was expected to be signed on June 7.

The WICB first announced the plans for the CPL in September 2012.

On December 13, 2012, the board announced that it had finalised an agreement with Ajmal Khan, founder of Barbados-based merchant bank, Verus International,

for the funding of the league.

As part of the agreement, the WICB will receive extra funding from Verus International for additional retainer contracts for players, in addition to the 20 annual retainer contracts the board currently funds.

Tournament

The tournament will be played among six teams: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago. It has a group stage and a playoff stage. In the group stage, the teams play a double round-robin tournament where each pair of teams plays each other twice at the home venues of both teams.

The playoff stage includes two matches: the eliminator and the final.

The eliminator is played between the second- and thirdranked teams and the final is played between the topranked team and the winner of the eliminator to determine the winner of the tournament.

The team will have 15 contracted players, including a maximum of four international players and four players under the age of 23, GINA reported.

de week T

hese days it look like every body blamin some body fuh sum ting, and no body ain’t tekkin blame fuh any ting. De opposition always blamin de guvament and de guvament always blamin de opposition. From de budget cuts, to the bills that not gettin pass in Parliament, to de bills that de prezzi not signin, to de local guvament elections, de blame game just keep goin on.

So de guvament and de opposition should start sayin “believe it or leave it” before either of dem seh any ting to de public and to de media. Or dem should start playin onefuh-one wid one another – blame me this week and I gon blame yuh next week.

Now Rum Jhaat seh he want more “teeth” to de laws in Guyana on financial crimes and he blame de guvament fuh refusin to accept de recommendations from a financial expert. Well, judgin from all dem teeth that Rum Jhaat does be showin when he talkin, all he got to do is give de laws some of he teeth.

A new report seh that, in all, they have 140,000 Guyanese livin in New York City. But a local newspaper man seh that figure could never be right, because he alone send more than that back track to New York, and dem never come back.

And de biggest joke of de week is that Freddie Kissmansoon write in de Kocheur News and seh he friken to be out after 21:00h. Well in de first place if de Man Kisser come out after dark, it gon be hard fuh people see he. And, secondly, if people see he, is dem who gon friken!

Ting-a-ling-a-ling…friend tell friend…mattie tell mattie!

And look out this week fuh de biggest joker in town, de mayor fuh life Green Ham, who want to collect money from de guvament to pay off he wife taxes!

Mahaica gasoline explosion Religious service held to observe Enmore Martyrs’ death anniversary Toddler recuperating, uncle

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rime Minister Samuel Hinds and Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Dr Frank Anthony on Sunday joined members of the Enmore Shiv Mandir, in observance of the 65th death anniversary of the five sugar workers who were killed on June 14, 1948, during a massive strike demanding higher wages and improved living conditions on the sugar estates.

“I’m privileged to join in the reflection of the lives of the five sugar workers… it is no doubt that this event is one of the most historic moments in Guyana,” Prime Minister Hinds said, as he reflected on the death and contributions of the sugar workers.

Prime Minister Hinds said at that time, the sugar workers were involved in a struggle and the late Dr Cheddi Jagan and Janet Jagan had struggled and ensured that the people’s voices were heard at the national level. He said today, Guyanese can live better lives. He also spoke of the many challenges in the sugar industry, and encouraged the workers to work together to overcome those challenges. Prime Minister Hinds also charged the gathering to live in unity,

still unconscious

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A section of those gathered at the prayer ceremony held at the Enmore Shiv Mandir

and honour the sacrifices of their forefathers.

On the morning of June 16, hundreds of sugar workers gathered outside the Enmore Sugar Factory for a protest and picketing exercise. They attempted to enter the factory compound, but were pushed back by members of the police force who opened fire, killing five of them and injuring many.

Minister Anthony said often times persons focus on those who died, but forget about the many that were injured.

“We need to go back into our history and understand the struggles of our forefathers… if we do not keep

our history alive, we will forget what happened,” he told those gathered.

Minister Anthony said rebellion by Indian indentured servants also occurred in areas such as Rose Hall, Ruimveldt, Nonpariel, Leonora and Essequibo; however, he said the Enmore Martyrs’ incident was different, and it changed the dynamics of the nation. A monument was also erected in honour of the five martyrs and every year, homage is paid to them. Minister Anthony said that this year, the ministry will be looking at the maintenance of the site.

ne week after a container of gasoline exposed, engulfing a 20-year-old fisherman and scorched his twoyear-old niece, both of them are still hospitalised at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

According to a relative, the toddler, Priya Mohamed, is recuperating well. “She still getting some pain but she coming around, she talking more and so now,” said her grandfather Samaroo Ramdat.

However, the concerned man described the condition of his son Anil Ramdat as stagnant.

On June 2, the young fisherman was consuming alcohol at his River View, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara home after which he went to lie in the veranda and was smoking. There was a container of pure gasoline nearby, and when the young man unconsciously disposed of the cigarette butt in proximity of the fuel, it exploded and swallowed him in flames. This occurred sometime around 16:00h.

At the time, Mohamed

was sitting on the steps and was scorched from the flames of the fire as her uncle sprang up, screaming.

Ramdat jumped off of the veranda and hit his head on a piece of concrete block while landing. Neighbours quickly gathered and doused the fire from the young man, who had by that time received severe burns about his body.

Samaroo told Guyana Times on Sunday that his son has not gained conscious since the incident and the doctors are trying their best to resuscitate him. He disclosed that his son underwent an operation on Thursday last, but there are two more to be done.

The worried father added that doctors had told him that his son lost some blood and has to be given three pints. “They tell me he lose some blood so them giving he that now, they give he one pint yesterday (Saturday) and he get one before he went on the operation so he only get one more to take,” he said. Samaroo noted that his son still had a tube in his mouth which is being used

to feed him saline.

The father said the incident had taken a toll on his family since his daughter, Mohamed’s mother, has been staying with the child at the hospital.

The man went on to say that his son used to contribute to the home financially since he has two minor daughters and he had to stay home to take care of them since his wife died two years ago. The poverty-stricken man said he is finding it hard to make ends meet because he is not working.

He said: “I can’t work because me two daughters them small and me can’t leave them alone home, me son used to work and he money used to do for we, and now me big daughter deh at the hospital all the time, me ga look after me grandson too.”

This publication understands that after the operation, doctors had encountered complications with Ramdat; however, they were resolved and now they are focusing on bring the young man back to normalcy.

11 News

guyanatimesgy.com

monday, June 10, 2013

Times Notebook Bacteria – good for our health?

W hat is this thing that Times Notebook is hearing that bacteria are good for our health? We used to think bacteria cause sickness and death. But Times Notebook has learnt that bacteria are also good for our health. It’s a little bit confusing for sure.

But, indeed, some of our best friends are bacteria. Medicine used to be obsessed with eradicating the tiny microorganisms we call bacteria, many of which live right in our bodies. Yet now medicine is beginning to understand the myriad of ways these tiny microscopic organisms keep us healthy.

In this new paradigm of our relationship with bacteria, new words are emerging, such as microbiota and microbiomes. A person’s microbiota refers to all the tiny microorganisms that live in his or her body. A person’s microbiome is the sum total of the genes of all the microorganisms that live in his or her body. Times Notebook is delighted to introduce these new words to our readers.

We are delighted because these terms, microbiomes and microbiota, are rapidly becoming part of medicine and how doctors assess our health status.

Bacteria live naturally in bodies

Do you know that there are several hundred microbial species that live naturally in our bodies, that our bodies are the natural habitat for these species of microorganisms? Do you know that there are more than 100 trillion microorganisms living in your body at this

cause of antibiotic-resistant clostridium difficile.

What scientists have been doing is taking a sample of the microbiota of a healthy person and installing it in a person sickened by antibiotic-resistant clostridium difficile in a procedure called a “faecal transplant”. The explanation is that the “faecal transplant” of a healthy person’s microbiota restores the bacterial ecosystem in the body of the person whose body was sickened by clostridium difficile and eliminates the invading species.

Bacteria help immune system, critical for our well-being

very moment and that this is the normal thing and the right thing for our bodies?

These trillions of microorganisms live on our skins, on the tongue, in our gut where most of the normal body bacteria live, and in other places in our bodies.

Strange and unbelievable, but true. And do you know that when this normal habitat is changed that our bodies can become unhealthy? It’s a virtual wilderness of bacteria in our bodies. And now scientists are beginning to map these microbes in our bodies as an indication of the health status of the person.

The truth is if we were to take all the genes in our bodies, only 10 per cent belong to our “human” body. A full 90 per cent of the genes found in our bodies are from

bacteria. Most of these bacteria are freeloaders which live as harmless inhabitants in our bodies.

Others live in a symbiotic relationship, trading favours with our bodies.

Sometimes, we suffer from invaders, other species that normally do not live within us, which find their way into our bodies and cause “infection”. This is when we suffer illnesses and must take antibiotics sometimes to combat the invaders.

Internal ecosystem comprises bacteria

It is true, ladies and gentlemen, that these more than 100 trillion bacteria represent our internal ecosystem.

The health of anyone of us depends and is inextricably linked to the health of our internal ecosystem and the

bacteria that constitute this internal ecosystem.

It might be humbling to realise that any loss of diversity in the bacteria population of our bodies or a proliferation of the “wrong” species of bacteria can lead to ill-health. Obesity, heart diseases, cancers, and other forms of chronic diseases have all been shown to be consequences of a change in the bacterial ecosystem of the human body.

It has recently been demonstrated that a species of bacteria called clostridium difficile is resistant to all antibiotics. These bacteria can invade the human intestines and change the bacterial ecosystem in the human intestines. When this happens people become very sick and some die. More than 14,000 Americans died in 2012 be-

In experiments with mice, scientists have discovered that when they transplanted the microbiota of lean mice into obese mice, the obese mice lost weight.

Now in the Netherlands, scientists found the same results with humans. They discovered that when they transplanted the microbiota from a lean person into an obese person, the person lost weight. Indeed, scientists are discovering that bacteria help our immune system to be an effective defence system for our bodies.

These are not extravagant claims being made by wild scientists. There are compelling cases that our internal microbiota is critical for our well-being. Human health, indeed, is a collective property of the humanassociated microbiota. Just as we talk about the preservation of the rain forest, we must talk about the preservation of our internal microbiota and our internal microbiomes.

The overuse of antibiotics and the use of the wrong kinds of food have led to an impoverished microbiome.

Truly, as part of making humans healthier and as part of the promotion of health, we must talk about the restoration of the human microbiome.

In this context, there is a whole new look at breast milk. We now know that breast milk is best for babies. Breast milk contains a healthy microbiome and this starts the baby out with its “friends”, the good bacteria. Babies fed with baby formula on the other hand are babies that start life with a colony of bacteria that is not optimal. In Puerto Rico, scientists are experimenting by taking vaginal secretions from a mother and inoculating her baby’s skin in order to introduce a healthy bacteria colony in the baby.

Findings like these are changing the way we see health for human beings.

Times Notebook cautions people who use too much antibiotics in their animals that this too is changing the human ecology by creating more antibiotic resistant microbes. These microbes are both our friends and enemies.

We have lived and manage our world in such a way that humans are giving an advantage to the enemy microbes at the expense of our beneficial microbes. In years to come, one of the medical or health tests that we will go to the medical lab for will a test for our microbiomes.

Readers are invited to comment on this article via email (times.notebook@ gmail.com) and on Facebook.

FAO welcomes greater commitments on nutrition, food security

F

ood and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director General José Graziano da Silva has welcomed the new funding pledges, commitments, and targets for action on nutrition announced by governments, the private sector, and civil society at the highlevel Nutrition for Growth meeting held in London last week.

“I welcome the Global Nutrition for Growth Compact agreed at the meeting. FAO will work with all committed governments to realise their food security and nutrition goals,” Graziano da Silva said.

“The cost of inaction is too high,” the director general stressed. “Malnutrition kills millions every year, and

damages billions of lives. It costs up to five per cent of global GDP in foregone output and health costs.”

Graziano da Silva also outlined how the FAO was stepping up its efforts to improve nutrition over the last 18 months.

This includes the additional deployment of experts in the field to better respond to country needs and the implementation of a new nutrition strategy.

The meeting, “Nutrition for Growth: Beating Hunger through Business and Science”, was organised by the British and Brazilian governments, together with The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), a British philanthropic organisation. It was attended

Nutrition (SUN) Movement.

The meeting was held ahead of the G8 Summit taking place at Lough Erne in Northern Ireland on June 17-18 as part of the UK’s G8 presidency.

Food systems

FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva

by high-level delegates from civil society, the private sector, and government from some 30 countries, most of them part of the Scaling Up

“We cannot expect better nutrition without food security – which requires better food systems,” Graziano da Silva said. This is the key message of the FAO’s flagship publication, “The State of Food and Agriculture”, launched earlier this week in Rome. Overcoming malnutrition in all its forms – undernourishment, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity – requires appropriate interventions in food systems, public health, edu-

cation, social protection and other areas.

Graziano da Silva also stressed the importance of improving measurement of hunger and malnutrition.

In this regard, the FAO is developing the Voices of the Hungry project – a new, faster and more precise way of measuring hunger and food insecurity across the world.

Partnerships

Graziano da Silva stressed the importance of strengthening partnerships to improve food security and nutrition, including civil society, the private sector, governments, the scientific community, and multilateral organisations.

