Caribbean Times International

Guyanese wins Canadian award for helping seniors

ONTARIO, CANADA:

Canada-based Guyanese Narine Dat Sookram has won the Regional Geriatric Programme central (RGPc) and St Peter’s Hospital Hamilton Health Sciences 11th Annual Service Awards for Geriatric Excellence (SAGE).

SAGE is a unique programme that celebrates the outstanding contributions of individuals and organisations committed to providing the highest quality of care to older adults in communities to ensure they can age with optimal health, independence, and dignity.

The awards were presented at a gala dinner recently at the Burlington Convention Centre. Fifty-eight nominations were received from six regions across Southern Ontario (Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand-Norfolk, Waterloo, WellingtonDufferin and Halton).

Among the winners were Sookram who volunteers at the Community Support Connections, Meals on Wheels in Kitchener, Ontario. Narine is a dedicated volunteer who is passionate and committed to seniors’ well-being and independence.

“Rain, shine or snow, he is committed to making

sure seniors receive the care and nourishment that they require and always ensures to deliver their meals on time every day,” a release said. Most recently,

Narine started to volunteer his time with Community Connection, “Meals on Wheels and more”, in Kitchener to deliver meals to senior’s homes, because of

his passion and drive of wanting to care for others. Narine continues to drive door to door to deliver the meals, because he can see how much the seniors appreciate the service, but most importantly he also recognises the need. Narine also takes a few minutes to talk to the seniors every time he delivers the meals, because he says it helps the seniors not to feel so isolated.

For Narine, a senior is a senior, meaning that he does not choose which location he wants to deliver the lunches, but rather he goes where he is assigned, regardless of the distance from his home nor does he worry about the weather, because when it snows he gives himself extra time to make sure that the seniors will not miss their meal. “I remember during the second week of December when we had some heavy snow here in Kitchener and for that reason, one of the seniors thinks that it will affect her from having her meal on time.”

However, when Narine arrived on time to deliver her meal during lunch hour, this particular senior said, “Oh you are here, I thought I wasn’t going to have my meal on time today, because of the snowy weather."

Triple fatality on Uriah Butler Highway in Trinidad

PORT-Of-SPAIN, TRINIDAD:

Almost four years ago, Trinidadian housewife Nanda Ramcharan saved the life of her nineyear-old son, Nyron, by donating one of her kidneys.

Tuesday at around 1.45 pm, Ramcharan, 36, Nyron, now 13, and her husband Mahadeo, 48, were killed when a garbage truck landed on top of their car on the Uriah

Butler Highway near the Endeavour Flyover in Chaguanas, Trinidad.

Police public information officer Inspector Wayne Mystar said the accident occurred as Mahadeo Ramcharan was driving his vehicle, PBE 5627, south along the highway shortly after 1 pm. A white Mistubishi Lancer on the northbound lane collided with a blue garbage truck which spun

out control crossed the highway’s concrete median and landed on to Ramcharan’s car.

Police and firemen used the jaws of life to cut open the Honda and remove the occupants. All three were dead at the scene.

Mystar said the driver and loader of the garbage truck were hospitalised. The driver of the Lancer, who was not injured, was taken

to the Chaguanas Police Station.

Tuesday, relatives, some of whom lived close to the Ramcharan’s home at Ramsabhag Trace, Rochard Road, Penal, were overcome with grief.

Relatives said at the time of the accident the couple was returning home after taking their son to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex at Mount Hope for dialysis.

Nyron, who would have celebrated his birthday in October, was the country's youngest recipient of a kidney transplant. The couple had two other children Rikash, 17, and Nigel, 12. (TT Guardian)

Sandals Group to purchase Barbados’ Almond Beach Village – reports

BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS: Jamaican hotelier Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart of the Sandals Group will within a few days purchase a Barbados flagship tourism property, Almond Beach Village, for US$53 million.

Reporting on the matter, the Sunday Sun newspaper, hailed the pending transaction for providing a boost to Barbados’ highly stressed foreign exchange coffers.

“It will all be in the form of badly needed foreign currency,” the paper stated.

The property is currently owned by state corporation, Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. (BTI), through which government has been borrowing money from another state entity, National Insurance Service, to keep that premier real estate afloat.

The sale of Almond to Sandals was recently examined by Cabinet and approved by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart.

The Sunday newspaper quoted from a note sent to Cabinet by BTI when the purchase was being considered, “It is also worthy of note that Barbados would have been able to convert a Barbados dominated loan facility, namely borrowings from (NIS) and Almond Resorts Inc., which was all in Barbados currency, into United States dollars at a rate of $2 to $1″.

The emphasis on the foreign exchange gain from this anticipated purchase comes against the background of an analysis by international rating agency Moody’s on the perilous threat the Barbados dollar faces if its foreign currency reserve suffers further drops.

“Any further erosion in reserves would likely put further pressure on Barbados’ currency, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar,” Moody’s stated in a July 21 report.

Moody’s added, “After recovering slightly during the previous three quarters, foreign exchange reserves have resumed their decline, and as of 30 June remained around 25 percent below early-2013 levels,” Moody’s noted.

“This decline occurred despite a slight recovery in long-term private financial inflows that traditionally help support the central bank’s international reserves”.

Half-year figures from the Barbados Central Bank show the foreign exchange reserve falling from Bds$1,219.9 at the end of June 2013 to Bds$1,093.3 at June 30 this year. (Caribbean News)

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EDITORIAL

The great transformation

Now that market fundamentalism–which reigned supreme since 1980 with the advent of Reaganism and Thatcherism and found root via the IMF-dictated “Washington Consensus”–has crashed and burnt ignominiously since 2008, politicians and economists are floundering for an answer to the question of what is the proper balance and state to create a just and prosperous society.

Interestingly, the answer might have been here for quite a while, but was ignored–in the book by the unorthodox socialist Karl Polyani, “The Great Transformation: The Social and Political Origins of Our Time”, first published in 1944. The review below should be of interest to Caribbean politicians as they seek a new, sustainable path for the region’s development.

Right from the start of the book, Polanyi attacks market liberalism for what he calls its “stark Utopia”. Conservatives had long deployed the “utopianism” epithet to discredit movements of the left, but Polanyi was determined to turn the tables by showing that the vision of a global self-regulating market system was the real utopian fantasy.

Polanyi’s central argument is that a self-regulating economic system is a completely imaginary construction; as such, it is completely impossible to achieve or maintain. Just as Marx and Engels had talked of the “withering away of the state,” so market liberals and libertarians imagine a world in which the realm of politics would diminish dramatically.

At the same time, Polanyi recognises why this vision of stateless autonomous market governance is so seductive. Because politics is tainted by a history of coercion, the idea that most of the important questions would be resolved through the allegedly impartial and objective mechanism of choice-driven, free-market competition has great appeal.

Polanyi’s critique is that the appeal has no basis in reality. Government action is not some kind of “interference” in the autonomous sphere of economic activity; there simply is no economy without government. It is not just that society depends on roads, schools, a justice system, and other public goods that only government can provide. It is that all of the key inputs into the economy–land, labour, and money–are only created and sustained through continuous government action. The employment system, the arrangements for buying and selling real estate, and the supplies of money and credit are socially constructed and sustained through the exercise of government’s coercive power.

Polanyi effectively brings the role of government and politics into the centre of the analysis of market economies. If regulations are always necessary to create markets, we must not discuss regulation versus deregulation but rather what kinds of regulations we prefer: those designed to benefit wealth and capital, or those that benefit the public and common good?

Similarly, since the rights or lack of rights that employees have at the workplace are always defined by the legal system, we must not ask whether the law should organise the labour market but rather what kind of rules and rights should be entailed in these laws–those that recognise that it is the skills and talents of employees that make firms productive, or those that rig the game in favour of employers and private profits?

Implicitly, Polanyi offers an alternative to what he sees as the property-centric analysis of Marxism. He insists that since the economic order is constituted through political decisions, politics can effectively redefine the meaning of ownership. So, for example, in Germany’s current system of industrial relations that combines co-determination, works councils, and collective bargaining with unions, the relative power of employers and employees is very different than in comparable firms in the United States.

Polanyi recognises that these legal arrangements will periodically be contested as some employers yearn for more power and autonomy. But there is nothing that assures that such contestations will be successful; the outcome will depend on which side is able to mobilise more effectively in the political arena.

Caribbean students being deprived of one day teaching –World Bank report

LIMA, PERU: Every week, public school students in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are deprived of the equivalent of one full day of class, according to a new World Bank report.

Based on unprecedented research involving the observation of more than 15,000 classrooms in 3000 primary and secondary schools in seven Latin American countries, the report, “Great Teachers: How to Raise Student Learning in Latin America and the Caribbean”, describes how teacher absenteeism, poor preparation, low skill level and pay, as well as weak school leadership, all serve to cheat students. The report is a powerful contribution to the growing body of research on how to improve the quality of instruction and learning results.

The report comes as experts mull over just how Latin America will maintain levels of growth that made recent poverty and inequality reduction possible. Innovation, competitiveness, government reform, and education are typically cited as the requisite economic engines for further prosperity. Yet on the OECD’s programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) test in 2012, the eight participating LAC countries were at the bottom of the scale for middle-income countries–although a few countries, such as Chile, Brazil and Peru have made important gains from previous years.

Human capital

The report was launched last Thursday at the Regional Education Solutions Forum, held at the Catholic University in Lima, Peru and with the participation of Peru’s First Lady, Nadine Heredia.

Jorge Familiar, World Bank Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean said that “it is hard to think of a more important element to broaden opportunities for all Latin Americans than a qual-

ity education”, and he emphasised that “it is hard to think of a more significant player to raise educational quality than the Region’s teachers”.

For a Region in need of enhancing student learning, this is a sign that much more needs to be done to recruit, groom and motivate great teachers.

Global research

According to global research, students with the best teachers advance 1.5 grade levels or more per year, while those with the worst teachers master 0.5 year of curriculum or less. That research also shows clearly that the economic and social benefits of national education spending depends on what students’ learn–and not how many years they stay in school. If Mexico raised its average student performance on PISA to Germany’s level, its annual long-term GDP growth could rise by two percentage points.

The report sheds important light on who Latin America’s teachers are today: Their pay incentives are low. Their monthly salaries in 2010 were between 10 and 50 percent lower than salaries for other “equivalent” professionals and have been throughout the 2000s. They have more formal education than other professional and technical workers, but start out academically weaker than the overall pool of higher education students. Seventy-five percent are women.

Students majoring in education are of lower socio-economic status and are more likely to be first-generation university students. The teaching force in the Region is aging. The average teacher in some countries is more than 40 years old.

While many countries in the Region are producing an excess supply of new teachers, it is still difficult to find adequate teachers for secondary level Mathematics, Science, and high quality bi-lingual

teachers (Spanish/indigenous language) in rural areas.

“Virtually all countries in the Region appear trapped in a low-level equilibrium of low standards for entry into teaching, relatively low and undifferentiated salaries, weak instruction in the classroom, and poor educational outcomes,” according to Barbara Bruns, the author of the report, “Moving to a high-level equilibrium will be difficult but it is an effort that the Region can’t afford to postpone”.

At a time of diminished public resources, the report makes a significant contribution in helping identify where priorities should be assigned. Among its striking findings is the fact that teachers in countries with the largest investment on “One Laptop per Child” initiatives actually spent the lowest share of total class time using information and communications technologies.

Challenges ahead for the Region are mixed. Over the next decade, the declining size of school-aged population in about half of the countries in the Region, notably the Southern Cone, could make it substantially easier to raise teacher quality; in the other half of the Region, especially Central America, the need for more teachers will make this harder to achieve.

Teacher quality

The report’s good news, however, is that most LAC countries are sharpening their focus on teacher quality. It distills the global research evidence and latest LAC experience with innovative programmes and major reforms in three priority areas: Policies to recruit better teachers; programmes to groom or develop the skills of teachers already in service and stronger incentives to motivate top performance, which will make the profession more attractive and selective over time.

PM Kamla hails tourism impact of Limacol CPL

PORT-OFSPAIN, TRINIDAD:

Trinidad and Tobago

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has hailed the Limacol Caribbean Premier (CPL) as a great tourism product not just for the island, but the Region as a whole. She made the comment on Sunday while viewing the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel/St Lucia Zouks game at the Queen’s Park Oval.

During an interview with commentator Fazeer Mohamed, the Prime Minister said the tourism development element cannot be ignored as the Region stands to benefit tremendously.

The Limacol CPL has attracted tourists from all parts of the globe, giving rise to the sport tour-

ism concept that most of the territories are now embracing.

During the inaugural tournament in 2013, over 250,000 spectators

and a global television audience of 36 million viewed the six franchises in action.