As vice chair of the UN

Secretary General’s High Level Task Force on World Food Security, Graziano da Silva also said the UN system is rising to the Zero Hunger Challenge announced by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon last year at Rio+20.

He also noted that the second International Conference on Nutrition in Rome in November next year is being co-organised by the FAO, the World Health Organisation (WHO), and others. “ICN2 will establish a strong basis for more effective policy coordination and international cooperation” amongst governments, international organisations, civil society, the private sector and other partners”, he added.

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monday, june 10, 2013 | guyanatimeSGY.com

Caricom called to Regional govts urged to market countries in China address lifestyle illnesses U nited States-based Guyanese journalist, Felicia Persaud is encouraging Caribbean governments to do more to market the diverse investment stories of the region to the right people since the region is relevant despite proclamations by naysayers.

Persaud, who is the founder of Invest Caribbean Now (ICN) and chief marketing officer (CMO) of Hard Beat Communications, was addressing delegates at the opening of an ICN forum in New York.

She stated that the Caribbean region remains relevant since 11 nations have been listed in the top 100 “ease of doing business” survey when there were only seven for Latin America and eight for Africa.

Fastest growing economies

“We are relevant when eight nations in the Caribbean are ranked in the top 100 fastest growing economies globally compared to 10 for Latin America as of 2012 … a difference of two… and we are relevant when the world’s richest man invests in the Caribbean.”

At the end of the forum, Caribbean governments were invited to participate in a trip to China aimed at promoting investment and business development opportunities during the latter part of this year.

The invitation was extended by Chinese-American Business Development Centre Managing Director Li Li and echoed by China’s Consulate General in New York Xiaoguang Liu and American-Chinese Commerce Development Association representative Johnny Liu at the recent Avalon Invest Caribbean

United States-based Guyanese journalist, Felicia Persaud

Now Forum in New York City.

The invitation came on the heels of the first visit of Chinese President’s Xi Jinping to Trinidad on May 31 and his pledge of more than US$3 billion in loans to 10 Caribbean nations.

“The Chinese private sectors are seeking opportunities in the Caribbean such as hospitality, real estate, health-care and education industry because they are easy to operate, are transparent and create jobs,” Li said.

Easy market access

She noted that the advantageous location of the Caribbean in the centre of the Americas provides the advantage of easy access to markets in the North, South and Central America and serves as a bridge to the markets in Europe.

Citing statistics that said up to 100 million Chinese will be travelling abroad by 2015, Li said the time was ripe for the Caribbean to tap into this key demographic, especially since the Chinese

consumer is industrious and has spending power and “the Caribbean has garnered critical acclaim as a Mecca for tourism with significant investments in that and related sectors.”

Li also pointed to figures that showed the Chinese outbound travel market will be US$590 billion by 2020.

Economic partnership

Meanwhile, Caribbean Affairs Office of the Western Hemisphere Division in the U.S. State Department representative Anthony Eterno presenting his country’s view on investing in the Caribbean emphasised that the Obama-led administration remains committed to an economic partnership with the region that stimulates growth.

Over 12 dozen Caribbean delegates attended the forum including Turks and Caicos Islands Prime Minister Dr Rufus Ewing; St Lucia Tourism Industry and Commerce Minister Ricky Skerritt; St Lucia Tourism,

Heritage and Creative Industries Minister Lorne Theophilus; Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Minister Mark Brantley; Nevis Tourism Minister John Maginley; St Vincent and the Grenadines Tourism, Sports and Culture Minister Cecil McKie; Bahamas Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe; and Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) Chairman and United States Virgin Islands Commissioner Beverly Nicholson Doty.

The “ICN 2013 Corporate Leadership Award” was presented to Royal Caribbean International.

Caribbean collaboration

In brief remarks, Royal Caribbean International President and Chief Executive Officer Adam Goldstein said, “The Caribbean has been the heart and soul of who we are and where we go for over 40 years, and we are honoured to receive the 2013 Invest Caribbean Now Corporate Leadership Award as our goal is to continue to work closely with the Caribbean so that their ability to retain and attract cruise ships remains as strong and robust as ever and we look forward to being a leader and working to help recognise the region’s value.”

Invest Caribbean Now is organised annually by The Caribbean Tourism Organisation and digital media solutions company, Hard Beat Communications, during Caribbean Week in New York.

The event is the brain child of Persaud and is now in its third year.

ECLAC signs pact with Norway to promote equality in Caribbean

T

he Norwegian Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) signed an economic cooperation agreement aimed at sharing experiences and lesson learned in the building of social pacts for equality.

Norwegian International Development Minister Heikki Eidsvoll Holmas and ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena signed the agreement which will focus on the assessment of public policies and social and fiscal tools that can expand and better distribute the revenues of the exploitation of natural resources. “The experience of Norway is of great interest for our region,” Bárcena stated.

The agreement includes the development of seminars, workshops, studies and a policy of dialogue concentrated on how the concept of equali-

ty links with natural resource governance, women’s empowerment, the creation of universal social protection policies and structural changes in the production system.

Equality According to Bárcena, “Equality, as a regulatory and guiding principle, involves disseminating about capacity building, technical progress, full employment opportunities and universal access to social safety nets and benefits throughout the production structure and social fabric.”

In order to increase understanding of the interaction between these needs and equality, the programme will focus on research and the publication of innovative studies and indices to help guide public policies in the region.

Bárcena, who was accompanied by ECLAC

Programme Planning and Management Division Director Raúl GarcíaBuchaca stated “Placing equality at the heart implies breaking away from the economic paradigm that has prevailed in the region for at least three decades. This change is in step with the historically favourable situation being enjoyed by many Latin American and Caribbean countries.”

Inequality reduction In Oslo, Bárcena took part in the seminar “The decade of inequality reduction in Latin America: reasons, lessons and questions of sustainability” organised by the Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre (Noref) and the Norwegian Latin America Research Network (NorLARNet) at the University of Oslo.

At a farewell lunch, Bárcena met with Norwegian

Foreign Affairs Ministry, Department for Regional Affairs and Development General Director Tore Hattrem and others, including Latin America Department Deputy Chief Trygve Bendiksby, that department’s main advisor Reidar Bergum, and Department of International Development Policy Senior Adviser Hege Fisknes.

Other participants included Norwegian Ambassador in Chile Hege Araldsen, Centre for Development and the Environment of the University of Oslo Director Kristi Anne Stølen and Benedicte Bull and Andreas Kotsadam, who are academics from the centre. The senior United Nations official also met with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Chair Erik Solheim.

C

Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Dr Frank Anthony

ulture, Youth and Sport Minister Dr Frank Anthony said that more action is required on the part of regional governments as it relates to the promotion of healthy lifestyles of Caribbean citizens.

Addressing a gathering of regional policymakers at a Caricom forum, Dr Anthony mentioned that renewed emphasis and focus must be placed on the areas of communicable and noncommunicable diseases.

He pointed out that the Caribbean must work on addressing the silent epidemic of these diseases which confront the region.

The minister mentioned diabetes, hypertension and heart disease as some of the common types of disease which contribute to a number of unavoidable deaths.

“While we look at this silent epidemic spreading and developing, we must not lose sight of the sexual transmitted diseases HIV and AIDS,” Dr Anthony said.

He revealed that there is an agenda in the Caribbean which aims to try to reduce the number of HIV infections, deaths and discrimination in society.

Zero new infections

“We are hoping to get to zero, which is zero new infections, zero stigma, zero discrimination, and zero AIDSrelated deaths. But while we work to get to zero as a region; we will not be getting the same level of donor funding and this can undermine previous efforts made,” Dr Anthony stressed.

Premier health agencies and organisations have reduced funding to Guyana since the virus is no longer a threat here.

According to the National AIDS Programme Secretariat (NAPS), the number of reported HIV cases in Guyana has been reduced to one per cent of the total population in 2009– 2010, complying with the United Nations Agency for International Development (UNAIDS) target of 1.3 per cent.

The reduction rate of HIV prevalence among women in Guyana has remained at one per cent while those for

high-risk persons such as homosexuals and sex workers have decreased.

Sex workers themselves are disproportionally affected by the virus with an HIV prevalence of around 16 per cent, compared with an adult HIV prevalence in Guyana of 1.2 per cent.

There has been a steady decrease of HIV/AIDS cases from 2006 to 2011 and recent research is revealing that there is a decrease in the number of persons being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in Guyana.

Research also showed that there has been a decrease in the rate of deaths from this disease.

Guyana was recently lauded for its remarkable progress in fighting HIV/ AIDS by United Nations HIV/AIDS Programme Coordinator in Guyana/ Suriname, Dr Roberto Luiz Brant Campos. He said Guyana is on track for the achievement of goal six of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which seeks to combat HIV/ AIDS by 2015.

HIV prevalence

He pointed to the outstanding feat of Guyana in decreasing its HIV prevalence in pregnant women in the last 10 years from 2.6 per cent to 0.9 per cent.

This was achieved through the prevention of mother-to-child transmission programme, which has received accolades internationally and is now being used as a best practice in many countries.

The UNAIDS representative also lauded the fact that access to HIV/AIDS treatment is now readily available to 80 per cent of the population in need.

Guyana has also seen a steady decrease of HIV/ AIDS cases from 2006 and is currently pursuing a trajectory of eliminating HIV/ AIDS by 2020, as outlined in its strategic plan.

Health officials believe that Guyana is on a path to achieving a collective goal of having zero new infections, zero stigma and discrimination, zero AIDS-related deaths and zero mother to child transmission by 2020.

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monday, june 10, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

U.S.-based company builds Mother of three found dead $20M IT lab at police college at Mahaicony – use of facility to be extended to community

An official of the company cuts the ribbon to officially open the IT centre, while acting Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell looks on

By Indrawattie Natram

M

embers of the Guyana Police Force, students from various secondary schools on the Essequibo Coast and civilians will soon be benefiting from free Information Technology (IT) training at the Richard Faikall Training College at Suddie on the Essequibo Coast. The move was made possible through the kind donation of a computer centre and library by overseasbased Guyanese company Zara Reality Holdings.

According to Zara Reality Holdings Vice President Jays

pare the future for you, however, we can prepare you for the future,” Sobhraj said.

Meanwhile, Nardeo Singh, a computer consultant attached to Zara Reality Holdings for the past 25 years, said the project aims to create a society that is computer literate. He said the 36 computers are connected to the Internet and has a DELL server.

The centre also will facilitate a pilot project which will cater for five students from various secondary schools. He said a special trainer has been selected to manage the class and will prepare the students for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC)

$50 million. Brumell noted the donation from Zara Reality Holdings is timely since it comes when the force is modernising. He said the focus is on officers becoming computer literate and for information to be linked station to station, electronically via the Internet.

The acting police commissioner said the move to utilise the centre to train civilians was also a prudent one, noting that it will help to build strong ties between the Guyana Police Force and the community.

Regional Vice Chairman Vishnu Samaroo, who also addressed the gathering, expressed gratitude on behalf of the Region Two administration. Samaroo said the stateof-the-art computer centre and library is a good example of public-private partnership (PPP) and called on local businessmen to emulate the good gesture. Samaroo said the move was a bold innovative and will expose young people living within the coastland to a wide knowledge of IT.

Call centre

The modern Information Technology Centre commissioned at the Richard Faikal Police Training College on the Essequibo Coast

Sobhraj, the company has invested US$100,000 in the IT project on the Essequibo Coast. He said the aim of the project is to bridge the communication gap that exists in today’s society and to equip all Essequibians with knowledge of how to use a computer.

He said the donation was a way the company could give back to the people. “We want everyone on the Essequibo Coast to make the maximum use of this opportunity, what you are getting here is a valuable opportunity.”

Sobhraj said thus far the company has managed to build and install 11 centres of similar nature, outlining that six were built in Guyana and five in North America where the company operates. “We cannot pre-

IT examinations.

Delivering the feature address at the commissioning of the Guyana Police Force\Zara Computer Centre was acting Police Commissioner Leroy Brumell, who said the donation of the computers and library at the college is a classic example of partnership. Brumell said IT is no longer a skill, rather it has become a culture for the Guyana Police Force.

Top priority

Brumell said the Guyana Police Force is developing rapidly in terms of IT, noting that it is a top priority for all officers. He said the force had budgeted $200 million for training but unfortunately, it was only able to acquire

He disclosed that Essequibo will soon be benefiting from a call centre and having IT as a subject is an asset for young people looking for jobs. Also in attendance at the commissioning ceremony were Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Bibi Shalimar Ali-Hack, G Division Commander Dale Alves and Assistant Commissioner Balram Persaud.

The unveiling of the plaque and cutting of the ribbon were done by executive members of the Zara Reality Holdings, Jay Sohbraj, Nardeo Singh and Sarvan Budhu.

Zara Reality Holdings had earlier supported the police force with the establishment of a similar computer training centre in Berbice, where the training has been extended to schools and members of the community.

L

ess than 24 hours after Shaneeza Ramdat, 23, was allegedly stabbed to death by her estrange husband at Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke/Linden Highway, a mother of three of Mahaicony, West Coast Berbice was found dead in her home. The woman is suspected to have been killed by her husband.

Vanessa Seeram,32, of Strong Broom, Mahaicony, East Coast Demerara (ECD) and formerly of De Hoop Mahaica, ECD was reportedly found on Saturday evening about 21:25h by her eldest son, who called out to her and received no answer.

It is believed that the woman’s throat was slashed, but this could not have been confirmed.

Guyana Times understands that the couple were heard arguing in the house

prior to the gruesome discovery. A police source stated that based on investigations, the woman’s husband claimed that he left the house about 21:00h to use the lavatory in the yard and after 25 minutes, he returned to the house and found the woman sitting on a chair with a piece of rope around her neck, which was tied to the bed.

Suicide or murder?

As of now, the police are treating the incident as a suicide, but believed that the woman might have been murdered. The woman’s husband and son are in custody and they are being interrogated in connection with the discovery. According to a neighbour, the woman is an alcoholic and was reportedly having an extra-marital affair, which she had denied when asked by

her husband.

He explained that on the night of the incident, the couple had a heated discussion after he again accused her of cheating. The argument escalated and punches were hurdled at each other. After a few minutes, he said that the place became deafeningly silent and everything seemed normal until he heard the woman’s son screaming that his mother was dead.

When they rushed over, they saw the woman tied to a bed and from all indications, she was bleeding from her neck. The woman was taken to the Mahaicony Cottage Hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival. Her body and was transported to the Lyken Funeral Home to await a post-mortem. The police are continuing their investigations.

Suspect in Kuru Kururu murder remains critical

F

orty-one-year-old Shameer Ali who allegedly stabbed his reputed wife, Shaneeza “Reshma” Ramdat to death on Saturday at Kuru Kururu, Soesdyke/Linden Highway remains in a critical state in the High Dependency Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital.

Information reaching this newspaper revealed that Ali is slipping in and out of consciousness and reportedly told relatives that he cannot remember what transpired on the fateful day. Relatives explained that his neck has one deep incision and he was bleeding profusely. He remains under guard at the medical institution.

Hospital

Mena Ali, the eldest daughter of the murder suspect, told this newspaper that on Saturday, she had just returned home from the hospital with her grandmother when she received a phone call from “her father’s sister-in-law”, informing her that Ali had sustained injuries and was at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

She hurried down to the hospital and arrived as doctors were taking her father into the theatre. His head was bloody; his neck was bandaged, and he was unconscious, she added. At that point in time, she was not aware that her father was accused of killing the woman with whom he had lived for the past four years.

When she became aware of the allegation, she attempted to speak with him but he was non- responsive.

Although, Ali left his legal wife and three children more than four years ago, his daughter says “a father is done a father”, so when she heard he was in hospital, she rushed there.

In tears, she related that Ali and her mother lived happily but after a while, he started to “pick arguments”

Shaneeza Ramdat and Shameer Ali in happier times

with her mother. The arguments would occur on a daily basis.

“When he told us he was leaving the house… as the eldest daughter, I realised that he had another woman, hence his unruly behaviour with my mother,” she said.

She claimed that since her father left home four years ago, they have not heard from him nor seen him, despite desperate measures to contact him. She said, “It was only Saturday I saw my father after he left us behind.”

Estranged

Ali further explained that she had never seen the woman with whom her father was having the relationship until she saw her in the newspapers.

Venting her anger, she reiterated that her father never once tried to make contact with her or her siblings. She condemned her father’s supected murderous actions, claiming he should have walked out of the relationship the minute he suspected that his lover was having an affair with someone else. “You did not give life so do not take it,” she added.

Gewan Ramdat, the brother of the deceased woman, when contacted on Sunday revealed that his mother fell ill when she heard about the murder.

He added that she would normally suffer from heart complications and with this news, her pressure and sugar level skyrocketed.

He said that he will be heading to Georgetown this morning to witness the postmortem examination. Once that is completed, and the body is handed over to the family, they will proceed to make funeral arrangements.

Victim

Ramdat, 23, formerly of Mahaica, East Coast Demerara was stabbed at least a dozen times in her neck at Kuru Kururu squatting area, Soesdyke/ Linden Highway. She was found lying face down in a pool of blood on the sand.

According to reports, she was harvesting pineapples, using a knife, to take to her children who are staying with their father on West Coast Demerara when a heated argument began between the couple. The argument led to a scuffle, and Ali wrestled the knife from the woman’s hand and allegedly stabbing her repeatedly.

He then escaped into the bushes where he reportedly attempted to commit suicide by slashing his throat.

He was found in a clump of bushes a short distance away from the house that the couple shared.

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guyanatimesgy.com

Regional

Shine more light on human Mexican bar kidnap trafficking – Barbados group “linked to gang” urges P

P

resident of S o r o p t i m i s t International of Barbados, Tammy Bryan, has suggested that more events could be staged to raise awareness of human trafficking locally.

She spoke to The Barbados Advocate on Saturday prior to the start of a march conducted in Bridgetown to bring attention to human trafficking.

This march forms part of the organisation’s Purple Teardrop Campaign.

Bryan said events such as the march could be held to educate the public and clear up misconceptions.

“I think events like this [would be useful], perhaps some town hall meetings

Women and girls turned out in their numbers in Bridgetown to raise awareness about the threat of human trafficking

where experts [or] maybe members of the National

Action Task Force can educate the public.

“Very often we encounter people who say ‘That [human trafficking] doesn’t happen in Barbados’ or we get people who say that has been happening for years and that can’t be an issue; why the girls can’t get up and run away… It is very difficult for the victims to escape the situation.

So I think generally raising awareness by marches like this [could help] because at least one person will ask what is this about and you get an opportunity to explain,” she outlined.

In recent weeks, a number of individuals were brought before the law courts on charges of human trafficking. (MG)

rosecutors say they think the disappearance of 12 youngsters from a Mexico City bar two weeks ago was linked to gang rivalry.

The 12 were reported missing after they failed to return home from a visit to the Heaven bar on May 26.

Surveillance footage shows a number of them being led from the bar by men in civilian clothes and getting into cars.

Relatives say the police have turned a blind eye to the case because the missing come from a rough area.

The surveillance footage, screened by prosecutor Rodolfo Rios at a news conference, shows several small cars pulling up outside the Heaven bar in Mexico City’s popular Zona Rosa entertainment district.

Some of the missing could

be seen being led to the cars two at a time. There was no obvious sign of force and the men were not masked and did not seem to be carrying weapons.

The footage contradicts a statement given by one man who claimed to have been at the bar with the youngsters.

The man said masked gunmen stormed into the Heaven bar at 10:00 on Sunday, seized the group of 12 youngsters at gunpoint and bundled them into SUVs. But police had already cast doubt on the man’s statement after he had been found to have provided officers with a false name, telephone number, and address.

All of the missing are from Tepito, with three of them related to jailed crime bosses from the area. (Excerpt

from BBC News)

TT 60 per cent ready Jamaica: Seaview residents uncertain of for disaster – official safety following deadly Friday night attack

T

he Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management (ODPM) Chief Executive Officer, Dr Stephen Ramroop said Trinidad and Tobago is “60 per cent ready” if a natural disaster hits the country. However, he said, a lot of it is based on the readiness of the responder and not the population.

Interviewed on Thursday, Ramroop said, “I think we are about 60 per cent ready and a lot of it is based on the responder readiness and not on population readiness.

The population has to get their disaster bags ready.

And every community should get ready for the

“big earthquake” and that is why they have to pack their disaster bags.”

Asked about ODPM’s egress plan (June 13, 2011) which targeted three evacuation exercises for Tobago, Port of Spain and San Fernando, as part of its disaster preparedness initiative, Ramroop said, “Those plans have all been developed. They have all been shared by the different stakeholders. We launched the plans in 2011.

“We have tested the plans between 2012 and 2013. They were tested with a number of drills and tabletop exercises. We have all the relevant first responders.” (Excerpt from Trinidad

Guardian)

F

ear has paralysed residents of the densely populated community of Seaview Gardens in western St Andrew after Friday evening’s deadly attack by “well-dressed” gunmen which claimed the lives of four young men.

The brutal murders were committed on White Sea Drive, in a section of Phase 2 called “Marley Bottom”. Two other members of the community – a man and woman – were wounded in the assault.

The police and residents are at one on the motive of the attack — a reprisal for the murder about a month ago of a community member called “Pine”.

Another murder in recent times would have also

Kerry-Ann Campbell mourns the murder of her child’s father

heightened tension between factions in the area, police said.

Scores of residents who spoke with the Jamaica Observer Saturday heaped accolades on the four slain men, whom they described

Peru’s Shining Path leader jailed for life for terrorism

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court in Peru has sentenced the last of the original leaders of the Shining Path rebels to life in prison.

Judges in the Peruvian capital, Lima, found Florindo Flores, who’s known as Comrade Artemio, guilty of terrorism, drug trafficking, and money laundering. He was also ordered to pay a fine of US$183 million.

The Shining Path rebels were severely weakened in the 1990s after failing to install a Communist state, but some remain active in southern Peru.

After hours of sentencing, Judge Clotilde Cavero said: “It was proven that he (Artemio) ordered the execu-

Florindo Flores raises his fist in defiance as the sentence is read out

tion of a number of civilians, police, and soldiers.

“It was proven that he belonged to the Central Committee of the Shining Path.

“It was proven that he was the top leader in the

(Alto) Huallaga (Valley),” she said.

During the trial which lasted six months, Artemio, 51, had denied the terrorism charges but referred to himself as a “revolutionary”.

He was captured and

wounded last year after a clash with troops in Alto Huallaga, a former rebel stronghold and cocaine-producing region.

He admitted in December 2011 that the Shining Path had been defeated, and told reporters in his jungle hideout that the remaining rebels were ready to have talks with the government.

But President Ollanta Humala has been adamant that his government will not “negotiate with terrorists”.

“They are cold-blooded killers, who kidnap children, don’t respect basic rights, and try to use terror and extortion to change the democratic nature of the country,” Humala said last September. (Excerpt from BBC News)

as good people who troubled no one.

Police listed the dead men as Dwight Robinson, 28, also known as “Teeto”; Jerome Anthony Gooden, 33, a barber who is popularly known as “Billy”;

Ricardo Lawes, 28; and Omar “Fraudy” Smith, 32, whose family, the Sunday Observer learnt, was on the verge of completing paperwork for him to emigrate to the United States.

The attack, which eyewitnesses said occurred around 19:45h as people prepared to watch the World Cup qualification football match between Jamaica and the United States on television, resulted in members of the security forces flooding the area.

Security personnel remained in the community when the Sunday Observer visited, with the common sentiment being that the attack was carried out by men from “outside” the community. (Excerpt from Jamaica Observer)

Naked cyclists bring Mexico City streets to standstill

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housands of naked cyclists have ridden through the streets of Mexico City to mark the World Naked Bike Ride.

The event is to raise awareness of the importance of cycling for exercise and as a way to reduce fossil fuels. Organisers say riding naked also highlights the fragility of the human body and the need for drivers to be more careful on busy city streets.

The movement began nine years ago in Canada and has been held every year in various cities around the world.

Traffic in Mexico City came to a standstill as onlookers stared in amazement or took photographs of the cyclists – naked or semi-naked – streaming past some of the city’s most famous landmarks. The ral-

ly ended in Zocalo Square.

Naked cyclists also took to the streets of London.

Correspondents say that although Mexico city has introduced a series of bike-friendly policies, millions of vehicles clogging the streets every day make cycling a serious challenge.

One cyclist, named only as Mila, said stripping off was the best way to get their message across.

“In Mexico, it is a nightmare to ride a bicycle,” she said. “It’s almost as if you don’t exist, you are a ghost.”

Fellow cyclist Yovana Floyd added: “We fear going out every day and not knowing if we will return to our homes.”

Mexican media estimates that about 300 cyclists took part in the demonstration. (BBC News)

15 Around the World

guyanatimesgy.com

monday, June 10, 2013

Tanks in Beirut as Syria South Africans pray for Mandela’s recovery protest leaves one dead S L ebanese troops blocked streets in Beirut with tanks and barbed wire for several hours on Sunday after the killing of a protester outside the Iranian embassy raised factional tensions already inflamed by the war in Syria.

The man died during a clash between rival groups of Shiite Muslims after militiamen from the Iranianbacked Hezbollah movement opened fire when protesters drew up at the embassy.

The Lebanese army, which has limited means to impose itself on the many armed factions still active two decades after Lebanon’s own civil war, deployed armoured vehicles and set up roadblocks to cordon off the city centre and neigh-

Two youths on skateboards pass by a police officer and a soldier securing a street they have closed off, where anti-Hezbollah activists had earlier held a protest, in Beirut on Sunday

bourhoods controlled by Hezbollah. Traffic was restored toward evening.

Demonstrators from a variety of groups, including Sunni and Shiite Muslims

and Christians, marched in the city centre in protest at Hezbollah’s newly-prominent role in supporting Syrian President Bashar alAssad – its fighters helped

Assad’s troops retake the strategic border town of Qusair last week.

When protesters from a small Shiite party opposed to Hezbollah arrived at the Iranian embassy south of the city centre in a bus, a Reuters journalist saw them clash with black-clad Hezbollah militiamen, who opened fire.

Lebanese security officials said one of the protesters, who was unarmed, was killed and several people were hurt.

Fear has increased of troubles in Syria – which long dominated its smaller neighbour – disrupting Lebanon’s fragile balance since Hezbollah leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah vowed two weeks ago to fight for Assad until a final victory. (Excerpt from Reuters)

outh Africans prayed for Nelson Mandela’s recovery on Sunday as the 94-year-old former president spent a second day in hospital with a recurring lung infection.

Mandela, a global symbol of triumph over adversity and of reconciliation who became South Africa’s first black leader in 1994 after the defeat of apartheid, was hospitalised early on Saturday when his already frail health worsened.