Persad-Bissessar said that was one of the reasons she took the decision to retain the prefix ‘Trinidad and Tobago’ as part of the Red Steel name. Anil Roberts, the Sport Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, had expressed reservations about the island’s name being used, since it was not an entirely Trinidad and Tobago team.

Roberts had written to the Limacol Caribbean Premier League following which the Trinidad and Tobago name was dropped from Red Steel-a move over which team captain Dwayne Bravo

had expressed concern. The Trinidad and Tobago name was reinstated following the intervention of the Prime Minister and Limacol CPL subsequently issued a release thanking her.

Persaud-Bissessar went on to state that the atmosphere in Trinidad during the three matches was fantastic, as citizens, as well as tourists, have bought into the idea of franchise-based cricket in this part of the globe.

Looking ahead, the Prime Minister would no doubt be rooting for the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel, who now lead the points table with five wins from six games ahead of the next set of games.

Adequate food supply to meet demand, minister reassures Jamaicans

KINGSTON,

JAMAICA: Acting Agriculture Minister

Derrick Kellier has assured Jamaicans that there is adequate food supply to meet demand despite the drought conditions affecting the island.

Speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday at the Ministry’s Hope Gardens offices in St Andrew, Kellier said that the country has sufficient tubers, bananas, and plantains.

In addition, some 4.7 million pounds of Irish potatoes are currently in storage, with another 50,000 pounds to be

Japan PM pledges support to Caribbean’s development

PORT-OFSPAIN, TRINIDAD:

“We are heartened by the response of Prime Minister Abe on a number of issues such as reform of international financial governance and development financing,” said Caricom Chairman Gaston Browne following the first ever Caricom-Japan Summit.

The summit was held in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, earlier this week.

“The case therefore would need to be made to the international community by development partners such as Japan, for new alternative sources of development financing to be made available to Caricom States and other middle income countries with similar vulnerabilities,” stated Browne, also Prime

Minister of Antigua and Barbuda.

This is of particular importance to Caricom countries faced with the loss of concessionary development financing due to their classification as ‘Middle Income Countries’ which precludes them from access to such funding based on their per capita income.

Browne indicated: “we welcomed Japan’s support for including the issue of vulnerability in this regard as a criterion.”

Prime Minister Abe stated that Japan’s policy towards Caricom consisted of three pillars. These, he identified as cooperation towards sustainable development including overcoming vulnerabilities particular to small island states; deepening and expanding bonds founded on exchanges

and friendship; and cooperation in addressing challenges of the international community.

Stressing Japan’s solidarity with the Caricom Member States, the Prime Minister said Japan itself was a country that included small islands.

“Japan and Caricom countries are maritime island nations, surrounded by the ocean, enjoying its blessings, and regarding the safety of the ocean as the safety of its own,” he added.

PM Abe related that Japan looked “to dramatically expand” the reach of exchanges with Caricom which were already elevated through the Japan-Caricom Friendship Year 2014. The parties agreed that there should be regular meetings to further strengthen the relationship. (Caribbean News)

reaped from the current crop, which is enough to satisfy demand for the next two months.

He is therefore urging Jamaicans not to panic. “Let me say categorically that there is no need for the kind of hysteria being perpetuated,” Kellier stated.

He noted however,

that vegetables will be more susceptible to the impact of the drought, pointing out that the ministry’s projection is that there will be about a 20 percent fall off in production for the July to September quarter.

Kellier said within this context, the ministry is encouraging farm-

ers, who are supplied by its irrigation systems and in areas with adequate rainfall and other water resources, to ramp up vegetable production.

“At the same time, we are prepared to consider the facilitation of some imports as warranted,” he indicated. (JIS)

Tributes flow for late JamaicanCanadian businessman Raymond Chang

KINGSTON, JAMAICA:

Leaders in Jamaica continue to react with sadness at the passing of prominent Jamaican-Canadian businessman Raymond Chang.

A well known philanthropist, Chang died in Canada on Sunday morning. He was considered a champion of education and adult learning in particular and one of Canada's most highly respected and successful business leaders.

He was chairman of CI Financial, one of Canada's largest investment fund and pub-

licly traded companies. Chang was also a member of the Toronto General and Western Hospital Foundation and served on the Ryerson University Board of Governors.

In 2005, he was the recipient of a honourary degree from Canada's Ryerson University for his business leadership and philanthropy.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has described Chang as an inspired business leader with a heart, who gave distinguished and diligent service to the land of his birth and his adopted homeland. She

chang died in canada on sunday morning (Jamaica Gleaner file photo)

said the entire nation is mourning his passing.

"He has left a void of immense proportion in the field of fund man-

Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai in Trinidad

PORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD:

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani education activist, is currently in Trinidad and Tobago, and has praised the twin-island republic for its stance on free education.

Malala, who achieved international renown af-

ucation is free and the BSc is free. This is how it should be—100 percent education should be free,” she said. Her visit coincides with the 10th anniversary celebrations of the University of Trinidad and Tobago (UTT).

She is accompanied by

she left, she met some members of the Islamic community gathered at the mosque.

She celebrated the rest of the day with children from several homes in south Trinidad at an event, which was hosted by UTT with part sponsorship from SM Jaleel and Company Limited (SMJ). The event included children from the Lady Hochoy Centre (South), Operation Smile Children’s Home, Couva Children’s Home & Crisis Centre, Jai Lakshmi Children’s Home and the El Shaddai Retsoration Home.

Monday, Malala visited Tobago where she enjoyed lunch at the Magdalena Grand Beach and Golf Resort with a group of 26 people including her family, delegates from UTT, Eason Jordan, director of operations and communications of the

ter she was shot by the Taliban for campaigning for education rights for girls and women, arrived in Trinidad on Sunday. She has since been involved in a series of public engagements at various venues across the country.

“I heard children’s ed-

her parents and brothers Khan and Khushal Khan, along with chairman of The Malala Fund, Eason Jordan.

On Tuesday, she performed her Eid-UlFitr salat (prayers) at the Masjid Un Nur in Carapichiama and before

agement, having headed Canada's second-largest investment fund-management company, CI Financial Corp, while also investing meaningfully in businesses in Jamaica and extending his generosity to supporting areas of social and community development," the prime minister said as she extended sympathies to his family.

Brian Pengelley, president of the Jamaica Manufacturers' Association, said he did not know Chang personally, but his contribution to Jamaica through his charity and the realm of business and education

is well known.

Additionally, the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party noted that Chang was a Jamaican whose business acumen, experience and skills made him a highly regarded entrepreneur. A statement from the party highlighted that Chang’s support of academic and social institutions in Jamaica and Canada was a manifestation of his generosity to those who assisted him.

And the Education Ministry has lauded Chang for his contribution to his alma mater, St George’s College in Kingston.

The ministry noted that Chang was always willing to the assist the school.

Chang was born in Kingston, the fifth of 12 children. His father was a second-generation Jamaican-Chinese, while his mother was born in Guyana to Chinese immigrants.

Known for his considerable contributions to various local charities, the financial guru was conferred with the Order of Jamaica on October 17, 2011, and was last month appointed an officer of the Order of Canada. (Excerpted from Jamaica Gleaner)

Gregory Smith file missing from GDF

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA: The Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry (CoI) opened its fourth session on Tuesday in Guyana with news that the personal file of the alleged assassin William Gregory Smith could not be found.

Lieutenant Colonel Patrick West representing the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) told the tribunal investigating the death of the late academic and historian that Smith’s file could have been destroyed during the massive flood of 2005. The announcement by the GDF comes on the heels of the Guyana Police Force also declaring that a number of critical files from their investigation have gone missing. Both the GDF and the Police Force were highly politicised and controlled by the Forbes Burnhamled PNC Administration during the period before and after Rodney’s killing.

ing that period.

was a deserter.

Malala Fund, and Megan Smith, vice president of Google X.

The group then visited Buccoo Reef where Malala and her family enjoyed a sea bath for the first time. (Excerpted from TT Newsday and TT Guardian)

Several of the top officers then, including former GDF Commander, Brigadier David Granger and Lieutenant Colonel Joe Harmon are now leaders of the PNCR. The GDF has been tasked with locating files which could determine whether the now dead Smith had been in its employ during the time Dr Rodney was killed. Lieutenant Colonel West told the Commission that while he did not find a Gregory Smith, records indicate that there was a William Smith in the Army dur-

The Army Sergeant and electronics expert William Gregory Smith, who became an active member of the Force on June 27, 1975, had been accused of handing Dr Rodney a bomb planted in a device, which exploded and caused his death on June 13, 1980. When news of the explosion spread, fingers pointed at the accused which led investigators to the Army. But head of the military body at that time, Major General Norman McLean, had stated that there was no such officer in the Army with that name. However, during his testimony close to two months ago, Mc Lean said that he was later informed by staff that instead of a “Gregory Smith”, there was rather a “William Gregory Smith” with regimental number 4141. According to Mc Lean, the investigation revealed that he

But Colonel West during his testimony said that the investigation, carried out by staff at the Army’s Personnel Department showed that there was no record of the Sergeant being Struck off Strength (SOS), Absent without leave (AWOL), deserting the Army or ever being dismissed. In fact, records that he presented to the tribunal included a payroll, an alphabetic numbering ledger and the male numbering ledger all with regimental number 4141 with name William Smith. The records however show that Smith received a salary until June of 1979. However, according to West, that does not mean that Smith had left the Army, it only indicates that the payroll records for the time of Smith’s death could not be found. (Guyana Times)

Revamped programme likely for TT’s high-risk areas

- following shut-down of controversial Life Sport

PORT-OFSPAIN, TRINIDAD:

The Trinidad government has no intention of abandoning the hundreds of unemployed young men from high risk communities, and already Prime Minister Kamla PersadBissessar has given instructions that the controversial programme be restructured and up and running in about three weeks time.

This newspaper understands that the programme will be renamed and all loopholes plugged to ensure that there could be no haemorrhaging of State funds from the new managers, who will now be administrating the programme.

Sources revealed the Prime Minister is contemplating putting the new programme under the Ministry of National Security or the Ministry of Social Development; two ministries which are involved with social programmes for persons with low incomes and those who fall below the poverty line.

It is reported that the decision to restructure the programme was discussed at Cabinet last week Thursday, and sources said the Prime Minister was eager to have the revised and new look programme running to assist the poor and unemployed youths in high risk communities.

Sources also revealed

that the remaining funds in the Life Sport programme will be used to run the restructured programme.

Reports suggest that several coordinators and managers who were part of the former Life Sport programme would be replaced.

An audit carried out by the Ministry of Finance found rampant impropriety and instances of Life Sport funds being used to fuel crime and gang violence.

The audit also discovered that persons were paid large sums of money for work that was not carried out. Cheques were made out to companies that were not even registered in the Life Sport programme among other allegations.

Last Friday, the Prime Minister ordered that the programme be shut down following the findings of the audit and referred the matter to DPP Roger Gaspard, the acting Commissioner of Police, the Integrity Commission, and the head of the Public Service Commission Reynold Cooper. (TT Newsday)

New GPC must compete with top int’l agencies …to supply medical drugs to Guyana

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA:

Despite being cleared as the sole prequalified company to supply medical drugs to the Guyana government, NEW GPC INC would still have to compete with a number of top international agencies that gained automatic qualification. These agencies include the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organisation (WHO), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

There has been some confusion regarding solesourcing of drugs with some Guyanese reporters equating the NEW GPC’s pre-qualification clearance as being sole sourcing.

However, Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon had explained that the pre-qualification exercise is not “sole sourcing”, which is when only one supplier has items. After pre-qualifi-

cation, NEW GPC will still have to compete with the international prequalified suppliers. Dr Luncheon announced last Wednesday that NEW GPC was the only one of the seven companies that had applied for “pre-qualification” status to fulfil all the requirements.

This, however, does not mean that NEW GPC will become the “sole supplier” as was assumed by a reporter at the press conference, but will join the list of international suppliers mentioned above that were automatically pre-qualified and against which NEW GPC will have to bid.

The term “no-bid contract” or sole-sourcing is a

Granger back as PNCR head in Guyana after chaotic congress

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA:

Retired Brigadier David Granger, ironically billed as a “disciplined leader untouched by the political muck and stain of the PNC” by some supporters, was returned to its helm on Sunday at an election mired in allegations of extensive fraud, intimidation and bullyism.

His main challenger Aubrey Norton had pulled out the race in disgust and amid a gunshot fired during the voting and widespread claims of “disenfranchisement”.

ter Sharma Solomon, dropped out in protest at the irregularities he and others, primarily from the Region 10 delegates, had identified.

a poor job in accrediting delegates and did not respond in a timely manner to concerns raised by members.

popular phrase for what is officially known as a “sole source contract” which means that there is only one person or company that can provide the contractual services needed, so any attempt to obtain bids would only result in that person or company bidding on it. United States laws permit the government to award sole source contracts under specified circumstances.

President Donald Ramotar, speaking at a news conference last Saturday, explained that the other six companies that had submitted bids to be considered as a pre-qualified supplier had failed to meet their criteria. He again clarified that the decision of awarding the contract was done strictly at the level of the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB) and not at the level of Cabinet.

Last Saturday, NEW GPC General Manager Ravie Ramcharitar told Caribbean Times that the company invested billions of dollars to create the proper storage for pharmaceuticals.

The unsavoury events on Sunday afternoon raised serious doubts about the PNCR’s internal workings, which will certainly undermine its role as the “leading light” in the fledgling Opposition coalition – A Partnership for National Unity (APNU).

At 13:45h, Norton, who was the last candidate left standing af-

From all appearances Norton drew his largest block of support from Region 10 and also had large followings from central Georgetown and along the East Coast of Demerara. Granger, apart from securing the support of most of his Members of Parliament selected by him back in 2011, also pulled strong support from the hinterland communities, the East Coast and Georgetown.

Although not saying which candidate he supported, Shadow Finance Minister Carl Greenidge who himself had narrowly lost out from defeating Granger back in 2011 as leader of the PNC, called for the sacking of General Secretary Oscar Clarke. Greenidge believes that Clarke did

Shortly after the election by default, a release from Granger’s office declared that he was returned “unopposed” as Leader of the Peoples National Congress Reform “after longtime party member Mr. Aubrey Norton indicated that he was no longer contesting for the leadership.” The release continued that “voting was delayed for several hours due to complaints of an inflated delegates list and every effort was made to reconcile the situation, thus delaying the process.” The release failed to mention anything about the single gunshot which was heard in Congress Place during the time of voting and the chaos that erupted as delegates scampered for cover. (Guyana Times)

GBTI's half-year profit at Gy$1.1 billion

GEORGETOWN,

GUYANA: The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) has recorded a whopping Gy$1.103 billion profit after tax for the first six months for the financial year ending on June 30.

According to the bank’s Chairman Robin Stoby, the profits reflected that the bank was able to maintain its profitability. The unaudited report on the bank’s financial performance was approved by the Board of Directors on July 18.

Stoby stated that along with the profit, the board also declared an Interim Dividend of Gy$6.00 per share to shareholders.

“We have continued with our plans for opening branches in unbanked or under-banked

areas of our country, albeit in a more cost-effective way. Our Bartica Branch should be opened in September 2014 and we have completed the construction of our build-

ing in Port Kaituma and now offer our services from there,” Stoby indicated.

Performance

He explained that the bank’s excellent perfor-

mance is due to the gradual recovery of the global economy over the passing six months, and with it also came the strengthening of the U.S. dollar. Nevertheless, he contin-

Jamaica increases recruitment age limit for farm work programme

KINGSTON, JAMAICA:

The maximum recruitment age limit for Jamaica’s Overseas Farm Workers Programme has been adjusted from 40 to 45 years.

Making the announcement last Friday, Jamaica’s Labour and Social Security Minister Derrick Kellier said the adjustment is as a result of the recognition that there are many very able-bodied people over the previous cut-off age of 40 who work harder than some people in their 20s.

Kellier was addressing a recruitment exercise for workers for the Canadian and United States Farm Workers Programmes at Montego Bay Community College in St James.

some very serious conditions to look work for our people. When you get to Canada and the United States you will be under their control and they will inform and educate you on the do's and don'ts of the programme. Your liaison officer is your first call...anything you need to know, they are there to advise you," he said.

ued that because of the low price of gold on the world market, the bank is suffering due to the loss of gold hedge.

Stoby added too that the country’s economy continues to struggle in the face of a sugar industry that is underperforming; a rice industry that is heavily dependent on the Venezuelan market; and the high cost of energy that makes the manufacturing sector unable to compete with other Caribbean industries.

He went on to emphasise the deadlock in the National Assembly regarding the passage of the AntiMoney Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (Amendment) Bill, mostly caused as a result of a minority government.

“For the banking sec-

tor, the failure to resolve this issue is causing increased delays and difficulties in carrying out international payments on behalf of customers,” he disclosed.

The Gy$1.1 billion recorded by the bank for the first half of this year, comes two months after the bank revealed its annual profit for the 2013 financial year. In May last, GBTI revealed that it managed to rake in a Gy$2.178 billion profit after taxation for the financial year ending December 31, recording a 20 percent increased profit over the previous year.

The total assets at the end of 2013 were some Gy$95 billion, which reflected an increase of Gy$10 billion or 12 percent from the previous year. (Guyana Times)

Man allegedly beaten by soldiers in Trinidad sues State

PMinister Kellier said the adjustment is not breaking or bending any rules, and will give more people an opportunity to participate in the programme in order to better their standard of living. The minimum age limit of 21 years will remain.

recruits that the team of liaison officers working with the Overseas Farm Workers Programme has been doing a very good job under sometimes adverse weather conditions.

Meanwhile, he told the throng of potential

"I have been out there in the field to see them. They have to go out in the cold...in the snow...in

Owen Arthur quits BLP

BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS:

Former Prime Minister Owen Arthur last Friday announced his resignation as a member of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) which he has led as Prime Minister for 14 years. He handed in his letter of resignation with immediate effect to the office of the Opposition Barbados Labour Party last Friday morning.

Arthur, who led the party to defeat in the 2013 general election, but retained his parliamentary seat in the con-

stituency of St Peter, indicated that he will remain in parliament as an independent member until his term of office comes to an end in 2018.

Arthur was Prime Minister of Barbados from 1994 to 2008, making him the longest serving Barbadian Prime Minister to date. He was also Leader of the Opposition in Barbados from 2010 to 2013.

He led The Barbados Labour Party (BLP) to victory in the 1994 general election and also won the 1999 and 2003 general elections. The David Thompson-

led Democratic Labour Party defeated the Barbados Labour Party in the 2008 general election, resulting in Arthur stepping down as party leader, however Arthur remained Member of Parliament for the constituency of St Peter.

Arthur returned as BLP leader in 2010, however following the 2013 general election defeat he was replaced by the current BLP opposition leader, Mia Mottley.

Arthur’s resignation from the BLP came one day after thousands of Barbadians took to the streets to protest

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security is recruiting 3,500 workers for the Canadian and United States Farm Work Programme with the majority of them scheduled for placement at the start of 2015.

Regional recruitment sessions have been staged in Kingston, Manchester, and St James with over 4,000 people attending (Jamaica Observer)

against the imposition of the Municipal Solid Waste Tax. (Caribbean News)

ORT-OFSPAIN, TRINIDAD: A 35-year-old man, who was left with a broken jaw after he was allegedly ambushed by two soldiers in east Portof-Spain last week, has taken legal action against the State, seeking compensation for his injuries. Leon King, of Paradise Heights, Morvant, claimed he was attacked, beaten and robbed as he was about to visit his seven-yearold daughter at George Street, Port-of-Spain, last week Tuesday. In a pre-action protocol letter sent by his attorneys, King stated he intended to seek compensation for assault and battery.

The letter from King’s lawyer, Varun Debideen, was sent last Friday to the Office of the Attorney General, which represents members of the protective services in their official capacity. It was also delivered last Wednesday to Chief of Defence Staff Major Gen Kenrick Maharaj.

In the letter, King is claiming that around 4.30 am he was about to enter the stairwell at his former wife’s apartment

building when he was confronted by soldiers patrolling the housing complex.

He said when he told them the reason for his early-morning visit, they accused him of lying and told him to lie down on a flight of stairs. King said as he was about to comply, one of them struck him twice in the face with a gun. When he fell over, he said, the two soldiers began violently prodding his back with the barrels and butts of their assault rifles while searching his pockets. He is also claiming that before they left, the soldiers took TT$225 which they had emptied from his pocket, leaving him with only his two cellphones.

King was warded at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital for most of last week and was discharged on Monday. The incident was one of several reports of abuse from residents of east Port-ofSpain since soldiers began patrolling their communities following the murder of their colleague Lance Cpl Kayode Thomas on June 29. (TT Guardian)

National Human Rights institution proposed for Jamaica

KINGSTON, JAMAICA:

The Ministry of Justice and the Commonwealth Secretariat have entered into discussions with a view to establishing a National Human Rights Institution in Jamaica.

Minister of Justice Senator Mark Golding said the growth and maturity of a nation are reflected in the recognition and protection of it accords to Human Rights.

According to Golding, after 50 years of independence it was timely that government should seek to review and bolster the mechanisms to promote and protect Human Rights within an evolving society.

He explained that he had reached out to the Commonwealth Secretariat during a meeting of Law Ministers in Botswana in May for technical sup-

port and expertise in assisting Jamaica to examine the establishment of National Human Rights Institutions, after which discussions began that have resulted in the recent consultations.

The Commonwealth Secretariat's team was led by acting Head for Human Rights for the Secretariat Karen McKenzie who congratulated the government on this initiative, noting that Jamaica is a valued member of the Commonwealth.

National Human Rights Institutions are state entities that have the broad remit of protecting and promoting human rights. The model being contemplated for Jamaica would see the functions of an existing and synergistic institution, possibly the Office of the Public Defender being expanded and strengthened to

encompass a broad human rights mandate, in addition to its existing functions.

This hybrid model with a dual mandate is in keeping with international best practice for small states with limited resources. It is intended that Jamaica's National Human Rights Institution will comply with Paris Principles, the standards for the role, composition, status and functions of such entities, which constitute international best practice.

According to McKenzie, the National Human Rights Institutions support three of the fundamental pillars of democracy: a pluralist and accountable parliament; an executive that is subject to the authority of elected representatives; and an independent judiciary.

(Jamaica Observer)

Jamaican woman convicted of marriage fraud in U.S.

FLORIDA, USA:

The United States Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agency says a Jamaican woman has been found guilty of marriage fraud by a U.S. federal jury. The ICE reported last Thursday that Nerene Erica Harrison, 32, of St Ann's Bay, Jamaica, faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 23.

Harrison was indicted on November 13, 2013, along with Robert Kenneth Scott Cruz.

"Every marriage fraud scheme corrupts the integrity and fairness of our nation's immigration system," said Susan L McCormick, special agent in charge

of ICE's Homeland Security Investigations in Tampa.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Harrison came to the United States in 2007 on a temporary work visa. After her visa expired, Harrison offered Cruz, a United States citizen, US$6,000 to marry her. They were married

GUYANA: PPP dismisses PNCR sabotage claims

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA:

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) in Guyana has dismissed outright claims by the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) that it tried to sabotage that Party’s 18th Biennial Congress held over the weekend.

At the Party’s weekly press conference on Monday, General Secretary Clement Rohee said there were more pertinent things to be dealt with than seeking to interfere in the politics of the main Opposition party.

Re-elected PNCR leader David Granger had told reporters minutes after the Congress on Sunday evening, that the ruling PPP/Civic had made failed attempts to ruin the Congress. Despite a walkout by Lindeners who attended the Congress, Granger insisted that the event was successful.

The Party leader had hinted too that the PPP had its ways and means of influencing PNC supporters.

Rohee said he had also heard Granger saying that the PPP would have provocateurs infiltrate the Party to create difficulty for the PNC. According to him, that is a “ruse”, as the PNC continued to claim that the PPP would use persons to engage in riots and looting.

Questioned on why the PPP has also demonstrated such innate interest in the PNC’s Congress, Rohee said

that that Party has been, for years, the major rival of his Party, so it is obvious that an interest in what they are doing would be apparent. “The same way they would have an interest in what we are doing, the same way we would have an interest in them”.

Questions were also about the paid ads in the local print media regarding the PNC Congress. However, Rohee denied that the PPP or the government had anything to do with those.

The advertisement placed in newspapers in the run-up to the Congress on July 25 urged PNC party members attending the event to question their leaders on their reasons for voting down many transformational projects in the National Assembly, wanting to close down the sugar industry and cutting budget allocations for the Amerindian Development Fund and the University of Guyana Students Loan Programme among other initiatives.

Guyana’s One Laptop Per Family drive reaches more beneficiaries

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA: Guyana’s One Laptop Per Family (OLPF) Programme is adding to its long list of recipients, hundreds more happy and grateful people, as it continues another phase of distribution.

August 15, 2011, and subsequently petitioned for Harrison to receive lawful permanent resident status, based on the marriage.

Cruz who pleaded guilty March 27 also faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing has been set for November 11.