It is his fourth hospital stay since December and the government said on Saturday his condition was “serious”. During previous hospital visits it had highlighted his “good spirits”.

The government had yet to give an update by Sunday afternoon, stoking concern on social media and among the millions of South Africans who revere Mandela for his decades of struggle against white-minority rule and for steering

the continent’s biggest economy to all-race elections.

Presidency spokesman Mac Maharaj said he would issue a statement about Mandela’s health if doctors gave him any information. Maharaj had said on Saturday Mandela was breathing on his own, calling that a “positive sign”.

Hundreds gathered to pray for Mandela at Sunday Mass at the Regina Mundi Catholic Church in the sprawling Johannesburg township of Soweto.

“We wish him speedy recovery, he must get well,” Soweto resident Mlugisi Sekhosana said. “We know what he did for us in South Africa. All the nation, black and white, we wish him well.”

The Sunday Times newspaper took a sombre tone, with the headline “It’s time to let him go”, quoting a longtime friend of Mandela’s, Andrew Mlangeni. (Excerpt from Reuters)

German dam breaks as river rises Tens of thousands on streets,

A

dam has broken on the flood-swollen River Elbe in eastern Germany, forcing thousands of people to leave their homes around the city of Magdeburg.

Water levels in Magdeburg stood at 7.44 metres on Sunday, nearly four times higher than normal (two metres). In Hungary, water levels on the Danube were expected to peak on Sunday after the worst floods in more than a decade.

At least 15 people have died in the floods in Central Europe, which will cost billions of euros to clean up.

The authorities in Germany are investigating an anonymous letter threatening attacks on several dams. The motive behind the threats is not known, but the threat is being taken seriously.

In the Hungarian capital Budapest, flood defences have been strengthened and appear to have held up.

Along more than 700

Turkish PM Erdogan defiant

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Thousands have had to leave their homes

kilometres of the River Danube, thousands of people, including many volunteers and even convicts from the prisons, worked to reinforce earth and sandbag barriers, Late on Friday, residents were moved out of their homes in the village of Gyorujfalu, near the city of Gyor, because a dyke weakened after a landslide. No flood-related deaths have so far been reported in Hungary.

The river is forecast to peak at around 9m in Budapest late on Sunday.

Flood barriers now stand at 9.50m. Another dam is in danger, reports the regional broadcaster MDR, and more evacuations may have to take place.

German President Joachim Gauck visited the flood-stricken city of Halle, near Magdeburg, and paid tribute to the way its inhabitants had coped. (Excerpt from BBC News)

“No Nile, no Egypt,” Cairo warns over Ethiopian dam

E

gypt’s foreign minister, vowing not to give up “a single drop of water from the Nile”, said on Sunday he would go to Addis Ababa to discuss a giant dam that Ethiopia has begun building in defiance of Cairo’s objections.

Speaking to Egypt’s state news agency MENA two days after the Ethiopian government flatly rejected a request from Cairo to halt the project, Mohamed Kamel Amr said Egyptians

view any obstacle to the river’s flow as a threat to national survival. “No Nile – no Egypt,” he said, highlighting the pressure on the Egyptian government, whose popularity is wilting in the face of economic troubles, to prevent the hydro power plant cutting already stretched water supplies for its 84 million people.

Last week, Ethiopia summoned the Egyptian ambassador after politicians in Cairo were shown on televi-

sion suggesting military action or supporting Ethiopian rebels – a mark of the threat felt in Cairo from the plan to dam the Blue Nile, the tributary that supplies the bulk of water downstream in Egypt.

“Egypt won’t give up on a single drop of water from the Nile or any part of what arrives into Egypt from this water in terms of quantity and quality,” Amr told MENA, noting that Egypt has little rain and is effectively desert without its great river. (Excerpt from Reuters)

urkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told a rally of thousands of flag-waving supporters on Sunday that his patience with anti-government protests had its limits, while tens of thousands flooded an Istanbul square demanding his resignation.

The majority Muslim but constitutionally secular nation has been shaken by a week of its fiercest protests in decades, unrest which has exposed fault lines between a religiously conservative heartland fiercely supportive of Erdogan and a secular middle class who fear creeping authoritarianism.

Addressing crowds of cheering followers at Ankara airport, one of six rallies planned for Sunday, Erdogan accused the protesters of drinking beer in mosques and insulting women wearing headscarves, a symbol of Islamic piety – both accusations likely to anger his supporters.

“With our government,

An anti-government protester waves a Turkish flag depicting the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as thousands of protesters gather in Istanbul’s Taksim Square on Sunday

our party and most importantly our nation, it is we who have defended, and are most strongly defending democracy, law, and freedoms,” he told crowds chanting slogans including “We are ready to sacrifice our lives for you Tayyip”.

“We were patient, we will be patient, but there is an end to patience,” he said, to chants of “Rich people of Istanbul, evacuate Gezi Park immediately”.

At a rival rally at Gezi

Park in Istanbul’s central Taksim Square, where riot police backed by helicopters and armoured vehicles first clashed with protesters a week ago, tens of thousands chanted for the prime minister to resign.

The crowd included secularists carrying flags portraying secular state founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, leftists, nationalists and other groups opposed to Erdogan, who has won three election victories since 2002. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Sudan threatens halt of South Sudan oil flow

S

udan has threatened to stop all its security and economic agreements with South Sudan if it continues its alleged support for rebel groups. Khartoum also warned it would cut off its southern neighbour from vital oil pipelines.

“We plan to close the oil pipelines within 60 days,” Information Minister Ahmed Belal Osman said on Sunday. “But if South Sudan is serious ... and stops backing rebels, if we get interna-

tional guarantees for that, then our door is open and we can reverse the stoppage.”

His comments followed an order on Saturday from President Omar al-Bashir to shut the pipeline carrying South Sudanese crude for export. A stoppage would cut off the crude and transit fees that make up both countries’ main source of foreign income.

Al Jazeera’s Harriet Martin, reporting from Khartoum, said that the

move could have a “huge impact on regional stability”.

Both African countries agreed in March to resume crude exports from landlocked South Sudan through Sudanese oil facilities after resolving disputes over transit fees and other issues.

“If Sudan cuts the pipeline, it’s going to be difficult to tell how the two sides will get back on track – not least because oil companies might just get fed up with the pair of them,” Martin said. (Excerpt

from Al Jazeera)

16

monday, june 10, 2013

guyanatimesgy.com

Caribbean

Africa

Shell VP: LNG asset purchase Nigeria: East-West road to be in TT makes Shell world leader completed by 2014 yearend

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oyal Dutch Shell’s position as a world leader in liquefied natural gas (LNG) has been strengthened by its purchase of Repsol’s LNG assets inclusive of its stake in Point Fortin-based Atlantic (formerly Atlantic LNG), a senior vice president of the company has said.

Dick Benschop, president of Shell in Holland and worldwide vice president for gas, said in response to

a question on the status of the US$6.7 billion purchase: “The transaction still has to be completed, and there are many areas where what is going to happen has to be specified. “For us, the purchase is important for two reasons. LNG production in T&T and Peru that will be incorporated into our portfolio will strengthen Shell’s position as the international leader in LNG. And, second, because of the incorpora-

tion of the trading business.

If you look at the portfolio of contracts, Spain has received LNG for decades.

This business is, every day, more and more global.”

The Economist said Benschop was “one of the key players in the purchase of Repsol’s LNG assets”, including its stake in Point Fortin-based Atlantic. From 1998 to 2002, Benschop was Holland’s minister of foreign affairs. (Trinidad Guardian)

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he federal government, Thursday, reassured Nigerians, particularly people of the Niger Delta, that the N347 billion EastWest highway dualisation projects would be completed and delivered by December 2014. Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Elder Godsday Peter Orubebe, revealed this while at the 2013 ministerial press briefing to showcase the achievements of his ministry under the mid-term report. He disclosed that some sections of

the road had been completed and were due for handing over by the contractors.

Orubebe, who said the government was committed to the development of the Niger Delta, sought the cooperation, support and collaboration of stakeholders in the region to nip in the bud threats and kidnapping of expatriates and excessive demands by communities from contractors which often result in work stoppage.

Orubebe explained that

because of the importance of the road to the people, some other ongoing projects had been sacrificed to ensure the completion date was realised. The minister, who noted that the ministry had spent over N200 billion on execution of various development projects in the last three years, spread across the nine states that made up the Niger Delta, noted, however, that N1 trillion was required to accelerate developments in the region. (all Africa)

S4, from Europe was likely to impact earnings.

It said it now expects S4 shipments this year to be 20 to 30 per cent lower than its previous forecast. It said the firm was expected to ship seven to eight million units per month from July. Last month, Samsung announced that it had sold 10 million S4 units within a month of the phone’s launch.

JPMorgan analysts were quoted as saying by Bloomberg news agency that the S4’s “peak-quarter number seems way below our previous estimates”. JPMorgan lowered its 2013 earnings forecast for Samsung by nine per cent. Profit warnings from analysts of other South Korea-based firms this week also dented investor morale. (BBC News)

North America Asia Google says U.S. govt has “no Samsung shares fall after access” to servers oogle has issued a on Britons from the world’s cused of tapping into servers JPMorgan cuts profit outlook strong denial that it largest Internet companies. of nine U.S. Internet giants

G

allows the U.S. government to access its servers. The Internet giant said the government has no access, “not directly, or via a back door, or a so-called drop box”. The Guardian claims the UK’s eavesdropping centre Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) has secretly gathered intelligence

GCHQ is to report to MPs within days over claims it accessed data through a U.S. spy programme called Prism.

Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) expects the report by today. GCHQ said in a statement it operated to “a strict legal and policy framework”.

U.S. spies have been ac-

including Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and Google in a giant anti-terror sweep. All deny giving government agents access to servers.

Google’s Chief Legal Officer David Drummond said: “We cannot say this more clearly – the government does not have access to Google servers... It is quite wrong to insinuate otherwise”. (BBC News)

Europe Euro crisis is over, says French President Hollande

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rench President Francois Hollande has declared an end to the eurozone debt crisis, which has gripped the region for the past four years.

“What you need to understand here in Japan is that the crisis in Europe is over,” he told Japanese business leaders on a trip to the Far East. Much of Europe is suffering from high unemployment and recession.

As recently as April, there

were fears about the future of the euro due to confusion over bailing out Cyprus. The tiny eurozone state secured a loan package worth 10 billion euros (US$13 billion) from its EU partners and the International Monetary Fund. An early proposal to raise money through a levy on all Cypriot bank deposits caused concern in financial markets and was quickly withdrawn. Instead, the island agreed to raise 13 bil-

lion euros through a tax on large deposits and through banking reform.

This came after bailouts of Greece – twice – as well as Ireland, Portugal, and a bailout of Spain’s banks.

Unemployment in the eurozone is at another record high – with 19.38 million out of work – and the bloc is in its longest recession since it was created in 1999, now in six consecutive quarters of shrinkage. (BBC News)

Market statistics Cambio Rates

Gold Prices – Guyana Gold Board

Bank of Guyana

Fixed as at January 7, 2013 Calculated at 94% purity

Cur GBP

Buying

Selling

U.S.

$1645.25

$310.58

$344.58

Cambio

$312,663

$202.17

CAN

$161.50

$181.42

Gross

USD

$198.42

$205.58

Net

$290,776

Selling

$322,632

Indicators as on June 8, 2013 Live Spot Gold

Indicators

USD Per Once

Bid/Ask

$1384.60

$1385.60

Low/High

$1376.90

$1418.50

Change

-29.10

-2.06

June 7 USD GBP EUR June 6 USD GBP EUR

London Gold Fix AM 1410.00 905.53 1065.12 AM 1399.50 906.12 1066.69

Crude Oil Price Silver Platinum

US$ per barrel

Change %

$103.04

+0.55

USD per Ounce

Change %

$21.69 $1501.00

-0.90 -26.00

PM 1389.00 894.08 1049.92 PM 1400.00 905.68 1063.43

Last:15248.12

Changes: +207.50

% Change: +1.38

Open: 15044.46

High: 15255.58

Low: 15044.46

% YTD: +16.36

52Wk Hi: 14887.51

52 Wk Lo: 12035.09

S

hares in Samsung Electronics, the world’s biggest smartphone maker, fell the most in nine months after JPMorgan Chase cut its profit estimates. Samsung shares fell as much as 5.5 per cent in early trade in Seoul to a fourmonth low of 1,438,000 South Korean won. JPMorgan said weak demand for Samsung’s flagship phone, the Galaxy

Middle East Arabtec-led group wins US$629M Jordan contract

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ubai construction firm Arabtec said on Sunday that a consortium led by the company had won a US$629 million contract to build the first phase of a tourism project in Jordan. The contract to build Saraya Aqaba was awarded to a consortium of Arabtec, Dubai contractor Drake and Scull and Consolidated Contractors Co, Arabtec said in a statement on Dubai’s bourse.

The project comprises 634,000 square metres of development around a manmade lagoon, with about 1.5 kilometres of beachfront.

The project’s total cost will be US$1 billion, the statement added. The development, to be delivered in 28 months, will include four international hotels including Jumeirah International and Starwood Hotels facilities, as well as a water park.

Arabtec Holding expects

this and recent contract wins to boost its 2013 earnings and the Dubai contractor is targeting a dividend payout of at least 10 per cent for the year, its chief executive said.

The company, which diversified to other Gulf states amid Dubai’s property downturn, has won several contracts in recent months, especially in oil-rich Abu Dhabi where its top shareholder and state investment firm Aabar is based. (Reuters)

Investors' guide Tangle of data puts policymaking on pause

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inancial markets have become convinced in the past two weeks that two years of one-way traffic from the developed world’s central banks on policy is coming to an end.

The difficulty, on the evidence of the last few days, is the mass of conflicting signals on how shaky things still are, or how much better they will get – and as a result getting from here to actual changes in policy will probably take months.

Since the eurozone’s sovereign debt crisis administered another jolt to the global economy three years ago, central bank decisions on more monetary easing have not so much been a question

of if, but when. The same has largely gone for a fragile U.S. recovery. That’s not the case in 2013, even if global growth looks likely to disappoint again this year.

Faced with fewer immediate threats but still under pressure to nurse the world economy back to more convincing health, central bankers have been grasping at a disparate and volatile set of economic indicators.

“That’s a fairly difficult challenge at the best of times, and we’re hardly in the best of times,” said Craig Wright, chief economist at Royal Bank of Canada in Toronto.

Data from the United States last week summed up the problem.

Depending on the indicator, there was a case for the Federal Reserve maintaining support for the economy by pressing on with its US$85 billion-a-month bond purchase programme for a long time, or scaling it back soon.

U.S. manufacturing activity unexpectedly fell to the lowest level in four years in one sign, said economists, that the Fed would refrain from winding down its programme anytime soon.

On the other hand, Friday’s news that U.S. employers stepped up hiring was interpreted as a sign of economic resilience, suggesting the Fed could begin to scale back its stimulus later this year. (Reuters)

Business concept – Income property An income property is a particular property that is used to generate income but is not occupied by the owner. Rental properties, guesthouses and apartment buildings are typical income properties.

news

17

monday, june 10, 2013 | guyanatimesGY.com

Rough hurricane season still predicted in June update T

ropical Storm Risk (TSR), which provides real-time mapping and prediction of tropical cyclone windfields worldwide, has released its June forecast update for the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season and the outlook continues to be bleak.

The TSR June forecast update is still anticipating above-norm activity this year. Based on current and projected climate signals, Atlantic basin tropical cyclone activity and United States landfall activity is forecast to be approximately 30 per cent above the 19502012 long-term norm, but about 10 per cent below the recent 2003-2012 10-year norm.

The updated forecast spans the period from June 1 to November 30, and employs data through to the end of May. The key factors behind

Based on current and projected climate signals, Atlantic basin tropical cyclone activity is forecast to be about 30 per cent above the long-term norm

the TSR forecast for an above-norm hurricane season this year are the forecast July-September trade wind speed over the Caribbean and tropical North Atlantic, and the forecast AugustSeptember 2013 sea surface temperatures in the tropical North Atlantic.

The former influences cy-

clonic vorticity (the spinning up of storms) in the main hurricane track region, while the latter provides heat and moisture to power incipient storms in the main track region.

These factors would help to energise and sustain more storms, and there is a 61 per cent likelihood that activity

will be in the top one-third of years historically.

For Atlantic basin hurricane activity referenced to long-term norm values, TSR forecasts: • 16 tropical storms including eight hurricanes and four intense hurricanes.

This compares to long-term norms of 11, six and three respectively.

• An ACE (Accumulated Cyclone Energy) value of 134. The long-term norm is 103.

• Five tropical storms and two hurricanes make landfall on the U.S. mainland.

According to Professor Mark Saunders and Dr Adam Lea of the Department of Space and Climate Physics, University College London, the precision of TSR’s June forecasts for upcoming Atlantic hurricane activity since 2000 has been moderate. (Caribbean360)

Scottish author Iain Banks dies of cancer aged 59

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uthor Iain Banks has died aged 59, two months after announcing he had terminal cancer, his family has said.

Banks, who was born in Dunfermline, Fife, revealed in April he had gall bladder cancer and was unlikely to live for more than a year.

He was best known for his novels The Wasp Factory, The Crow Road and Complicity.

In a statement, his publisher said he was “an irreplaceable part of the literary world”.

A message posted on Banksophilia, a website set up to provide fans with updates on the author, quoted his wife Adele saying: “Iain

died in the early hours this morning. His death was calm and without pain.”

Publisher Little, Brown Book Group said the author was “one of the country’s best-loved novelists” for both his mainstream and science fiction books.

“Iain Banks’ ability to combine the most fertile of imaginations with his own highly distinctive brand of gothic humour made him unique,” it said.

After announcing his illness in April, Banks asked his publishers to bring forward the release date of his latest novel, The Quarry, so he could see it on the shelves.

On Sunday, it was re-

vealed the book – to be released on June 20 – would detail the physical and emotional strain of cancer.

It describes the final weeks of the life of a man in his 40s who has terminal cancer.

Speaking to the BBC’s Kirsty Wark, Banks said he was some 87,000 words into writing the book when he was diagnosed with his own illness.

“I had no inkling. So it wasn’t as though this is a response to the disease or anything, the book had been kind of ready to go,” he said.

“And then 10,000 words from the end, as it turned out, I suddenly discovered that I had cancer.”

“Craft and skill”

Little, Brown said the author was presented with finished copies of his last novel three weeks ago.

Banks’ first novel, The Wasp Factory, was published in 1984 and was ranked as one of the best 100 books of the 20th Century in a 1997 poll conducted by book chain Waterstones and Channel 4.

In 2008, he was named one of the 50 greatest British writers since 1945 in a list compiled by The Times.

The writer also penned sci-fi titles under the name Iain M Banks. His most recent book, The Hydrogen Sonata, was released last year. (Excerpt from BBC News)

No charges after Simon Cowell is pelted with eggs during TV show

A

woman who threw eggs at international talent show guru Simon Cowell during the finals of the popular television contest “Britain’s Got Talent” will not face charges, show organisers said on Sunday.

Cowell was one of four judges watching two brothers singing during the live televised performance on Saturday night when a viola player ran from the back of the stage and threw several eggs at him before being removed by security staff.

Cowell removed his jacket and the show continued.

The woman was later named as Natalie Holt, 30, a member of the brothers’ backing group, who had competed in the same tal-

Simon Cowell

ent show last year with her string ensemble “Raven Quartet”, without much success.

“As a result of her misguided actions, the police were called. However, we have decided to take no further action at this stage,” said a spokeswoman for the show.

In the statement, released by the show’s organisers, Holt apologised to the brothers, Richard and Adam, for overshadowing their performance, saying she realised that “it was a silly thing to do”.

But she was less contrite in comments to the Telegraph website, saying: “I basically took a stand against people miming on television and against Simon and his dreadful influence on the music industry.”

Cowell is the master-

mind behind global TV franchises such as “The X Factor” and “Got Talent” that are often accused of creating overnight stars without real talent, and of fuelling a culture of celebrity.

Cowell has become a household name in his native Britain through appearing as the acerbic judge on several of his shows.

The seventh series of “Britain’s Got Talent” was won by a Hungarian shadow dancing group called Attraction, who took home 250,000 pounds (US$380,000) and will perform for Queen Elizabeth.

The final was watched by an average of 11.1 million people, on par with last year’s final. (Reuters)

It’s drag queens vs schoolgirls at Broadway’s Tony awards

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precocious moppet with an edge will face off against a proud drag queen when the annual Tony awards, Broadway’s highest honours, are bestowed on Sunday night.

“Kinky Boots”, an adaptation of a British film about a struggling shoe factory reinventing itself by making boots for drag queens, topped the Tony nominations with 13.

But many Broadway experts see the British import “Matilda”, which boasts ecstatic reviews and 12 nods, prevailing as best new musical.

“This is a two-way race,” said Entertainment Weekly’s Thom Geier about the awards.

The “Boots” team includes Broadway veterans Harvey Fierstein, director Jerry Mitchell and music by pop star Cyndi Lauper. Its story bears the hallmarks of acceptance and triumph, which would likely play well on tours of the heartland.

“Matilda”, based on a story by Roald Dahl about a freakishly intelligent little girl’s persecution by her crass family and a fearsome school headmistress, has collected the lion’s share of early prizes including the Drama Desk.

But following the Tony nominations its box office receipts dropped slightly, while the take for “Kinky Boots” edged up.

Goldderby.com, a website that tracks show business awards, polled 14 Broadway experts and found a near split for the top prize, with a slight edge going to “Matilda”.

“The production made history at the Olivier Awards, winning a record seven of 10 bids,” the website said, adding “Kinky Boots” nabbed some early best musical honours “and could pull off an upset.”

Patrick Healy of the New York Times predicted “the warmth of ‘Kinky Boots’ will be enough to score an upset”. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Bolshoi axes dancer Nikolai Tsiskaridze after acid row

T

he Bolshoi has announced it will not renew the contract of veteran dancer Nikolai Tsiskaridze, who has been in open conflict with the theatre since an acid attack on its artistic director.

The dancer, who has been at the Bolshoi since 1992, is one of its top talents.

But the 39-year-old sparked conflict when he accused bosses of using the attack on Sergei Filin to conduct a witchhunt against him.

A spokeswoman said the dancer would leave at the end of the month.

“I can confirm that yesterday Tsiskaridze was given notice that his fixedterm contracts will not be renewed. His contract runs out June 30,” Katerina Novikova told Rossiya 24 on Saturday.

She refused to give a reason for the decision.

In an NTV television interview on Sunday, Tsiskaridze questioned the theatre’s right to let him go.

“To be honest, this is still not clear, because I’m on staff as a ballet artiste,” he said.

“When I was taken on, I joined the staff. I didn’t sign any paper to be released from this. It’s all very confusing.”

Earlier this year, the

Bolshoi filed two reprimands against Tsiskaridze for giving unauthorised interviews after the attack on Filin in January.

Under Russian law, multiple reprimands can be grounds for dismissal.

Tsiskaridze appealed and a Moscow court annulled one of the reprimands.

In his outspoken interviews, he complained of corruption and called for the theatre’s entire management to be sacked and for himself to be put in charge.

It led to a tit-for-tat response from Bolshoi director Anatoly Iksanov, who suggested Tsiskaridze might have played a role in inciting the attack on Filin, which left him with severe burns to his face and fighting to save his sight.

Tsiskaridze has denied having anything to do with the attack and insists the Bolshoi has been trying to drive him out.

Soloist Pavel Dmitrichenko and two alleged accomplices have been charged in connection with the attack and are in jail awaiting trial.

In March, Dmitrichenko admitted to discussing the attack but denied ordering the use of acid.

They face up to 12 years in prison if convicted. (BBC News)

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thursDAY, march 11, 2010 | guyanatimesGY.com

archie

By Bernice Bede Osol

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22Jan. 19) Guard against an inclination to try charting a different course from your usual route. There is a strong chance that any variation will work against you.

dilbert

CANCER (June 21July 22) A friend’s innovative idea might have every chance of success.

But you’ll need to be careful not to use tactics that could hurt your reputation.

AQUARIUS

LEO

(Jan. 20Feb. 19)

(July 23Aug. 22)

A clever friend might be able to help you resolve a complicated matter.

However, be careful about blindly accepting just any solution.

Instead of figuring out a new method to get around some obstacles, try the old way. Sticking with what works should be your strategy.

Calvin and Hobbes PISCES (Feb. 20-March 20) It’s OK to feel you can’t lose, as long as you study matters and don’t carry things to the extreme. Be positive, but also prudent and realistic.

VIRGO (Aug. 23Sept. 22) Although you believe it to be a seller’s market, you should still conduct your business with care. You could be more vulnerable than you realise.

Peanuts ARIES

LIBRA

(March 21-April 19)

(Sept. 23Oct. 23)

Once you make a commitment, you will be expected to keep it. If you back out, others will lose respect for you.

As long as you don’t allow your emotions to overrule your logic, you could fare very well. Make sure that you view all new developments from a realistic perspective.

SUDOKU TAURUS (April 20-May 20) Don’t betray the trust of someone who expects you to abide by your word.

If for some reason you find it necessary to do so, you’d better have a darn good excuse.

SCORPIO (Oct. 24Nov. 22) Be sure to keep your mind on the task at hand in your professional involvements, especially if you have to contend with some unusual distractions.

Saturday's solution GEMINI (May 21June 20) Should you agree to participate in a friend’s endeavour, make sure it has strong potential for success. Otherwise, your hard work could be for naught.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 23Dec. 21) There are some people within your social circle who could help you achieve an important objective. For best results, play things loose and friendly.

news 19

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Obama and Xi end “constructive” summit

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U

.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have ended a two-day summit described by a U.S. official as “unique, positive and constructive”.

U.S. National Security Adviser Tom Donilon said Obama had warned Xi that cyber-crime could be an “inhibitor” in U.S.-China relations.

He also said that both countries had agreed that North Korea had to denuclearise. The talks in California also touched on economic and environmental issues.

The two leaders spent nearly six hours together on Friday and another three hours on Saturday morning at the sprawling Sunnylands retreat in California.

While briefly appearing for a stroll together on Saturday, Obama described their progress as “terrific”.

After the talks concluded, Donilon told a press conference that President Obama had described to Xi the types of problems the U.S. has faced from cyber-intrusion and theft of intellectual property.

He gave no details, but said Obama underscored that Washington had no doubt that the intrusions were coming from inside China.

Cooperation Earlier, Xi’s senior foreign policy adviser Yang Jiechi told reporters that China wanted cooperation rather than friction with the U.S. over cyber-security.