(Caribbean News)

Last Thursday, staff of the OLPF Secretariat visited Golden Grove, Haslington, Hope and Mahaica, Region Four, where together over 340 laptops were handed out. Golden Grove and Haslington received 90 laptops, distributed at the Golden Grove GroveNabaclis-Haslington Community Centre, while 150 were given out

at the Hope Secondary School. At Mahaica, more than 100 of the devices were presented to residents.

Student of the Hope Secondary School, Amar Madhu, commended the government for such an initiative, highlighting that it will enhance his work in school now that he has a computer to do research.

Father of two, Jaikaran Rambali, pointed out that the OLPF programme has been a great venture by government which will be of immense importance to school children, since they are the main beneficiaries.

Olivia, a mother of

one, pointed out that this initiative has helped many families, especially those who cannot afford to purchase a laptop. Residents of West Berbice, Region Five, were expected to receive their laptops at various sites on July 28. The OLPF distribution programme has been in progress since October 2011 and will continue throughout 2014 and 2015. Overall 90,000 laptops are to be in the hands of Guyanese at the end of the programme. This current phase of distribution is expected to conclude in September. (Guyana Times)

Guyanese fishermen call for greater protection against pirates

- as more bodies of missing crew recovered

BERBICE, GUYANA:

Guyanese fishermen on the Corentyne Coast are calling on the authorities to provide more protection against the snares of armed pirates who recently attacked a vessel and reportedly killed five crew members. The bodies of two of the men were found on Monday.

The crew of five was reported missing last week. They left on July 11 aboard the fishing boat Miss Seema and were expected to spend 12 days at sea before returning. Their vessel was found on the Whim Foreshore, Corentyne on

July 25.

Police said, in a release, that the decomposed body of Omesh Derhup, 36, of Skeldon, Corentyne, was found on the foreshore at Kildonan, Corentyne, Berbice. Then later, the decomposed body of Naresh Persaud, 22, of Number 72 Village, Corentyne, was found on the foreshore at Alness, Corentyne.

Multiple injuries

Post-mortem examinations were performed on the bodies by Pathologist Dr Vivekanand Brijmohan, who gave the cause of Persaud’s death as multiple injuries. He has not

InvesTT to be opened in Tokyo

PORT-OFSPAIN, TRINIDAD: The TT government’s local investment and trade agency InvestTT will open an office in Tokyo, Japan, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has announced. This follows a request by Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for TT to open a diplomatic mission in Japan, a request which Persad-Bissessar said is under consideration.

Addressing the media Monday at the end of the inaugural CaricomJapan Summit at the Trinidad Hilton, St Ann’s, Persad-Bissessar commended the government of Japan for its strong economic recovery in the past three years following the 2011 tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster.

She shared the press conference with Prime Minister Abe and Caricom Chairman and Prime Minister of Antigua Gaston Brown. Japan, Persad-Bissessar noted set standards for

yet disclosed his findings in relation to Derhup. The investigations are ongoing.

Derhup’s mother, Kamila Simon, said she had not seen her son for the past six months. On Monday, she received information that a body had washed up on the shore.

According to Simon, her son was never married and had no children. She said he had no enemies.

The owner of Miss Seema, Beeram Persaud, explained that after the men did not return to shore as expected, he became worried and last Thursday, started

a search for them with help from Suriname authorities.

Stiffer penalties

He said the Guyana government needs to do more for fisherfolk. The boat owner, who was shot at his home in 2000 during a robbery attack on his family, said stiffer penalties are needed to deter acts of piracy. “We need it to be like in Suriname…If they catch you is 25 or 35 years you getting, but in Guyana they find a man with the boat engine in he house and they put he on Gy$500,000 bail.”

According to Persaud, both government and law enforcement agen-

cies have to share the blame. “When you catch a pirate and the police put them in the lock-ups, somebody calling the big ones in the police and the police at the station got to put them on bail and is done the story done there. These are things that the Agriculture Minister supposed to look into; not just sugar and rice,” Persaud claimed.

Meanwhile, Naresh’s brother, Arvin, who buried his younger sibling on Monday, said he was still looking for the other one. He noted that to date no one from government has visited the family or offered any assistance in the search. Commenting on piracy, the grieving Persaud said systems must be put in place to have boats equipped with devices that can alert the police as fishermen in Suriname have.

(Guyana Times)

Over Ja$1 billion spent on Jamaica’s sugar barracks relocation programme

energy sustainability “not only in Japan but worldwide.”

Reiterating TT’s commitment to encouraging peaceful settlement without the use of force, intimidations, and based on international law, she said TT has again sought the support of the Japanese government in its bid to host the Arms Trade Treaty Secretariat.

TT also welcomed, she said the US$850 million or TT$4.4 billion planned private sector investment opportunities in both upstream and downstream sectors by the Massy Holdings and Mitsubishi consortiums. Acknowledging and looking forward to Japan’s development of a “Cool Earth Policy,” she said such a policy would reflect positively on the challenges faced by small island states. She said that TT welcome Japan’s initiative in mitigating risk disaster, risk reduction, and counter measures against environmental degradation. (TT Newsday)

KINGSTON,

JAMAICA : The Jamaican government has spent approximately Ja$1.4 billion to construct 84 concrete houses in sugar dependent areas, under the Sugar Barracks Relocation Programme.

Former field supervisor at the Frome Estate in Westmoreland, Ercelyn Black, described the programme as a “blessing”. Black, who worked on the estate for 20 years, is a recipient of a two-bedroom unit in Barham, Westmoreland, where she now lives with five other family members.

"It is the most wonderful thing anyone could have done for us the sugar workers," she stated.

The programme is an initiative of the Sugar Transformation Unit (STU), which is

funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, and the European Union (EU).

Relocation

Head of the STU, George Callaghan, explained that the Sugar Barracks Relocation Project was undertaken to demolish houses that were built on sugar estates 30 to 40 years ago.

"It was agreed that we replace all the dilapidated houses with new ones on lands reserved during the divestment of the sugar industry. The intention is to build wholesome communities and remove the stigma associated with living in sugar barracks," Callaghan said.

"... We are not merely building houses we are also building modern communities with necessary infrastructures such as electricity, roads and water," he stressed.

The houses are one, two- and three-bedroom units. Thirty-nine have been built in Steelfield, Trelawny; while six have been built at Barham; 17 in Shrewsberry; and 22 in Muesmore, all in Westmoreland.

"When we conducted the survey to identify persons to be relocated, it was revealed that less than 50 percent of the residents were not working on the sugar estates. But based on the fact that they were living there they were either descendants of sugar workers or were actual sugar workers on the estates, the decision was made that all of the persons living in the barracks would have to be relocated," Callaghan related.

Improvements

He noted that the impact that these new

housing units have had on the communities has been very significant.

"The quality of the residents lives has improved significantly compared to what they had before. Jobs have been created with the construction of the houses, so there are increased inflows into the communities in terms of income and upliftment in social life of the persons living in these communities," stated Callaghan.

Beneficiary Winnifred Jones, who worked at the Hampden Estate in Trelawny for more than 36 years, expresses her gratitude to the government.

Jones said that prior to the programme, owning a house was out of her reach. "I am so very glad that I now have a house to call my own," she said. (JIS)

TT, Haiti sign US$30 million energy deal

PORT-OFSPAIN, TRINIDAD:

The TT government and Haiti have signed an energy agreement that will enable state agencies National Petroleum, Petrotrin and the National Energy Corporation (NEC) to undertake cooperative

initiatives in the areas of energy, energy security and energy exploration in Haiti.

The agreement will pave the way for construction of port facilities and establishment of nine NP gas stations in Haiti. It will also provide for the establishment of a task force to move for-

ward with initiatives.

TT’s Trade and Investment Minister Vasant Bharath and his Haitian counterpart Wilson Laleau signed the agreement Monday at the Trinidad Hilton in the presence of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Haiti President Michel Martelly and TT Energy Minister Kevin Ramnarine. The signing took place on the margins of the just-concluded inaugural CaricomJapan summit

The initial agreement will have a timeframe of ten years with provision for renewal every five years.

In brief remarks, Persad-Bisssessar noted the talks between the two governments began two years ago. The agreement for TT facilitating the investment, she said meant a lot as it will continue to generate revenue for continued employment of citizens of TT.

“We are happy you have sought our energy products rather than from outside,” she said. Apart from selling the local brands, she said petroleum products going into Haiti will be on

a duty free basis which will allow citizens to benefit from reduced costs.

In response, Martelly said the investments will help to create jobs in Haiti. Energy exploration, he said has begun. He expressed enthusiasm at being able to obtain the local products at a better price, “than we are getting it elsewhere.”

The initiative will not only provide jobs for Haitians, Martelly said, but it will strengthen relationships and coop-

eration. “We have been talking as brothers and sisters for the longest while, but I think a concrete project like this was missing among our countries,” he said.

NP Chairman Neil Gosine noted that in addition to the nine NP gas stations, a subsidiary company to market Petrotrin products and an NP office will be established in the coming months to begin operationalisation within the next six to nine months.

Petrotrin Chairman Lindsay Gillette noted that NP and Petrotrin have worked closely on the agreement.

“The situation is extremely critical in terms of fuel,” he said noting that 120,000 barrels a day are needed in Haiti. The first set of barrels, he said should leave TT for Haiti in a couple of months. The NEC will work with the Haitian government on the port project. (TT Newsday)

Barbadians awarded U.S. fellowships

BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS: Barbadians

Sheena Rose and Allan Franklin have been awarded Fulbright and Humphrey fellowships.

The two, along with Vincentian Samantha Porter are the first of six grantees this year who will have their graduatelevel studies funded by the U.S. government.

Rose, an artist and a Fine Arts teacher at the Barbados Community College, has been awarded a Fulbright Faculty Development Scholarship. She will go to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in August to pursue a master’s degree in Studio Arts.

Franklin, who is a senior research officer at the Barbados Ministry of Tourism, has

been awarded a Hubert Humphrey Fellowship. In August, he will go to Cornell University to begin a 10-month programme on environmental and sustainability issues.

Porter is a Mathematics teacher at the St Vincent and the Grenadines Community College. She has also been awarded a Fulbright Faculty Development Scholarship and will attend North Carolina State University in August to earn a master’s degree in Mathematics Education.

The Fulbright Programme is the flagship international educational exchange programme sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the

United States and the people of other countries. Through the Fulbright Faculty Development programme, faculty of Eastern Caribbean universities and colleges can travel to the U.S. for one or two years of graduate education.

The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Programme brings 200 mid-career professionals from different countries to the U.S. to engage in non-degree study and related professional experiences at selected American Universities. As a non-degree programme, the fellowship offers valuable opportunities for professional development through selected university courses, conferences, networking, and practical work experiences. (Barbados Today)

Guyana gov’t looking to set up gold refinery

GEORGETOWN,

GUYANA: Amid falling international gold prices and low gold declarations at the Guyana Gold Board, Natural Resources Minister Robert Persaud last Friday disclosed that government is looking to set up a gold refinery.

At a press conference, the minister related that the idea of setting up a refinery in Guyana was one that was being considered by government and stakeholders in the mining industry.

He said: “Valueadded continues to attract the attention of various parties outside of the gold industry, so we are talking to the jewellery- producing community to look at how we

can expand and enhance in the jewellery production sector.”

According to Persaud, if this endeavour is successful, the target market will not only include local, but overseas markets as well, where the demand for gold is much higher.

Recently, A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) Member of Parliament (MP) Ronald Bulkan pointed out that there is “no value-added done to that commodity (precious minerals) or resource when it is mined out from the ground”.

Adding value

He said that instead of just exporting the raw gold, government should look to urge the private sector to invest in the

business of jewellery production or other by-products of the raw-gold material.

Minister Persaud said government understands this and is committed to developing a robust val-

ue-added sector.

Gold prices have been unpredictable and are dependent on a lot of factors beyond the government’s control. He said if such a goal is attained, there will be more cer-

tainty in the local gold market and miners will know what to expect for their produce.

“At the times of unstable price, something happens in the U.S., something happens in the Middle East, I can tell you, it has a direct correlation to gold prices. So you cannot plan and operate in that environment, especially when you look at production costs and so forth… so to bring more stability and predictability, valueadded is the way to go.”

Meanwhile, Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGMA) President Patrick Harding said the mining fraternity welcomes the move.

He said it provides

optimum opportunity for miners and businessmen alike to take advantage of the premium gold being produced in Guyana.

“They (foreign countries) have the market and we have the raw material, instead of exporting raw gold, we can export jewellery.”

Ronald Bulkan also called for diversification, not only in the gold industry, but the economy as a whole.

Guyana Geology and Mines Commission Chairman Clinton Williams said steps are being put in place to diversify the mining sector. He said that soon, miners will be prospecting for other precious minerals such as magnesium. (Guyana Times)

Manchester farmers in Jamaica graduate from agro-business programme

MANCHESTER,

JAMAICA :

One hundred and sixty-nine registered farmers in Manchester were recent graduates of a four-month AgroBusiness Technical Assistance Programme.