“Cyber-security should not become the root cause of mutual suspicion and friction, rather it should be a new bright spot in our cooperation,” he said.

On North Korea, Donilon said the two leaders had achieved “quite a bit of alignment”.

“They agreed that North Korea has to denuclearise, that neither country will accept North Korea as a nuclear-armed state and that we would work together to deepen cooperation and dialogue to achieve denuclearisation,” he said.

Immediately after the summit ended, the White

The two leaders agreed to “cooperate” on North Korea

House issued a statement saying the two nations had agreed to work together for the first time to reduce hydrofluorocarbons – a potent greenhouse gas.

The BBC’s North America editor Mark Mardell said the White House appears to be delighted by the summit, with Donilon repeatedly calling it “unique”.

Concerns The summit was the first meeting between the two men since Xi became president in March. It was billed as a chance for the two to get to know each other.

Speaking after his first session of talks with Xi on Friday, Obama described cyber-security as “uncharted waters”.

On Friday, the Guardian newspaper published what it described as a U.S. presidential order to national security and intelligence officials to draw up a list of potential overseas targets for U.S. cyberattacks.

The White House has not commented on the report.

The U.S. and China are the world’s two largest economies. The U.S. runs a huge trade deficit with China, which hit an all-time high of US$315 billion last year.

Last week, the Chinese firm Shuanghui agreed to buy U.S. pork producer Smithfield for US$4.7 billion – the largest takeover of a U.S. company by a Chinese rival.

The deal highlights the growing power of Chinese firms and their desire to secure global resources.

U.S. producers want China to raise the value of its currency, the renminbi, which would make Chinese goods more expensive for foreign buyers and possibly hold back exports.

Beijing has responded with a gradual easing of restrictions on trading in the renminbi.

Intellectual property theft is also an area of concern for U.S. firms. A report last month by the independent Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property put losses to the U.S. from IP theft at as much as US$300 billion a year. It said 50 to 80 per cent of the thefts were thought to be by China.

Intrusions Ahead of the summit, White House officials told reporters hacking would be raised, amid growing concern in the U.S. over alleged intrusions from China in recent months.

Last month the Washington Post, citing a confidential Pentagon report, reported that Chinese hackers had accessed designs for more than two dozen U.S. weapons systems.

The U.S. also directly accused Beijing of targeting U.S. government computers as part of a cyber-espionage campaign in a report in early May. (BBC News)

Al-Qaeda chief annuls Syrian-Iraqi jihad merger

A

l-Qaeda’s top leader has ruled against the merger of two jihadi groups based in Syria and Iraq, in an attempt to put an end to increased tensions and infighting among members.

Ayman al-Zawahiri’s ruling came in a letter addressed to the leaders of Syrian-based Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI), which is the largest jihadi umbrella group in the country.

Al Jazeera exclusively obtained a copy of the letter on Sunday from reliable sources in Syria.

The ruling comes two months after the leader of ISI, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, declared a merger with alNusra to form the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), saying that al-Nusra was “merely an extension and part of the Islamic State of Iraq”.

However, the unilateral move led to defections, infighting and a breakdown in operations as members disagreed over who commanded the battlefield.

In the letter, Zawahiri said Baghdadi was “wrong” to declare the merger without consulting or even alert-

ing al-Qaeda’s leadership.

He added that Syria was the “spatial state” for al-Nusra, headed by Abou Mohammad al-Joulani, while Baghdadi’s rule would be limited to Iraq.

Al-Nusra, listed as a terrorist organisation by the U.S. for its affiliation with al-Qaeda, is considered to be one of the most effective rebel groups in Syria.

But after Baghdadi released a video in April declaring the formation of the ISIL, many of al-Nusra’s fighters, especially non-Syrians, left to join the new umbrella group. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

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New Zealand deny Sri Lanka in classic N

ew Zealand battled to a one-wicket victory against Sri Lanka on Sunday in a magnificent low-scoring Champions Trophy Group A encounter in Cardiff.

Kyle Mills struck with the first ball of the match and the Sri Lankans soon slipped to 34-4 in the ninth over.

Kumar Sangakkara made 68 but Sri Lanka were all out for 138 in the 38th over.

The Kiwis lost three wickets for one run in eight balls but despite 4-34 from the mercurial Lasith Malinga they edged to victory in the 37th over.

Both teams gave further examples of their ability to inspire and implode in almost equal measure and Group A, also including England and Australia, looks likely to be keenly contested over the next week.

Perennial over-achievers New Zealand, winners in 2000, semi-finalists in 2006 and runners-up in the last tournament four years ago, have already beaten England this summer and seemed certain for victory after dismissing Sri Lanka for the lowest ODI total at Cardiff.Sri Lanka came close to achieving the lowest defence of a total in an ODI in England and Wales but were made to pay for another dire batting display at Cardiff, scene of their 82 all out on the final afternoon of the first Test against England in May 2011.

While the team has witnessed several chang-

He made a crucial 32 and the McCullum brothers took their team within 24 runs of the target in a 10-over partnership of 35 that seemed like a century in the circumstances, before the irrepressible Malinga returned for a third spell.

Varying between express pace and disguised slower balls at a fraction of the speed, all delivered with the unique angles of his action making the ball appear from behind the umpire’s back, Malinga dismissed both in consecutive overs with unbeatable inswinging yorkers.

Numerous decisions would have been referred in the tension but both teams had used their one review

Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan embrace after pulling off a heist over Sri Lanka

es in recent years, the retirement of star spinner Muttiah Muralitharan with his 1334 international wickets the most notable, the bulk of their high-calibre batting remains in the form of Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene and Sangakkara.

But on the pitch used for Thursday’s opening match of the tournament between India and South Africa they found it difficult to settle from the very first delivery when Brendon McCullum leaped full length high to his left at slip to grab Kusal Perera’s edge.

Daniel Vettori dismissed Jayawardene in his last oneday international more than two years ago and a one-over spell was all he needed to remove the prolific batsman again.

The effects of his Achilles tendon troubles left the 34-year-old less than balletic in the field but his shrewd slow left-arm bowling gave the Kiwis an important extra ingredient.

When Lahiru Thirimanne was run-out after finishing at the same end as his partner, Sangakkara angrily dispatched the following three balls to the boundary.

However, pressure from the New Zealanders ensured the former captain was left with the quandary of merely playing out the overs with the tail or trying to accelerate the dwindling run rate, and he sliced Nathan McCullum to point as the innings swiftly folded.

Such was the alacrity of Sri Lanka’s demise that the New Zealand innings was

required to begin half an hour before the scheduled interval and in that time paceman Shaminda Eranga tempted Luke Ronchi to edge behind.

In bright afternoon sunshine it seemed the Kiwis would comfortably tick off the remaining runs but a slower ball full toss from unorthodox paceman Malinga completely perplexed Kane Williamson, who was plumb lbw, and triggered a collapse.

Martin Guptill, who made successive unbeaten centuries against England, was caught at slip for 25 and Ross Taylor was lbw without scoring but after two more wickets fell, man-of-thematch Nathan McCullum struck two fours in three balls to alleviate some pressure.

some time previously, although the umpires called for a replay to determine Kyle Mills had been run out with five still needed.

Tim Southee negotiated Malinga’s final over and the Kiwis edged over the line courtesy of a leg-side wide from Dilshan.

Counterpart Angelo Mathews lamented: “We probably needed 30-40 more runs. This was not the 200run wicket that we originally thought, but we still need to toughen up a bit.

“Malinga almost won it for us. We have two more games and we need to tighten up in batting. The bowlers and fielders showed good character.” (BBC Sport)

SCOREBOARD Sri Lanka innings M Perera c B McCullum b Mills 0 T Dilshan b McClenaghan 20 K Sangakkara† c Williamson b N McCullum 68 M Jayawardene lbw b Vettori 4 L Chandimal c †Ronchi b Mills 0 A Mathews* b McClenaghan 9 H Thirimanne run out (Guptill/ Williamson) 9 N Perera c Vettori b McClenaghan 15 H Herath not out 8 R Eranga c Mills b N McCullum 0 L Malinga c Taylor b McClenaghan 2 Extras: (lb1, w2) 3 Total: (all out, 37.5 overs) 138 Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-27, 3-33, 4-34, 5-65, 6-82, 7-118, 8-135, 9-135, 10-138 Bowling: K Mills 6-0-14-2, M McClenaghan 8.5-0-43-4, D Vettori 6-1-16-1, T Southee 7-1-25-0, N McCullum 8-0-

23-2, K Williamson 2-0-16-0 New Zealand innings MJ Guptill c Jayawardene b Eranga 25 L Ronchi† c †Sangakkara b Eranga 7 K Williamson lbw b Malinga 16 R Taylor lbw b Herath 0 J Franklin lbw b Dilshan 6 B McCullum* b Malinga 18 D Vettori lbw b Malinga 5 N McCullum lbw b Malinga 32 T Southee not out 13 K Mills run out (Perera) 3 M McClenaghan not out 1 Extras: (lb8, w5) 13 Total: (9 wkts, 36.3 overs) 139 Fall of wickets: 1-14, 2-48, 3-49, 4-49, 5-70, 6-80, 7-115, 8-122, 9-134 Bowling: L Malinga 10-234-4, R Eranga 8-0-45-2, H Herath 10-0-36-1, T Dilshan 6.3-1-12-1, N Perera 2-0-4-0

Teammates praise Ashraful Desperate teams face off in for admitting guilt crucial match

M

ohammad Ashraful has continued to be the subject of discussion at all levels of the public sphere in Bangladesh over the last four days.

Some of his national team-mates have also weighed in, expressing their surprise at his admission of involvement in match-fixing and spot-fixing during the BPL. Shakib Al Hasan said he had also heard questions about February’s BPL match between Dhaka Gladiators and Chittagong Kings, but wasn’t around the players’ dugout long enough to understand the situation.

“After the match everyone was talking about it.

The opposition players were asking us, ‘so you’ve thrown the game?’ Shakib told the Dhaka-based Prothom Alo. “They were asking questions about Dhaka’s slow batting and the big no-ball (by Gladiators’ Mahbubul Alam).

“I was not present in the dugout for too long. I was working on my injury inside the dressing room. Since I didn’t play that game, I

Mohammad Ashraful

can’t be sure how difficult the wicket was for batting.”

Shahriar Nafees, a student of the same cricket academy where Ashraful began his career, lauded his courage to speak the truth, but wanted just punishment for the guilty. “This is a sad chapter in Bangladesh cricket.” Nafees said. “I have to compliment his courage to come out and confess. I am feeling bad for him, but if he has committed the crime, he has to be punished appropriately.”

Mushfiqur Rahim, Ashraful’s Bangladesh cap-

tain for the last two years, sent him a text message that said: “Allah will be looking after you for being able to gather the courage to confess your guilt before you die. Thanks for the honesty you have shown and I hope you will again return to the cricket field.”

Other teammates like Enamul Haque Jr and Alok Kapali also spoke out. “I was totally shocked when I read about it in the newspaper,” said Enamul, now playing for Wolverhampton in the Birmingham Cricket League. “It seemed like someone close to you was going far away as I heard his confession.”

Kapali, who was among 13 Bangladeshi cricketers who left for the Indian Cricket League in 2008 and was ostracised as a result, had a different message for Ashraful. “I am feeling bad for him but I don’t think we need so much money in our life that we need to get involved in fixing.” Kapali said. “Look at Shakib, he is playing the world over. If you play well, money will follow you.” (Cricinfo)

T

he Champions Trophy will only be five days old on Monday but already it is crunch time.

Defeat at Edgbaston will leave either South Africa or Pakistan on the brink of exit. Neither team is ready for that reality yet, so expect a tooth-and-nail affair between two desperate units.

The numbers are in South Africa’s favour. They beat Pakistan 3-2 in a series in March and, even though they lost the warmup match last Monday, they are in better shape after their opening match against India. South Africa ensured their net run-rate remained high when they ran India close and they showed they could bat deep.

Pakistan did the opposite. They were woeful against a West Indies attack that challenged with pace and spin, and only Nasir Jamshed and Misbahul-Haq showed any fight.

However, even though they only scored 170, their bowlers kept them in the game until the last 10 overs, showing they could defend as long as there was a reasonable total.

Dale Steyn

The battle lines have been drawn between South Africa’s batting and Pakistan’s bowling and has been evened out by South Africa’s pace pack being depleted. Although neutrals would want to see Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel in action, without them the contest should level. That promises a match of spit and sizzle, rather than just steam.

Colin Ingram has yet to look like he belongs in bigmatch situations and will have to make the most of what could be his last opportunity to nail down a spot.

Ingram will face a stern

challenge against an attack which has been spoken about as the most difficult to face in this tournament, because of their variation.

He is confident against spin but will have to survive the early onslaught first and Junaid Khan will cause the most problems. The leftarmer troubled South Africa in their warm-up match at the Oval last week and, with a middle order that is packed with left-handers, he can be expected to make an impact again.

Dale Steyn’s fitness is South Africa’s most pressing concern ahead of this match and it looks unlikely he will play, although they are holding out faint hope.

They also have other selection issues to consider.

Chris Morris is certain to make his ODI debut in place of Morne Morkel, and South Africa may toy with the idea of including a second spinner in Aaron Phangiso.