Selected from the North East Manchester communities of Green Bottom, Long Coffee, Bottom Coleyville, and Contrivance, the farmers

were exposed to the Food Safety Modernisation Act, safe use of pesticides, agricultural business management, agricultural disaster management, linkages to micro financing. They also had sensitisation sessions with the police as it relates to praedial larceny.

The "multi-parish" project organised through the Jamaica Social Investment Fund

(JSIF) cost Ja$6.92 million.

Other beneficiary communities included Bottom Bonnett and China Street in St Catherine, Mount Vernon and Bonny Gate in St Mary, Hayfield and Richmond Gap in St Thomas, Brandon Hill in St Andrew, and Top Quarter in Clarendon.

General Manager of Project Management at

JSIF Loy Malcolm told the graduation at Grace Apostolic Church in Green Bottom that overall, 468 farmers have directly benefitted. She said that the Jamaican government, through the JSIF and with support from the Caribbean Development Bank, has invested in excess of Ja$70 million in and around Manchester under the programme for

the repair of roads.

Malcolm added that it is not sufficient to just plead with farmers to continue the work in the fields and as such support is necessary to ensure the quality and volume of the product that gets to market.

"No longer is farming just something that you do in the back of your yards. It's a business...Jamaica Social

Investment Fund sees (itself) no longer just geared towards poverty reduction. We are now in the business of wealth creation and you the farmers are a significant part of that wealth creation," she indicated.

Malcolm, however, urged the graduates to share their knowledge with other farmers in their communities. (Jamaica Observer)

Sea ambulance, military hospital in the works for Trinidad

PORT-OFSPAIN, TRINIDAD:

Although the sod to begin construction of the new Carenage Health Centre was turned only last Saturday, TT’s Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan is already exploring the possibility of a sea ambulance and military hospital in the northwest peninsula.

Addressing Diego Martin West MP Dr Keith Rowley, residents, medical officers and officials at the sod-turning ceremony at Constabulary Street, Carenage, Khan said he would seek the assistance of Transport Minister Stephen Cadiz to make it a reality.

Khan related that he would consult with Cadiz to find a boat that could be acquired and outfitted with the necessary medical equipment, so that persons with serious injuries could be stabilised and transported faster to a medical facility. The idea was conceived as Khan explored ways to improve the access routes to Carenage and Chaguaramas.

Speaking with reporters after the ceremony,

Khan said he was looking into the possibility of relocating the Rebirth House drug rehabilitation centre and constructing an accident and emergency facility, with a nearby water ambulance for the easy transfer of patients to Portof-Spain. He referred to the 2011 Redbull Flugtag tragedy, in which two men drowned, after the pirogue they boarded to go to the event at Williams Bay, Chaguaramas, sank.

Tragedy Dimitri John, 22, of Piarco, and Nicholas Simmons, 14, of Princes Town, drowned after the pirogue they were in sank at Dhein’s Bay. Because of the traffic pile-up as thousands flocked to Carenage to participate in the Flugtag, many people had opted to hire fishing boats to get to Williams Bay. John was the nephew of the Housing Development Corporation's CEO Jearlean John.

Indicating that traffic jams sometimes caused by events in that part of the country could be a challenge for the authorities during an

emergency, Khan said a sea ambulance would be the ideal option to en-

sure lives were saved. Extending his gratitude to the Julien fami-

ly, who had been relocated during the process to acquire the land for the

centre, Rowley said he was extremely happy to witness the beginning of construction of a “leading-edge health centre.”

Pointing out that the population was growing, Rowley said it was equally important for the infrastructure to grow as well. He was pleased with the variety of services which would become available to his constituents after the centre was opened, and singled out the wellness centre, which he said was a “good idea.”

Assuring that construction of the new Carenage Health Centre would be completed within 15 months at a cost of TT$79 million, Khan promised the two-storey, 54-room modern facility would provide a range of services to a catchment area of approximately 50,000. It will feature a wellness centre, dental suite, digital X-ray facilities, nurses’ and doctors’ exam rooms, records room, testing rooms and other services such as voluntary counselling and testing, family planning services and septic wound treatment. (TT Guardian)

Antigua PM urges free movement of goods in OECS

KINGSTOWN, ST. VINCENT:

Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne has said that the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) should consider unrestricted circulation of commercial goods within the grouping.

Speaking as outgoing OECS Chairman last Saturday, Browne also told the opening of the of the 59th meeting of the OECS Monetary Authority and the OECS Heads of Government, that the sub-grouping needs to seek new ways to respond to the economic woes of members.

"While I would be the first to acknowledge that the free circulation of goods regime is a revenue-sensitive matter, a way can be found to remove the present restrictions on the movement of goods between member states and thus stimulate OECS cross-border trade."

that the constraints of small size, the effects of the openness of our economies and our essential or indeed existential vulnerabilities, that there are always issues which we have to address and to overcome those limitations while at the same time taking advantage of the possibilities which are inherent among us and in the regional and global system.”

Sandals to build Caribbean's first over-thewater suites in Jamaica

Browne's comments on challenges facing the region were similar to those of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves last Friday, as he took over chairmanship of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.

Gonsalves said, “We always must remember

He said that member states are being pounded by international economic turbulence and called for further integration and pooling of resources.

He added that the figures indicate that there is only weak to moderate growth in the economies of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.

"These are our main trading partners. But even if we have a moderate recovery in the global economy, there is always a time lag between what takes place there and what takes place here."

He noted that owing to the time lag the region will not see the full impact of that moderate improvement soon.

(Caribbean News)

Guyana may nominate MP Dharamkumar Seeraj for ACP SG post

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA: The Guyana government is considering nominating Dharamkumar Seeraj as the country’s candidate to be the next Secretary General (SG) of the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) grouping, sources inside government have said.

Guyana is among three Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries that will nominate candidates to head the powerful 79-member grouping. Regional leaders at the end of their summit earlier this month in Antigua and Barbuda said Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana have all signalled their intention to submit the names of candidates for the post.

This newspaper was told that in addition to Seeraj, government was looking at other candidates but there is a tendency to lean more to Seeraj, who is a Member of Parliament (MP) and General Secretary of the Guyana Rice Producers Association (RPA).

Back in June, the ACP had indicated that the next SG will be a Caribbean national. The tenure of the current SG Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni of Ghana ends in February 2015. The Council of Ministers will meet in Suriname in

November, where they will finalise the selection of his successor. The new SG, who will come from any of the ACP’s member states in the Caribbean, is expected to begin work in March 2015. His/her term will end in 2020.

“The upcoming term is especially significant as it will see the last leg of ACP-[European Union] EU cooperation under the current Cotonou Partnership Agreement, which ends in 2020,” a release from the ACP has said. The Cotonou Agreement is the most comprehensive partnership agreement between developing countries and the EU. Since 2000, it has been the framework for the

KINGSTON, JAMAICA:

Sandals Resorts International is pumping US$5.5 million into five of the Caribbean's first over-the-water suites and the renovation of 14 suites at Sandals Royal Caribbean in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Dubbed Sandals Royal Caribbean Spa Resort and Offshore Island, the suites will be located on a private island offshore the main resort. Each suite will feature a private outdoor Jacuzzi tub and shower, a hammock, and steps leading from the sun deck straight into the Caribbean Sea.

The interiors will boast 1,600 square feet

of space, with a large walk-in shower, indoor soaking tub as well as glass flooring, allowing guests to view the ocean and marine life below. What's more, the flooring will also light up at nights, allowing continuous views of the Ocean.

Other amenities include an authentic Thai restaurant and casual beachfront grill, a pool with a whirlpool and swim-up pool bar, and a private beach.

"We are proud to again be trailblazers in the market, targeting discerning travellers who yearn for luxury with a closer connection to nature," said Sandals Royal International Chief Executive Officer

Adam Stewart. "The addition of the over-the-water suites ensures that Sandals will be positioned, not just as a leader in all-inclusives, but at the top end of the industry, pushing boundaries and setting new standards," Stewart explained.

Sandals and Beaches resorts have earned a worldwide reputation for providing quality holidays, weddings and honeymoons at their more than 20 luxury-included resorts in seven Caribbean islands.

The Jamaican company continues to win multiple awards, including the prestigious World Travel Awards. (Jamaica Observer)

EU’s relations with the 79 ACP member states.

The Secretary General holds executive powers and heads the Brussels-based ACP Secretariat, which is the administrative and technical body of the ACP Group. The Secretariat provides policy guidance and technical expertise to the organs of the group, and monitors the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement. Appointment to the top post is for five years, and generally follows a principle of rotation amongst the six ACP regions, including West Africa (currently holding the post), East Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands.

10th Berbice Expo in Guyana showcases science, technology

BERBICE, GUYANA:

President Donald Ramotar has stressed the importance of events such as the Berbice Expo and Trade Fair, held over the weekend, and which play a particular role in the process of developing Guyana’s economy.

Speaking last Saturday at the opening ceremony of the 10th staging of the annual expo at the Albion Community Centre Ground in Corentyne, Guyana, he highlighted the relevance of this year’s theme: “Exploiting science and technology for economic development”.

Science and technology, he stressed are important for the economic progress of any country, noting that for too long, Guyana was kept as a raw material-producing nation. However, he added that it was only because of the characteristic of sugar that the current government saw it necessary to develop the industry and factories that add

value to products.

Notwithstanding all the challenges facing the sugar industry still, the Head of State noted some of the success stories. These include the bioethanol plant, which has been set up at the Albion Sugar Estate, and a co-

generation electricity system, which has been established at Skeldon. In the near future, other models are expected to be established at other sugar factories.

Meanwhile, Central Corentyne Chamber of Commerce (CCCC)

President Tajpaul Ajodhea noted the strides that have been made by the chamber.

Over the years, the Berbice Expo has seen significant growth from what it was 10 years ago.

The Chamber’s President, however, used the opportunity to appeal to the government for a permanent exhibition complex.

He explained that over the years, the business community has been investing a lot of money in building permanent structures and demolishing the structures for the expo.

The money he said could be used for other initiatives if there is a permanent exhibition site in place.

In addition, the

Chamber President lauded the administration for the investments it continues to make in Region Six. “The Berbice economy is agro-based and the government has done a lot in this area. The rice industry is flourishing, sugar is coming along, with the bio-ethanol plant and that may be the turnaround for the sugar industry.”

Ajodhea also called on the administration to explore the possibility of a processing and packaging facility for the region, which will aid in adding more value to products.

The Berbice Expo featured exhibitors drawn from the manufacturing and agriculture industries among others. It concluded Sunday. (Guyana Times)

Cancer victim begins collecting court award from Jamaica gov't

KINGSTON, JAMAICA:

Jamaica has started making payment to a 38-year-old man, who developed cancer of the blood from exposure to a shipment of dangerous chemicals while working at Kingston Wharves 10 years ago.

Attorney Nigel Jones told Jamaican media, Monday, that payment is now being made to his client Radcliffe Taylor regarding the Ja$8.5million award for pain and suffering. The payment stems from a ruling by the Supreme Court in January of this year in which several millions in damages was awarded to Taylor.

The court had

also awarded general damages in the sum of Ja$12,513,520 and US$760,239 (Ja$83,626,290) and Ja$2,484,000 and US$759,000 for future medical expenses. The parties had agreed on special damages in the sum of Ja$265,000.

While the state has committed to the other sums, it is currently appealing the ruling for future medical expenses, a move Taylor called "unconscionable."

"It would be better if they had challenged the pain and suffering award because the sickness hasn't gone away. I have to battle it every week," Taylor said then in reference to his medi-

cal treatment.

Taylor was among a group of workers at Kingston Wharves on February 19, 2004 who were asked to inspect a damaged container onboard a Mexico-bound ship that was emitting a foul odour.

The container was carrying drums of chemicals called Dimethoate Tech 98% d---an insecticide used to kill mites and insects.

The workers were only provided with dust respirators, no protective gear, throughout the four hours it took them to remove and inspect the drums and place them back in the container.

Within hours, work-

TRINIDAD: Three-year-old girl in critical condition after rape

PORT-OFSPAIN, TRINIDAD:

A three-year-old girl, who was raped by a teenaged male relative at her Tamana home in Trinidad last Friday, remained in critical condition at the Paediatric Unit of the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex Tuesday.

The suspect was in police custody over the weekend and is expected to be charged with the offence.

According to reports, the girl was with her mother, the 17-year-old male relative and her father at their home in Tamana last Friday afternoon.

At about 2 pm the child was left in the living room watching tele-

vision while the mother attended to the child’s bedridden father.