Colin Ingram should get another chance at the top of the order and South Africa may look to lengthen their batting line-up by pushing Robin Peterson up in a pinch-hitter role. (Cricinfo)

monday, june 10, 2013

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21

Germany out of European U-21 Vettel wins Championship after loss to Spain ahead of Alonso G and Hamilton in Canada ermany followed England out of the European Under-21 Championship at the group stage after Alvaro Morata’s late winner for Spain in Israel.

The 2009 winners looked on course for a point which would have kept their hopes of progressing alive despite losing the first game 3-2 to the Netherlands.

But Germany were stunned when Real Madrid striker Morata cut inside the box in the 86th minute and drilled the ball into the net.

Spain progress to the semi-finals.

They will be joined in the last four by the Netherlands, who showed their title credentials with an emphatic

R

The victorious U-21 Spanish team

Maidana stops Josesito Lopez

Sebastian Vettel

ed Bull’s Sebastian Vettel took a dominant victory in the Canadian Grand Prix as Fernando Alonso beat Lewis Hamilton to second place on Sunday.

Vettel led all but three laps to take his first win in Canada as Alonso’s Ferrari, which started sixth, passed Hamilton’s Mercedes with nine laps to go.

Alonso moves into second in the championship, 36 points behind Vettel and eight ahead of Lotus’s Kimi Raikkonen.

The Finn was ninth after a difficult race as Red Bull’s Mark Webber took fourth.

Raikkonen was lapped before half distance by Vettel, whose performance revived memories of many of his dominant wins in 2011.

The three-time world champion was in a league of his own, building a 2.8-second lead after two laps and driving off into the distance.

“Great race. I had a very good start and then I was able to really go with the car,” said Vettel. “On the super-soft we saw the tyres were falling apart but we were as good as everyone else and I was able to build a gap.

“A very important race for us to win - finally we get it off the list and I’m very proud of that. Great car by the team and we were able to pull away from the rest and control the race.”

Vettel lost the lead only for three laps after making his first stop earlier than Hamilton, but was a pitstop’s margin - 15 seconds - ahead of the Mercedes before half distance.

He had only two scares a brush with wall on the exit of Turn Four early in the race and an off-track moment at Turn One on lap 52, which cost him four seconds.

Vettel’s advantage in the championship is now equivalent to more than a clear win and fifth place, underlining his position as a clear favourite to win his fourth

5-1 win over 10-man Russia in the European Under-21 Championship Group B. After falling behind to Georginio Wijnaldum’s 30-yard finish in the 39th minute, Russia had Nikita Chicherin sent off for a foul on Adam Maher.

Luuk de Jong made it 2-0 in the 62nd minute, Denis Cheryshev reduced the deficit, before Ola John made it 3-1.

Late goals by Danny Hoesen and Leroy Fer sealed the win for the Netherlands, who won the tournament in 2006 and 2007.

The result means Russia, who lost 1-0 to Spain in the first game, are knocked out at the group stage. (BBC Sport)

consecutive world title.

Hamilton trailed Vettel from the start, initially from team-mate Nico Rosberg, who held off Webber and Alonso through the first stint.

But after Mercedes chose super-soft tyres for the German’s second stint while Webber and Alonso fitted the more durable mediums, he came under increasing pressure.

Webber finally passed the Mercedes into the final chicane on lap 30, with Alonso following him through at Turn One on the next lap.

The Australian then suffered front wing damage when tangling with the Caterham of Giedo van der Garde when he lapped the Dutch, who received a 10-second stop-and-go penalty for the incident.

The collision cost Webber some front downforce and Alonso was able to pass him into Turn One on lap 42.

Webber made his final pit stop for fresh tyres a lap before Alonso, with the Spaniard coming in the following lap.

They rejoined with Hamilton six seconds ahead of Alonso and Webber four seconds down on the Ferrari.

Initially, the trio began to close up but as Alonso piled on the pressure trying to close on Hamilton, Webber dropped back, leaving the battle for the final two podium places to the former McLaren team-mates.

Alonso, benefiting from the Ferrari’s better tyre usage, closed in on Hamilton and finally passed him using the DRS overtaking aid on the pit straight heading into lap 63. Hamilton fought back against Alonso, but had to settle for third.

Webber was fourth as Rosberg fell back to finish fifth, ahead of an impressive Jean-Eric Vergne in the Toro Rosso, who gained one place on his career-best seventh place qualifying spot.

(BBC Sport)

C

ARSON, California – Boxing is more than just a contest to find out who punches the hardest. Part of the magnificence of the sport is watching a fast, smart, technician discover a way to defuse the power of a knockout artist.

But 1000 out of 1000 fighters would accept if someone could promise them that, even for a night, they could have the kind of devastating punching power that Marcos Maidana possesses.

Maidana’s blistering punching power brought one of the year’s most entertaining slugfests to a way-toosoon conclusion, as he battered Josesito Lopez into submission at 1:18 of the sixth round in front of a record crowd of 8,629 at the Home Depot Center.

Lopez was fighting brilliantly, particularly in the fourth and fifth rounds, as he repeatedly tagged Maidana with a series of clean, hard shots. He found a home for his straight right time and again, hitting the target like a pitcher firing a fastball directly into the

Marcos Maidana celebrates after his knockout win over Josesito Lopez (Getty)

catcher’s mitt.

Several times throughout the fight, Lopez seemed to stun Maidana, but he doesn’t have the kind of fight-finishing power Maidana owns.

That became clear in the sixth when Maidana picked up the pace after struggling for a couple of rounds and absorbing a great deal

of punishment. Midway through the sixth, Maidana hit Lopez with a body shot that seemed to suck the air out of him. Lopez froze, and Maidana blasted him with a crushing straight right.

Lopez staggered back to the ropes and then hit a knee, where he took the eight-count. When he got up, he was greeted by a punish-

ing right uppercut. Referee Dr Lou Moret gave Lopez a chance to fight his way out of trouble, but finally hopped in at 1:18 of the sixth to stop it.

Lopez moaned about the stoppage, and it was understandable given how well he was doing, but Maidana is one of the hardest poundfor-pound punchers in the game and too many more of those right hands wouldn’t have been good for Lopez’s long-term health.

“I felt it was a premature stoppage,” Lopez said.

“He hurt me a little, but we’re professionals and we fight in situations like that.

He stunned me with a good right hand, but I was not out of the fight.”

Maidana is never out of a fight, no matter how far behind he falls, because with him, one punch can change everything. He complained that he couldn’t move in the middle rounds because he was punched on the hip, but still was able to close the show.

That’s why it’s never wise to relax against a knockout puncher. (Yahoo! Sport)

French Open targeted by anti-gay marriage protest

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masked, bare-chested protester waving a lit flare ran onto the court at the men’s final of the French Open tennis in Paris but was restrained by security before he could interrupt the match.

A few minutes earlier, two bare-chested men stood up in the front rows, holding a banner accusing France of trampling on children’s rights.

Other protesters called on President Francois Hollande to resign.

The protesters were angered by France’s decision to legalise gay marriage.

The first same-sex wedding in France took place last month under tight se-

The flare-wielding protester was restrained by security before he could interrupt the match

curity.

Campaigners against gay marriage and adoption by same-sex couples, backed by the Catholic Church and

conservative opposition, argue the law undermines an essential building block of society.

The protests at the

French Open final were quickly snuffed out.

When the protester climbed on the court from one of the front rows with the words “Kids right” written on his stomach, he was quickly bundled to the ground by security officials and taken away.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal, who was about to serve for the second set at the time, was standing nearby.

Nadal went on to win the final in straight sets, defeating fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

Tournament director Gibert Ysern condemned the protests as “pathetic”, saying he did not want to give them added publicity. (BBC Sport)

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monday, june 10, 2013

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Shiv Chanderpaul stars for record-breaking Derbyshire

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EEK, ENGLAND A fine all-round performance from Alex Hughes – including an unbeaten 102-run stand with Shivnarine Chanderpaul – sealed an impressive 63run victory for Derbyshire against Essex at Highfield, Leek.

Opener Wes Durston set the tone hitting 71 from 46 balls – before Chanderpaul hit an innings-high unbeaten 85 from 69 balls – including the century stand with Hughes who ended 59 not out – to help Derbyshire post their highest ever League List A score of 321.

The Falcons claimed wickets at regular intervals after the restart, with Footitt and Hughes picking up three each and Mark Turner and Tim Groenewald claiming two apiece, as Derbyshire bowled Essex out for 258, claiming a 63 -run win at Leek in the Yorkshire Bank 40.

Despite losing the toss, Derbyshire made an excellent start courtesy of Chesney Hughes. The powerful opener hit the first three balls of the match for four, however, his short vigil was over shortly after as he was trapped lbw by David Masters for 17 from 11 balls.

But this did not slow up the hosts’ run rate as Durston took the attack to the Essex bowlers, hitting seven fours and five sixes – including two maximums off one Napier over – on the way to 71 from just 41 balls, before he was bowled

by Saj Mahmood to reduce

Shivnarine Chanderpaul

Derbyshire to 111-2 after 14 overs.

Paul Borrington fell shortly after for a brisk 19 – but Wayne Madsen and world number two Test batsman Chanderpaul shared a 78-run stand to move the hosts towards 200, before the captain fell for 33 from 33 balls, including two fours and a six.

Chanderpaul continued his timely innings hitting two fours and two sixes in his 40-ball half century, before partner Richard Johnson was bowled by Graham Napier for 14 from as many balls.

But that would be the last breakthrough for the visitors as Chanderpaul and Alex Hughes shared a 102-stand over the last 10

overs – guiding Derbyshire to their highest ever League List A total.

Chanderpaul hit five fours and two sixes in his unbeaten 85 from 69 balls, while Hughes completed a quick-fire half century, hitting six fours and three sixes on the way to 59 from 44 balls – including a six off the final delivery to move Derbyshire onto 321-5 from their allocated overs.

Derbyshire made an excellent start to the Essex innings, claiming two early wickets courtesy of paceman Mark Turner. The 28-year-old first removed New Zealand Test opener Hamish Rutherford for 10 before having opening partner Tom Westley caught for 17 to reduce the visitors to

40-2.

But Owais Shah and Mark Pettini responded with a 61-run stand to move the visitors past three figures, before Tim Groenewald claimed two quick wickets shortly after to put the hosts in the ascendency. The 29-year-old trapped Shah lbw for 24 followed by dangerman Ryan ten Doeschate three overs later for six to reduce Essex to 117-4 after 17 overs.

Wickets continued to fall as Mark Footitt removed Captain James Foster for seven, but Pettini and Graham Napier began the Essex fightback sharing a 65-run stand inside six overs to swing the momentum towards the visitors.

But the impressive stand was broken when Napier, who hit 38 from 16 balls – including two fours and four sixes, was caught by Madsen off Footitt. And Footitt then removed Mahmood two balls later to leave the visitors struggling on 196-7.

Essex’s hopes rested on the shoulders of 29-year-old Pettini, but his 68-ball vigil was ended soon after as he was caught by Groenewald off Hughes for 88, leaving the visitors on 200-8.

Tim Phillips and Masters shared a 52-run partnership from the following six overs, but this was ended when Phillips was well caught

by Turner off Hughes. And Master was bowled by Hughes two overs later for 11 to seal a 63-run win at a sunny Highfield, Leek. (First

published by Derbyshire County Cricket Club)

Australia’s Ponting “could return to help side” for Ashes

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ormer captain Ricky Ponting would happily return to the Australia team for this summer’s Ashes, according to his old teammate Michael Slater.

In-form Ponting, 38, recently scored 192 on his Surrey debut, while the Aussies have struggled in one-day games after a series whitewash in India.

“If they said, ‘we are desperate Ricky, we want you’ I’m sure he would put his hand up,” Slater told BBC Radio 5 live.

“There are many questions Australians have over our current set-up.”

Australia lost a Test series 4-0 to India earlier in 2013, and were defeated at home by South Africa at the end of 2012.

In between, they beat Sri Lanka 3-0 but those are their only victories in their past 10 Test matches.

England have won the last two Ashes series and

Ricky Ponting

the teams meet again in back-to-back series beginning on 10 July.

“We’re not very confident running into the Ashes series,” said Slater, who played in four Ashes-winning series for Australia and made 5,312 runs in 74 Tests.

[Captain] “Michael Clarke is an A-grade player and is trying to lift everyone to his level. But his back problem is an ongoing

chat over here. There’s every possibility he’ll sit out the whole Champions Trophy.

“I know you think Aussies are pretty cocky but I don’t think we’re too cocky at the moment.”

Ponting made only 32 runs in five innings against the South Africans and announced his decision to retire before the third Test in November 2012.

Slater told BBC Radio

5 live’s Sportsweek: “One thing I know about Ricky is he just loves the game and there’s no doubt he would love to have been there in Australian colours right now.

“He certainly didn’t want to retire when he did, but he was forced to through lack of form and all this questioning about his technique.

“He wasn’t in top form for two years, but he was still good enough to carve out a few runs.

“Australia’s batting needs to fire and I don’t care who puts their hands up and scores the runs.

“We’ve got wicket-taking ability but without runs you are putting the bowlers under pressure.

“The batters need to knuckle down, improve technique and, more importantly, show they want to stay at the pitch for a lengthy period. That’s the only way I think we can win the series over there.” (BBC Sport)

Formula 1 teams agree to return to in-season testing for 2014

In-season testing returns next year

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n-season testing will return to Formula 1 next year.

The testing was banned in 2009 because of cost but a new package of measures is aimed at reducing expenses by restricting other development plans.

Teams have agreed to hold two-day tests after the British and Spanish Grands Prix and following two out of either the Germany, Belgium and Italy races.