The suspect held the child by the hand and led her to the back of the house where he undressed and raped her.

During the act the child began screaming hysterically, alerting her mother who rushed to her assistance. The child told her mother what had happened and a report was made to the Cumuto police station.

A party of officers led by Cpl Jawahir went to the house and detained the teenager. The bleeding child was rushed to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex where it was determined she had suffered severe damage and lost a lot of blood

during the rape. Doctors are working round the clock to stabilise the child and save her life.

Police investigators said that before charges are laid, the suspect is to be interviewed by a child psychologist to determine what led him to commit the act.

The teenager has already confessed to the rape but has refused to tell police officers why he did it.

Tuesday relatives said that the child’s mother remains traumatised and appears severely depressed over the incident. A relative said they are praying for the child’s swift recovery and are puzzled about what caused the teenaged suspect to rape the little girl. (TT Newsday)

ers in the vicinity of the opened container started falling ill, according to the ruling. Taylor

himself started experiencing itching in the throat and runny eyes, and continued, over the

course of months, to experience sickness, including severe pains to his shoulder and lower back, which caused him to seek medical assistance.

Taylor, who is the father of an 11-year-old son, was later diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukaemia in 2004, after falling ill.

Taylor's case reportedly led to some changes. A trained and fully equipped team is now in place to handle chemical shipments, while containers coming into the island's ports are now properly labelled.

(Jamaica Observer)

Japan gives Caribbean US$15 million for climate change projects

PORT-OFSPAIN, TRINIDAD:

Japan is providing US$15 million to help several Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries cope with the impact of climate change.

The "Project for Japan-Caribbean Climate Change Partnership" will help Guyana, Grenada, Jamaica, Suriname, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Dominica and Belize build the capacity to cope with climate change.

The agreement was signed on the margins of the first ever JapanCaricom summit in Trinidad on Monday that was attended by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and several Caricom heads of government.

The accord was signed by Japan's Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago,

Yoshimasa Tezuka and Richard Blewitt, United Nations Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative to Trinidad and Tobago

The agreement aims at assisting Caribbean countries in develop-

ing and implementing climate change policies such as National Appropriate Mitigation Actions and National Adaptation Plans and to promote technology transfers in adaptation and mitigation technologies through various pilot projects such as wa-

ter supply systems and/ or irrigation facilities for communities and photovoltaic panels in selected countries.

It will also seek to build a regional platform for information sharing.

Japan is also providing assistance to Caribbean countries,

through the Barbadosbased Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Inter American Development Bank (IDB), in the development of renewable energy.

A Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) on Promotion of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in the Eastern Caribbean region was also signed Monday between the IDB, the CDB and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

It was noted that countries of the Eastern Caribbean region have been tackling high energy costs and are seeking to reduce dependence on fossil fuel-generated energy by diversifying energy grids and promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency as a matter of urgency.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD:

A complete overhaul of the children’s home institutions in Trinidad and Tobago will begin in September as government has scrapped a plan to place cameras in the homes.

Minister in the Ministry of Gender and Child Development Raziah Ahmed said the ministry recognised that the systems in children’s homes were outdated.

She noted that the staff at most institutions were not properly trained or equipped to deal with children. “The entire system at these institutions is being overhauled,” she added. This comes after a report confirmed that Brandon Hargreaves, 14, died as a result of being beaten to death at the St Michaels’ Home for Boys. For several years there have been allegations of

sexual, mental and physical abuse of children in homes by staff members.

Last year, former Minister of Gender and Child Development Marlene Coudray said there was a plan to place cameras in children’s homes while touring the St Mary’s Children’s Home, Tacarigua. Monday, Ahmed said that plan had not progressed. “The privacy of the children would have been compromised. We are still discussing the possibility of using cameras in the external environment. Placing them in the yard and in corridors may still be an option,” Ahmed indicated.

She stated that the Children’s Authority, which was expected to become fully operational by the end of September, will be setting up a pilot assessment centre in Mt Hope next month.

The MOC will formalise a non-exclusive framework of cooperation and facilitate collaboration among CDB, IDB and JICA to promote programmes and projects that foster cooperation among them, and explore a joint effort for further introduction of renewable energy and energy efficiency in the Eastern Caribbean region, with special focus on geothermal development.

Under the agreement, the CDB, IDB, and JICA will further explore possibilities of concessional loans for the CDB from IDB and JICA, implementation of technical assistance which will help the partner countries. (Caribbean News)

The agreement was signed by Nigel Romano, CDB acting vice-president, and Toshiyuki Kuroyanagi, vice-president of Japan International Cooperation Agency.

Trinidad gov’t orders complete overhaul of children’s homes - following recent abuse scandal

“Currently, when children go through the court system, they have to be assessed in different places by a number of people. What changes is that these assessment centres will be sort of a one-stop shop for all of that

and will be very child-friendly. There will be plainclothes police officers, properly trained staff, and I know that the Judiciary is also having training sessions for their staff,” Ahmed explained. (TT Guardian)

Fly Jamaica services to be boosted with second aircraft

KINGSTON, JAMAICA:

Driven by its commitment to providing air transportation within the Caribbean and to North America, Fly Jamaica Airways has acquired a second aircraft which, the airline said it intends to put into service as soon as it gets all the regulatory approvals.

The Boeing 767 300ER adds to the Boeing 757 which the carrier now utilises to provide daily scheduled service to New York, Toronto, Guyana and Jamaica.

"We're roughly flying 80 hours a week,"

Captain Paul Ronald Reece, chairman and CEO, told Jamaican media last week.

"We're in for the long haul. The second plane is there to enhance our route structure, plus create new routes within the Caribbean and South America," Captain Reece added.

"The plan is to have two 757s and two 767s,

that's the ultimate plan," Reece said.

Asked about the young airline's route expansion plans, Reece would only say that they exist. "We don't want to say yet where we're going," he offered, explaining that his prudence is grounded in his desire not to give his competitors an edge.

The Boeing 767 300ER, Captain Reece said, has a seating capacity of 246 (12 business, 234 economy).

"As soon as we finish all our manuals and we pass them through the FAA (Federal Aviation Authority) and the JCAA (Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority) and we get the approval, we will put the aeroplane into service," Reece explained.

The airline, he said, currently employs 282 Jamaicans, both on the island and abroad. "We are truly a Jamaican company, and the government gave us all assurance that we would get every encouragement

from them, so we are trying to do our best," he stated.

"We opened a route that never existed— Georgetown to Kingston; nobody ever did that before," Reece noted, adding that the route is being used by Jamaican companies, such as GraceKennedy, Wisynco, Tastee, to name a few.

"We have created an air bridge between Jamaica and Guyana. So because we have created this link, businesses are starting between Jamaicans and Guyanese," he pointed out.

Emphasising the airline's commitment to providing service in the region, another director, Captain Patrick Cousins, said it was important to note that "over the past five years, there have been about four applications to the JCAA to start airlines in Jamaica, but only one, Fly Jamaica, has started." (Jamaica Observer)

Trinidad unveil new tech tools in crime fight

PORT-OF-SPAIN,

TRINIDAD: TT’s

National Security Minister Gary Griffith has claimed that his new national security setup could put down an attempted coup within an hour.

He gave this assurance after he had given the media a tour of the new Emergency Dispatch Centre in St James—an exercise designed to show the investment in technology his ministry has made.

He also officially unveiled the Community Comfort Patrol pilot scheme involving trained officers from private security firms.

His comments came in the wake of 18 arrests at the Jamaat-alMuslimeen’s Carapo mosque last week, inciting the Jamaat leader Yasin Abu Bakr to angrily announce in a radio interview that he would take “appropriate action” against Griffith, Commissioner of Police Stephen Williams and Inspector Roger Alexander, if such police activity continued.

At the media exercise, at the St James Police Academy last Thursday, Griffith said gang-related activity in the “hotspots” of Laventille had reduced in the past few days, due to the activity of the TT Defence Force and the TT

Police Service, but that the national security alert remained at the same level.

Earlier, Griffith had cut the ribbon of a hightech, fully kitted-out emergency response call centre and explained the function of the red-shirted Community Comfort Patrol (CCP) officers which the Leader of the Opposition Dr Keith Rowley, expressed mystification about at a PNM public meeting in St Augustine last Tuesday. He demanded that the government explain who they were, what they were authorised to do and how much the scheme was costing.

The Ministry of National Security responded by hastily calling the press conference two days later which answered Rowley’s ques-

Lindeners have no confidence in Granger’s PNCR

BY SVETLANA MARSHALL

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA:

The recent events that have unfolded within the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) in Guyana have created a vivid picture of the major division that exists within the Party, but Region 10 Chairman Sharma Solomon said the district stands willing to resolve the longstanding issues.

Addressing reporters at the Critchlow Labour College on Monday, the Executive Member of the party said the PNCR’s 18th Biennial Congress has left a bitter taste in the mouths of supporters, primarily in his district, but said supporters should not live in the past.

“The PNCR like any other political party or mass based organisation have had its share of glitches in previous elections, but never of such magnitude, never with such unresolvable grievances and such chaotic outcomes where the integrity of the entire process can be questioned or where almost an entire regional delegates list was disenfranchised,” Solomon said, as he registered his dissatisfaction.

According to him, the clear disregard of the party’s Constitution during the just concluded Congress had resulted in him being denied the opportunity to be accredited as a delegate.

Flaws

According to him, General Secretary and Chairman of the Accreditation Committee Oscar Clarke should be held responsible for the flaws that overwhelmed the electoral process during the 18th Biennial Congress that ended with David Granger being re-elected as the party leader.

“Those who accepted responsibility for matters must be held responsible. Mr Clarke is the Chairman of the Accreditation Committee and he was responsible to ensure that we had an election that people were satisfied with and I could say to you, the entire region was not satisfied.”

table for the past two years, but exploded with the “illegitimate” suspension of Member of Parliament Vanessa Kissoon.

According to him, the concerns included the electoral processes and other matters that gave rise to the chaos, long before Congress was convened. Internal issues

However, Solomon declined from divulging further details on the internal issues within the Party. He would only say that the situation has worsened.

“This deterioration in governance is made worse with the recent denial of members’ right to vote in a fair, transparent and fearless process to elect a leader of their choice.”

Despite their dissatisfaction which the electoral process which led to the return of David Granger as the leader of the PNCR, the party supporters in mining district said they are ready to move the party forward by mending the rifts, correcting the weaknesses and building on its strengths.

tions. The CCP patrol officers are trained, Griffith said, but will have no powers of arrest and will not carry guns.

Their remit is to cruise areas which do not have their own privately funded Neighbourhood Watch schemes in discreetly marked pick-up trucks, acting as “extra eyes and ears” and as a form of deterrence. These private officers, he said, will inform the National Operations Centre or police officers when they observe crime taking place. The CCP patrol team will consist of employees from four private security firms— G4S, Amalgamated, Innovative and Protective Security Services—and the pilot scheme is costing the government TT$5.2 million for an initial four month period. (TT Guardian)

Nevertheless, he said Region 10, a district dominated by PNCR supporters, is stretching out its hands of cooperation to resolve the burning internal issues that have been on the

During the 2006 General Elections, some 6000 Lindeners voted for the PNC but in 2011, the number of voters jumped to 13, 000 due to a strong and aggressive campaign. (Guyana Times)

GEORGETOWN,

GUYANA: Reigning Miss Guyana World Rafieya Husain last Thursday presented a cheque to Help and Shelter to assist in the fight against domestic violence in Guyana.

In a simple handing over ceremony, Help and Shelter Coordinator Margaret Kertzious expressed gratitude for the donation and said it will help continue their efforts in eradicating domestic violence and giving support to victims.

Kosher also said that more young people with passion like Husain are needed in this fight.

Husain, whose platform at the local pageant was initial signs of domestic violence, noted that the cause is close to her heart since she was a victim herself.

She committed to the Coordinator that while this donation may be small, it is only the beginning as she is determined to use this platform to help people understand the seriousness of this social ill.

The organisation aims to create and empower role models who will serve as regional ambassadors, role models, charity representatives, enrich the perception of beauty, and enhance a new strength, energy and spirit for the advancement of women, while positively impacting their communities.

Miss Guyana World is not only the most holistic and aspiring job for any young woman but also one of the most prestigious titles to achieve as an accomplishment. The winner of Miss Guyana World represents Guyana along with over 130 other countries at the annual Miss World finals. Each year, Miss Guyana World entrants and finalists raise money for either chosen charities or projects supported through donations to local charities in need of assistance.

(Guyana Times)

Jamaican-born taxi driver gives back to Tryall Heights

Miss Guyana World, is currently in Guyana for a number of outreach programmes as she prepares for the international pageant later this year in London.

The young lady also pointed out that she will continue to seek help locally and internationally to aid in the fight against domestic violence.

The Guyana World organiser focuses on raising money for charities and mirroring the role and spirit of Miss World at a national level. Under new Directorship since 2013, Miss Guyana World holds its annual pageant to identify young Guyanese women who exemplify beauty, talent, intelligence and compassion.

KINGSTON, JAMAICA: Jamaican-born

Marcel Smith, a taxi driver in Springfield, Massachusetts, has not allowed the type of job he does to prevent him from giving back to the children of his Tryall Heights, St Catherine community.

Smith, for the second year, earlier this month shipped barrels of supplies to host the treat for scores of children from Tryall Heights and neighbouring communities. Not only were the children presented with back to school supplies but they also enjoyed merry-go-round, bounce-about and trampoline while being treated to refreshments and a talent show.

"This takes me all year to prepare for," Smith said. "I am just a lowly cab driver and so it is a sacrifice for me but we need more people to do things like this," he added.

According to Smith, he solicited donations from fellow Springfield residents and drove for miles to pick up some of these items. He noted, however, that it was only two months ago that he started receiving monetary donations from some persons; however, most of the items were bought from his personal funds.

The plan going forward, he said, is to begin seeking donations for school supplies and personal care items so that even more children can benefit.

He stressed that his only motive behind this event is the satisfaction he gets at seeing the appreciation on the faces of the little ones.

"The kids love it, the community loves it and it has given me a personal satisfaction to be able to be there pushing the merry-go-round myself. It's the satisfaction I feel when a little girl won just a simple book and a pencil and she said 'thank you Marcel'."

Smith said he single-handedly pack the barrels each year with the assistance of his 13-yearold daughter Tehnahleah, whom he believes will take over doing the event when he can no longer continue.

The father of two said he is not able to put a figure to what it costs to stage the event.

Meanwhile, Smith explained that he was able to cater to even more children this year as he spent more time planning for the event. As such, while he catered to under 200 children last year there were approximately 280 this year, in addition to a number of adults who attended.

(Jamaica Observer)

TORONTO, CANADA: CaribbeanTales International Film Festival (CTFF) is celebrating its ninth anniversary and will this year return to Toronto, Canada, for the annual celebrations. Under the theme, 'Our Lens, Our Perspective', the festival officially begins on September 3 and runs until September 13.

Though the festival hasn't officially commenced, special community screenings have already started in Canada's capital.

Last Saturday, patrons got the chance to see two of the films selected from different countries across the region at a special screening free of cost. ‘Carnivalesque’ and ‘Calypso Dreams’ (both entries from Trinidad and Tobago), were the first two films to be highlighted during the community screenings. The next community screening is scheduled for August 30 when Canada's ‘The Orisha Suite’, ‘Kali Worship in Trinidad and Tobago’, and

PORT-OFSPAIN,

TRINIDAD: St Clair Medical Centre of Trinidad has just partnered with Island Sleep Diagnostics (ISD) to offer the first and only sleep diagnostic clinic managed by a Board Certified Sleep Physician accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), Dr Chandra Matedeen-Ali.

The St Clair’s Sleep Diagnostic Clinic will open its doors September 2014, to begin serving patients.

Gregory R. Arneaud RT, Clinical Director,

was one of the first two films to be highlighted

‘Haiti's Voodoo Dance’ will take the spotlight. Jamaica's film, ‘Kingston Paradise’, will also be featured at this year's festival. Listed as one of the festival's centrepiece films, the production will have its screening on September 12, a day before the festival's official end. Directed by Mary Wells and starring Christopher 'Johnny' Daley, ‘Kingston Paradise’ has been doing well since its re-

ISD, said, “This is history in the making, Trinidad being the first and only in the Caricom to have a Sleep Diagnostic Testing Centre managed by the highest level of medical training and professionalism.”

It is estimated that more than 300,000 Trinidadians suffer from a Sleep Disorder. In today’s world, getting a good night’s sleep has become especially valuable and increasingly difficult to achieve. Snoring and Sleep Apnea (a medical problem where the airway collapses dur-

lease last year, copping numerous awards including the 2014 Pan-African Film Festival Best Narrative award.

Continued growth

In a statement published on the festival's official website, founder and filmmaker FrancesAnne Solomon expressed her delight at the festival's continued growth. "As we continually grow in capacity and impact, the Canadian arm of CaribbeanTales

ing sleep and breathing stops) robs people and their bed partners of the rest the most definitely need.

Arneaud noted that most people could be suffering from this life threatening Sleep Disorder and don’t even know it.

He stated, “Left untreated it may increase one’s chances of Weight Gain, Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, Heart Attacks, Low Sex Drive and Cancer.”

According to him, patients can now rest assured they will have all diagnosis and recommendations provided by

Barbados’ Crop Over Central streaming Finals live to world audience

The Nation Publishing Co. Limited is set to create history on Friday when the company streams the show to international audiences live via the internet on pay-per-view. Crop Over Central will be hosted by well-known media personality Andi Thornhill.

Thornhill, who has penned winning calypsos over the years among other achievements in the genre, is joined by an all-star commentary line-up that includes Anthony Gabby Carter, nine-time Calypso Monarch, and Trevor Marshall, former Pic-O-De-Crop chief judge and historian.

The publishing house, now in its 41st year, is aggressively pushing through on its mandate to deliver ‘your news, your time, your way’ to audiences in Barbados and around the world.

“It is said that there are more Barbadians residing overseas than at home and The Nation newspaper has always been vested in maintaining those connections and servicing the informa-

tion needs of Barbadians wherever they may be,” said Editor-in-Chief, Roy Morris.

Morris added that in recent times, the media house has embraced the opportunities presented by technology and now have large audiences online, which they continue to build through social media channels such as Facebook and YouTube as well as through the media website nationnews.com.

“Pic-O-De-Crop is one of the flag ship events of the Crop Over festival and our live stream will allow our Bajan diaspora to follow all of the competition excitement,” he added.

Exclusive video interviews of the calypso contestants prior to the show as well as live feedback from the audience will bring viewers into the heart of the action. The one-time subscription to watch the event unfold is US$10 and viewers can tune in to the broadcast through Facebook (Nation Barbados), YouTube (Nation News) or on nationnews.com. (Nation News)

is proud to present our flagship event for the ninth consecutive year," she said.

CaribbeanTales is the trademark of a group of media companies based in Canada and Barbados, and founded by Frances-Anne Solomon. The festival showcases Caribbean films from 15 selected countries across the region; this includes 10 feature-length and 20 short films. All of the 2014 entries will be competing for the coveted CTFF Audience Prize, which will be announced on closing night, September 13. (Jamaica Gleaner)

a qualified and trained Sleep Specialist.

In addition, ISD’s Sleepcare Programme also includes Home Sleep Testing (HST) options for the many sleep deprived sufferers that would rather be tested in the comforts of their own homes. This service includes: (Door to Door) Delivery and Pick-up of a Wireless HST Device, a Board Certified Sleep Physician Interpretation and Therapy Options to include CPAP/APAP/ BiPAP Sleep Machines. (TT Newsday)

PGORT-OFSPAIN, TRINIDAD:

Comic fans in Trinidad and Tobago who are familiar with the work of creator Larry Hama got to meet their hero last Saturday, as the famed creator was in Trinidad to participate in the largest comic book and pop culture event in the Caribbean– Alias Expo 2014 at the Center of Excellence.

Last Friday, he delivered a talk at the Central Bank Auditorium on his career in the comic industry. The talk was hosted in collaboration with the Heroes Foundation.

from 10 am at the Center of Excellence, Macoya where he met with fans and delivered a talk on visual storytelling.

Hama’s visit was under the auspices of the Embassy’s U.S. Speaker Program, which partners with local organisations to have U.S. experts from diverse professions share their knowledge locally.

A release from the Embassy said during his visit, Hama attended the Expo on July 26

Hama is a writer, penciler, editor and actor who has worked in comics, TV and film. He is best known as the writer of GI Joe comics from the 80s to today, and as the writer of Marvel’s Wolverine in the 90s.

He has also written, edited or drawn for Avengers, Blaze,

Nth Man, The Nam, Conan, Batman, Wonder Woman, Bizarre Adventures, X-Men, Spider-Man, Daredevil and dozens more.

His illustrations and cartoons have appeared in National Lampoon, Esquire, New York and Rolling Stone. He has appeared on Broadway in Sondheim’s Pacific Overtures and on TV in MASH, Saturday Night Live, and Another World. (TT Guardian)

EORGETOWN, GUYANA: Franale Latoya Holder, 22, who hails from the East Coast of Demerara was on Saturday evening crowned Miss Emancipation Queen 2014 in Guyana by the House of Sanae at a simple ceremony at Cara Lodge, Quamina Street, Georgetown.

This gem of a young woman can be described as one with an abundance of aspiration, inspiration and talent as she confidently makes her journey to her success.

The beautiful young lady, through her courage, vibrancy, intelligence and talent, aspires to become a professional musician and has already embarked on her career.

Being the eldest of seven children has taught her to be responsible, as she is always helpful to her parents. The support she receives from them is her main driving force and pillar in her life.

As a child, she had the privilege of living in two countries, a privilege she took full advantage of. She attended schools in Suriname and Guyana.

The combined learning experience is what mattered to her as it gave her the added advantage of being fluent: scripted and verbal in English and Dutch as well as a Caribbean slavery language called “Stranang Tongo”. She loves the colour yellow and is inspired by her siblings.

Of recent, there has been a division as to who owns the franchise, but the Miss Emancipation Pageant was first hosted by House of Sanae in 2012.

In 2013, it was hosted by House of Sanae and Miss Emancipation was held in keeping with the theme of the month of August, Emancipation Month. Alexis Connelly is franchise owner and Shabakie Fernandes has taken up position as Public Relations Officer.

“Through this event, we strive to showcase a culture which is uniquely Africa,” Fernandes said.

She said that their Queens go through one month of training, during which they are taught African History, social issues such as domestic violence and child sexual abuse.

“They also do sessions of community life competence, which teaches them the importance of a comprehensive approach in community building.”

Thus, the organisation encourages past and present Queens to visit schools and empower the youth to understand the importance of having an education and networking.

Meanwhile, the special occasion was an eve-

ning of elegance which saw women decked out in their elaborate African prints which created the right atmosphere to welcome the new queen.

The lovely Miss Jilicia Pinder, who was the first person to be crowned as Miss Guyana African Queen in 2012 under House of Sanae, performed a rendition of “Malika” by Miriam Makeba. This song also happened to be her talent piece at her coronation in 2012. The evening also saw a dance by the Divine Star Dancers, who performed to perfection.

In addition, five elders who are important bearers of history and culture were honoured for their tremendous support and promotion of African cultures.

They were Jean Britton Waldron Williams, Rudy Guyan, Dr Maxine Aaron Parris Goring, Penda Guyan and Anetha Daniels. They all were given plaques in appreciation for their hard and continuous work.

(Guyana Times)

‘I Love JA’ is Jamaica’s

2014 Festival Song

KINGSTON, JAMAICA: With his song ‘I Love JA’, Rushane Sanderson—2012 Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall champion—added another major accolade to his burgeoning musical career by winning the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Jamaica Festival Song Competition at the Ranny Williams Entertainment Centre, St Andrew, last Saturday night "I never thought I'd win in my wildest dreams," Sanderson told Jamaican media. Second place was won by Sanjay 'Sanj' Thompson for ‘Jamaica Boom’, and third went to Sujae 'Kahani' Johnson for ‘My Jamaica’. The all-male field also consisted of Rodger 'Rojjah' Mendez, Phylbert 'Pehtrol' Graham, Oliver 'Oliver Smoothe' Gordon, Calvin 'King Saloman' Wisdom, Richard 'Bastic' Patterson, Carl 'Clearance' Grey, and Evol 'Bono G' Holness.

Twenty-three-year-old Sanderson, who goes by the stage name Deep Jahi,

received a trophy and Ja$500,000 in prize money. He also joins the list of distinguished festival song winners including Roy Rayon, Eric Donaldson, Tinga Stewart, and the late Stanley Beckford.

In light of several quality performances, especially from Sanjay 'Sanj' Thompson, Sanderson managed to squeeze ahead of the field once he touched the microphone, displaying excellent vocal control and range in what was a challenging song.

Thompson would take home to the Best Performer and Voters Choice awards. Both he and Sujae 'Kahani' Johnson had excellent performances getting the crowd up and out of their seats dancing in the aisles.

Between the initial performances and the announcement of the winners, the audience was treated to music from Ikaya, Nesbeth, and Bugle, who received good response while belting out his hits like ‘What I'm Gonna Do’ and ‘Nuh Compatible’. (Jamaica Observer)

The Guyanese man who became the first black international footballer

Andrew Watson is the world’s first black international football player and is known to have captained Scotland three times between 1881 and 1882. He was also considered as one of the top ten football players in the world in the nineteenth century.