The new agreement restricts aerodynamic development on computers and in wind tunnels, plus other forms of testing.

Teams finalised the plans in a meeting at the Canadian Grand Prix and it will now go to governing body the FIA for final approval. That is expected to be a formality at the next meeting of the world council on June 28 at Goodwood House in West Sussex.

The four days of aerodynamic tests on straights or constant radius tracks and three days of young driver testing allowed this year have been rescinded.

And the eight ‘promotional’ days on control tyres, which teams currently use to test new parts, have been cut to two.

Insiders say the new agreement will help teams try out new drivers, the difficulty of which has been criticised in recent years.

Rather than this being restricted to the current three days, teams will be likely to use aspiring drivers for the post-race tests next year as they will hap-

pen immediately after races.

Much of the momentum for the new agreement has come from the smaller teams, who will be able to use the tests to raise revenue by charging young drivers for time in the car.

Meanwhile, there is also a discussion about the possibility of a record 21-race calendar next season, with the addition of new races in Sochi in Russia and New Jersey in the USA. New Jersey was originally intended to make its debut this year but was postponed because the organisers were not ready.

There remains uncertainty about whether the race will happen even next year – as there is about the Korean Grand Prix.

The race in the far southeast of the country has not taken off since its debut in 2010 and its financial viability is in doubt.

Talk of the first race being in Bahrain has continued since the idea was first proposed around the time of this year’s race in the Middle Eastern kingdom, where the existence of civil unrest has raised questions about the grand prix.

Teams are planning to have more pre-season tests in the Middle East to guarantee better weather after this season’s preparations were disrupted by rain.

A first race there would off-set the costs of holding testing in the region as cars could remain there between testing and the start of the season. (BBC Sport)

Nigeria to take new-look squad to Confederations Cup

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igeria have made nine changes to their squad for the Confederations Cup from the one that won the Africa Cup of Nations in February.

Coach Stephen Keshi will take four uncapped players to the tournament, which kicks off in Brazil on June 15.

Keshi has a settled look about his defence but has made a host of changes with Victor Moses and Emmanuel Emenike unavailable.

Joseph Yobo, Peter Odemwingie and Obafemi Martins have been overlooked.

Keshi was criticised by lo-

cal media before the Nations Cup for choosing inexperienced, home-based players but since winning the continental championship has silenced the doubters.

Nigeria are in Group B along with Tahiti, Uruguay and Spain for the Confederations Cup, while Brazil, Japan, Mexico and Italy make up Group A. Before heading to Brazil, Nigeria travel to Namibia for a World Cup qualifier in Windhoek on Wednesday.

The Super Eagles sit at the top of their group, two points ahead of Malawi with two rounds of matches remaining. (BBC Sport)

monday, june 10, 2013

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Bravo pleased with team’s victory over Pakistan O

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George qualifies for World Championships in 200m – Harris equals A standard 100m time for August meet

By Treiston Joseph

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ONDON, England – West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo was pleased with his team’s victory over Pakistan which got their ICC Champions Trophy campaign off to a rousing start.

The Windies were brilliant with the ball and bowled out Pakistan for just 170 in a hard-fought twowicket victory at the Oval last Friday. Bravo said he was happy with the two points earned from the win as the West Indies moved to the top of Group B. “In the morning if I said Pakistan are going to be out for 170, I would take that any day. We wanted to bowl first as a team. I know I have two very good fast bowlers and once they put the ball in the right area and pitch up the ball, obviously, they will have wickets,” said Bravo, who was leading the team for the first time in a major international tournament.

“It was a tough situation and we came out on top and that’s more important.

It doesn’t matter if you lose eight or nine wickets, we got the two points that we wanted. So that was a very important game to us.”

He added: “We know Pakistan is a very danger-

ous team so we’re happy to end up on the winning side and this definitely will do our confidence very well.

We won our last warmup game and to win this first game is great, so hopefully we can continue in the same vein.”

Kemar Roach bowled well to get the Man-of-theMatch award and was superbly backed up by world number one bowler Sunil Narine. The Windies batsmen were made to work hard for their runs as Pakistan also bowled well, before Roach hit the winning boundary.

“I never thought we would lose. Chasing 171, we have been through tougher situations than this and come out on top. Rampaul was yet to bat, he has a top score in the 80s in international cricket, Kemar Roach batted well and so did Denesh (Ramdin),” Bravo said.

“We didn’t make the best use of chasing a small total, but you can’t take away anything from the batters. The Pakistanis bowled very well.

You have to give respect to them. Most of the batters got good balls, but at the end of the day, we still fought through.”

Bravo and his teammates had a full training session in the outdoor nets at the Oval on Sunday. They will be back this afternoon for another training session as they prepare to face India at the Oval on Tuesday.

Both teams will enter the match on two points following their first round wins.

Bravo is confident of another victory, which would take the Caribbean side closer to a spot in the semi-finals.

“It’s another tough game of a team coming up against a team where the strength is their batting. We have the right bowlers, who can control their batting...but like I always say, cricket is played on its day. India could turn up on Tuesday and be knocked over...”, the Windies number 47 noted.

“But we have the right attack. We have the reserve bench that is strong enough to actually come up with the 11 that I think will do well against the Indians. It’s all about how we all come together and try to make the best decision at the right time for the team. It was important that we got our first win out of the way and look forward to the rest of the games ahead.” (WICB)

lympian Winston George is making the most of his training stint in the United States of America (USA), qualifying for the World Championships to be held in Moscow, Russia, from August 10.

Running his second 200m since his training in the USA began, the 400 metres specialist clocked 20.59s on Saturday at the New Jersey International meet to make the B standard qualifying time. The B standard time is 20.60s while the A standard is 20.52s.

George, who also ran a season best 400m of 46.12s, is now ranked 50th this season in 200m time in the world and believes his work ethic is the main reason for him being able to run as fast as he can.

“I’m not really doing anything different, it’s just that I am putting in the work, and I was sent here for a reason so I am working to get it done within the time span that I have here,” George told Guyana Times Sport.

George’s coach in USA, Joseph Ryan, who coached retired 400m Guyanese icon Aliann Pompey, believes that George has tremendous potential.

“I want to acknowledge the work Lyndon Wilson (George’s coach in Guyana) has done with him over the

years. Winston is a great talent; he’s only scratching the surface. He’s shown a lot of discipline and dedication in his training,” Ryan stated.

The 2008 Olympic coach also believes that George’s true potential lies with his 200 metres instead of the 400m, which he dominates locally.

“He’s not being coached in the same way Aliann (Pompey) was being coached because he’s more of a 200400 runner, he has tremendous speed and there’s a lot of potential in his 200m. A lot of people talk about his 400m, but his speed is phenomenal… I gave him some speed tests and they all indicate that he’s going to have a tremendous breakthrough in the 200m.

“I think there is a lot of room for improvement before he can compete at the highest level at major competitions, but he’s well on his way. My experience with Guyanese athletes has been very, very positive. Winston has reinforced those experiences,” Ryan told this publication.

Meanwhile, U.S.-based sprinter Adam Harris was also in the thick of things, clocking 10.15s to win the 100m at the event. The 10.15s run by Harris put the sprinter on point for an A standard qualifying time while giving him a rank of 35th for 2013.

However, Harris believes that he can go faster as he expressed his motivation to be better, especially since he had considered retiring at one point. He gave some insight into his turnaround to produce fast times.

“For this year I think I can honestly run sub-10 seconds, the way I am progressing and how my season is going I think it’s in reach. I think my body is in 10 flat shape and I just need to run on a fast track. I also have some things to work on before world champs so if everything falls into place, it should be within reach.

Harris added: “A lot of things that have happened in the past that impacted me not only not making the Olympics (2012) but also not making the world championships in 2011. I was really thinking about retiring after not making the Olympics last year, but I changed coaches and changed my diet and everything seems to be working out well. I was sick of seeing people I beat in college running fast and going out to world championships and Olympics, it was like a kick in the head because I knew I could be beating them.

“A lot of my friends were going and it made me realise that I needed to step my game up and change some things.” Harris revealed.

Jeffrey wins Banks DIH 60-miler in Berbice

Raynauth Jeffrey

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aynauth Jeffrey in a time of two hours, 25 minutes and 28 seconds (2:25:28) won the fifth annual Banks DIH Aqua Mineral Water 60-mile cycle road race on Sunday.

Jeffrey won from a starting line of 35 wheelers, the largest to take to the starting line for the event. This is the first year the event was extended to cyclists outside of Berbice.

Jeffrey, who rode more than half of the race as a

Cyclists at the start of Sunday’s race

loner, took one sprint point prize.

The race started outside the Banks DIH New Amsterdam branch, Main and New Streets, proceeded to Number 43 village, Corentyne, before returning to the point of origin.

Even before the riders left New Amsterdam, Andre Abdol, Michael Anthony, Paul DeNobrega, Montel Anthony, Junior Niles and Delroy Hinds formed an alliance and were out in front.

The early breakaway forced some of the more seasoned riders to hold on to the pack.

Jeffrey was the first to leave but no one followed and for several miles he rode alone slowly closing the three-quarter mile gap that the leaders had opened. It took him close to 45 minutes to catch them, and when he did, the race had already gone more than 20 miles.

Jeffrey used the same momentum to take the lead but was not allowed to.

Meanwhile, the other riders who remained in the race kept getting closer and at the turning point, there were 15 cyclists bunched together. Jeffrey took that as a hint and again decided to ride alone, this time he went to the front.

He was soon joined by Anthony. The two kept that lead until the race was finished. Another breakaway happened after 40 miles into the race when DeNobrega and Hamma Eastman tried

to go after the leaders. They only succeeded in getting about 400m near to them and well away from the peloton.

Second place was taken

by Anthony with DeNobrega and Eastman coming in third and fourth respectively. Alex Mendes and Geoffrey Pollydore took the other spots up for grabs.

The first junior to cross the finish line was Anthony followed by Eastman and Shaquel Aguard.

In the female category,

Wazina Bharrat of Linden was first with defending champion Merica Dick placing second. Crystal Lambert took the other available position.

Prizes were also awarded to the first two finishers from the Flying Ace Cycle Club, Neil Reece and Keith Griffith. DeNobrega took three sprint point prizes, and Anthony two while Delroy Hinds, Andre Abdol and Jeffrey claimed one each. (Andrew Carmichael)

monday, june 10, 2013

TOP SCORES

Sports is no longer our game, it’s our business

New Zealand 139-9 (N McCullum 32, Malinga 4-34) beat Sri Lanka 138 (Sangakkara 68, McClenaghan 4-43, Mills 2-14) by 1 wicket

beats Ferrer George qualifies for World Nadal to win eighth Championships in 200m French Open title

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Rafael Nadal

– Harris equals A standard 100m time for August meet

See story on page

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From left: Retired Guyanese sprinter Lee Prowell, Winston George, Coach Joseph Ryan and Adam Harris at the track meet in New Jersey

Jeffrey wins Banks DIH 60-miler in Berbice See story on page

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The winners pose with their prizes

afael Nadal coped with an on-court intruder and the Paris rain to beat fellow Spaniard David Ferrer and win a record eighth French Open title on Sunday.

Nadal, 27, came through 6-3 6-2 6-3 to reaffirm his dominance on clay, and further elevate himself among the greats of the sport.

“I’m very happy, very emotional,” he said. “It’s a very important victory for me.”

However, the final was interrupted by a brief protest high in the stands during the second set that was quickly followed by an intruder leaping onto the court while brandishing a flare.

Security guards managed to bundle the man to the ground as he approached Nadal, and the player even took care to shake an official’s hand before returning to the action.

“Just can I say thank you very much to all the security guys,” he said afterwards.

“They did just amazing work.

“They were very quick, and they were very courageous about what they did in the first moment.”

Nadal dropped his serve immediately after the incident, but within an hour he had wrapped up the victory that makes him the first man to win a Grand Slam singles tournament eight times.

His 59th match win also takes him past Roger Federer and Guillermo Vilas at Roland Garros, while his 12th major title moves him above Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver on the all-time list.

Ferrer, playing in his first major final at the age of 31, was a worthy adversary and pushed his compatriot harder than the score might suggest, but he never threatened an upset.

Both men appeared edgy in the early stages, with breaks of serve exchanged in games three and four, but Nadal fired a brilliant crosscourt backhand winner to move ahead again at 4-3 and took the set with a third break.

Ferrer was making his illustrious compatriot work for his service games and missed an early chance in the second set, before Nadal made him pay with a forehand winner for 2-0.

A routine afternoon looked on the cards, but the calm was shattered by chanting from protesters with a banner in the upper tier of the stands during the sixth game of the set.

The players paused while the incident was dealt with only for another, potentially more serious, disturbance to follow before the next game when a shirtless man wearing a mask vaulted the flower bed surrounding the court, waving a burning flare above his head.

When play resumed, two unsurprisingly distracted service games followed, but Nadal moved two sets clear and looked razor sharp again when a volley put him 2-0 ahead in the third.

The increasingly heavy rain now appeared the biggest threat to his ambitions, but Ferrer was not done and got back on level terms before blowing an opportunity to move ahead with a backhand error at 3-3.

It was to be Ferrer’s last chance as a double-fault gave up his serve for the seventh time.

Nadal moved to match point and cracked a magnificent forehand winner before falling back onto the clay in celebration for an incredible eighth time at Roland Garros.

(BBC Sport)

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