Watson was born in May of 1857 in British Guiana, and was the son of a wealthy Scottish sugar planter named Peter Miller and comely local lass named Rose Watson.

He left British Guiana to further his studies in England. At fourteen, he was enrolled and studied at the prestigious and exclusive King’s College in London. School records show that he excelled at sports, especially football. At age 19, he began studies at the University of Glasgow where he blossomed as a football player. There he began studying Philosophy, Mathematics and Engineering in November 1875. By that time, however, he had already begun to play for Queens Park and was already considered a valuable player to the team.

Watson’s achievements are significant. He was the first black player to have played for Scotland. He represented Scotland three times between 1881 and 1882. He played for Queen’s Park, the top Scottish team of those days. He was the first black captain of an international team (Scotland vs. England 1881). He was the first black captain to win a

major competition, The Scottish Cup 1881, and he became the first black player to play in the English FA Cup (London Swifts 1882).

He is also reputed to have been the first black football administrator, and was the Match Secretary for five years at Parkgrove and Queens Park FC. Watson was credited to have inspired British football in the 1870s.

In the Scottish Football Association 1881 Annual, it stated, “He is one of the very best backs that we have; since joining the Queen’s Park he has made rapid strides to the front as a player; he has great speed and tackles splendidly; has a powerful and a sure kick; he is well worthy of a place in any representative team.”

Discovery

An old photograph, some yellowing newspaper files and some census records led to the discovery of Watson’s contribution to British football. The discovery has been hailed as the most important discovery in the history of black footballers in Britain.

“We believe the findings, dated between the 1870s and 1880s, could prove that the first black British footballer was Andrew Watson who played for Queens Park (Glasgow) and Scotland,” said Ged O’Brien, director of the Scottish Football Museum and leading member of the Association of Sports Historians.

Details of the discovery read like pages from

SAN FERNANDO, TRINIDAD:

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Trinidad celebrated its 22nd Emancipation Day celebrations with a thanksgiving service and street parade in San Fernando Sunday.

Members of the clergy and congregation took to the streets after the service at the St Peter’s Parish in Cocoyea Village, in a procession led by Archbishop Abuna Thaddaeus.

Held under the theme: ‘Reparation at home and aboard’, the celebration was attended by former minister Joan YuilleWilliams, who during the service asked the congre-

gation to say a prayer for their brothers and sisters in Africa. She also asked them remember former prime minister and San Fernando East MP Patrick Manning in their prayers. While he is ill and partially disabled after suffering a stroke, Yuille-Williams said his mind is still intact. Yuille-Williams also paid tribute to the organisation for its work over the years.

Bringing greetings on behalf of the San Fernando Mayor Kazim Hosein, Marabella West councillor Laverne Smith said it was a pleasure seeing men and women dressed as kings and queens. She said it broke her heart to see wom-

en dressing half-naked and men wearing their pants under their buttocks. “I am a spiritual baptist and I never felt more queenly then I did today.”

Also delivering greetings, Franklyn Griffith of the San Fernando Catholic Credit Union said the occasion of Emancipation always excites him and gives him hope. Accompanied by a DJ music truck belting out liberation tunes from various artistes, including the legendary Bob Marley and popular Orisha singer Ella Andall, the procession culminated at Palm’s Club for the cultural show and luncheon. (TT Guardian)

Photographs of Watson in the colours of the Queens Park Football Club, the most elite and famous amateur football club of the day, confirmed the discovery. “Our eyes were opened to a wider vision of Watson the man, the Scottish and international player, and club secretary,” said O’Brien.

O’Brien revealed that Watson started his career with Maxwell FC in Glasgow. His next stop was Parkgrove in 1874 then came the halcyon days of glory at Queens Park from 1880 to 1887. According to Scottish football researchers, Watson was “no mere scuffler on the field and he was a respected player and team supporter.”

an archaeological adventure. Researchers sifting through old football programs and memorabilia noted the adolescent face and distinctive features of one Queens Park’s players and decided to investigate who he was. They combed through the pages of the Scottish Internationalist and the ‘Who’s Who 1872-1986’. But after 5 years they still had no proper clues to the youth’s elusive identity.

But, scanning the recently digitalised 1881 census data put the researchers on the right track. The entry shows that an Andrew Watson, aged 24, lived with his wife and child at Afton Crescent in Govan. Newspaper interviews and articles of the day gave further clues.

Additionally, O’Brien said that Watson roamed far afield to play the game, as was common in those days; he was much sought after by clubs in England as well as Scotland. Records show he played in 36 competitive games for Queens Park. He also appeared for the London Swifts in the English Cup championships 1882, making him the first black player in English Cup history.

Commentators of the day regarded Watson "as one of the best players in Britain". He earned 2 Scottish Cup medals and 4 Charity Cup medals during his career; the Who's Who acknowledged his performances in international matches.

Watson’s place in football history extends to the highest echelons of the game. As club sec-

retary for Queens Park, the man who arranged the team schedule and managed its affairs, Watson was first black in a British club’s boardroom. He helped build up the profile of his club and prestigious tournaments, and ensured the loyalty of future generations of fans and spectators.

His stellar attributes marked him as special for his times. The Football Association, the game’s governing council, was formed in 1863 and professionalism was legalised in 1885. Undoubtedly, Watson was there at the birth of organised football out of its “aimless, chaotic, often violent, roots in workingmen’s culture.” No mean feat for a first generation immigrant in a game where nonwhites were rare, and in a city like Glasgow where blacks from the Caribbean were nearly invisible.

Previous researchers had erroneously cited Arthur Wharton of Ghana as the first black player in Britain. However, Wharton’s claim to fame was being the first professional black player. He played for Preston North End towards the late 1880s. Some of Watson’s achievements were also mistakenly attributed to Walter Tull a person of Barbadian heritage who played for Tottenham Hotspurs.

Andrew Watson married and migrated to Australia where he died and was buried. (Guyana Times Sunday Magazine)

Outdated Copyright Act stifling Guyana’s creative industry

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA: The absence of modern copyright legislation in Guyana has paved the way for the creation of a lucrative enterprise in intellectual piracy, stagnating the growth and development of the local creative industry.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, about five to seven percent of all world trade involves counterfeit products, and estimates the cost to the global economy at more than US$650 billion per year.

The income raked in from pirated DVDs, CDs, the unauthorised photocopying of books and other intellectual materials in Guyana is a tiny, if not invisible, sum of the global counterfeit trade.

But it is an enterprise through which the illegal middle man can make a healthy living, and had it not been for the introduction of the Value Added Tax (VAT), he could easily have been classified as a thief

PORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD: The 2014 creative theme for the Cloth Caribbean is a long string #hashtag— trying to get out of a box, caught in a pattern.

“I too am trying to get out of a box, caught in a pattern because my creative style has been one way all the time,” said designer Robert Young in an interview last week.

For Young, turning through the pages of Italian Vogue and Essence magazines and seeing his pieces highlighted are only “the basics” of his overall fashion mission. This international attention was achieved during his latest runway at Caribbean Fashion Week Jamaica in June when The Cloth was mentioned and highlighted with photos in both prestigious magazines after the event.

and tax evader.

Three-time Soca Road March Champion Melissa “Vanilla” Roberts said that the competition is unfair.

“Most locally produced CDs will retail at a price of Gy$1500, but consumers can get the best of any artiste in the world for Gy$200. Now how can a Guyanese artiste compete with that when you have to spend no less than Gy$50,000 to produce a song?

“Next, an artiste will spend no less than Gy$150,000 to produce a music video to be aired on television, but be-

cause television stations basically get free video content from around the world, why should they be obligated to play ours.

“I gave those two examples to say this, if we had updated intellectual property rights legislation in place, radio and television stations will have to be paying millions of U.S. dollars to foreign companies for content. This will in turn force them to revert to more local content, making way for competitive, productive and economic growth for the creative industries in Guyana,” she said.

Outdated Act

The current legislation, the 1956 Copyright Act, which Guyana inherited from Great Britain following its Independence in 1966, has never been revised since, even though its former colonial master had long repealed the legislation that deemed copyright infringement a civil wrong. Though the current Act does provide protection of literary, musical, dramatic and artistic works, the fines are extremely low, ranging mostly from

adrian richards Photography’s photo shoot of the cloth’s 2014 collection uses barbados as backdrop (Photo: TT Guardian)

Before Caribbean Fashion Week, The Cloth was the only TT business invited to the Barbados Manufacturers' Exhibition (BMEX), which ran from June 6-9. Young had been invited by the event organisers to both show a collection and host a workshop with young Barbadian designers. Just before BMEX, The Cloth participated in Tobago Fashion Weekend, which took place from May 16-18.

International endorsement

Young was also invited by the St Lucia Tourism Board to show and sell at Hot Couture, a fashion event on May 7 at the Audi Showroom at the Meridian Place, Choc Estate, part of the annual St Lucia Jazz and Arts Festival. There, Young met St Lucian-born Shala Monroque, creative director of Garage magazine.

Several international fashion news sources list Monroque as a close friend and muse of Miuccia Prada and an influential player in international art and fashion.

“Shala bought a few pieces and Instagrammed

a few photos of her wearing [them]. Out of that people have been purchasing because she has endorsed it.”

Even with all of this recent success, Young explains his bigger mission for The Cloth. “Everything we do now is to enter some market to gain some acknowledgement. The clothes that we made for ourselves, that we did in private and quiet to make ourselves happy, we now have to make it into a product to sell to foreign markets.”

The Cloth will soon begin preparations for its 30th anniversary. Young plans to host a show in November and possibly a larger celebration in 2015. (TT Guardian)

£5 to £50 (Gy$1750Gy$17,500). Given the time and cost to pursue an infringement in court, some artistes view the exercise as a loss rather than a gain.

Attorney General Anil Nandlall said the government is cognisant of the need for copyright reform, but is also mindful of the existing realities in society.

Speaking recently at a recent workshop on Intellectual Property, the Attorney General said: “It is not that sufficient attention has not

and will not be placed in this direction. When one is in the position of government in a developing country, there are certain considerations to which one cannot turn a blind eye, and one has to be careful that one does not design, implement and execute a system of laws and policies that are inconsistent with the realities of the society in which those rules and regulations are expected to operate.”

Mosa Telford, who has won several literary awards, most recently the 2013 Guyana Prize for Literature in the Drama Category, said the Copyright Act is a dagger in the side of the creative industry.

“I am a part of something called CINE Guyana, and to date, we have made several short films and we are afraid to put them out there or put them on television because once somebody gets a copy, people will make copies and profit more than us from it. It is sour in the creative industry.” (Guyana Times)

Five Jamaicans awarded scholarships to Europe

KINGSTON, JAMAICA:

Five Jamaicans have been awarded scholarships under the European Union's Erasmus Mundus programme for 2014. The recipients were Sunday honoured at a farewell reception held at the Jamaica Pegasus. The list includes four graduates who will pursue advanced degrees, including one doctoral student who was previously awarded a scholarship under the same programme to pursue her master's study. The fifth recipient is an administrative staff member from the University of the West Indies who will participate in a staff exchange programme which helps to facilitate the development of services offered at the participat-

ing institution. The recipients are Terica Racquel Sinclair, Doctorate in Membrane Engineering, Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain; Renee English, Master in Membrane Engineering, Université Montpellier 2 Sciences et Techniques, France; Anthony Hugh Jaganaught, Master of Science in International Cooperation and Urban Development, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany; Kenique Ivery, Master in Finance at Universidade do Porto, Portugal; and Javion Hall selected to undertake an administrative staff mobility period in the Academic Services of the Università degli studi di Cagliari. The period of exchange is one month. (Jamaica Observer)

Salman Khan pledges to help 100 kids with heart condition

Mahesh Bhatt's reputation of giving aspiring actors much needed break in the film industry has worked to his disadvantage as he recently contacted the Mumbai police to report a fake Facebook account that had been inviting 'female fresh face(s)' in the filmmaker's name.

The account--created on April 2, 2014 under the username ‘Mahesh N. Bhatt’--has several posts calling out to 'new talent' throughout April, June and July. (TOI)

Katrina Kaif-Ranbir Kapoor will take their next break in Saint-Tropez

Katrina Kaif, who was shooting with Saif Ali Khan in London, her home town, has wrapped up her current schedule. Ranbir Kapoor is in Corsica, France, shooting with Deepika Padukone.

It is said that when Ranbir gets free, he and Kat will take a break in Saint-Tropez, another breathtakingly beautiful place on the French Riviera. It is already known that the muchin-love Bollywood superstar couple is moving into their own sea-facing rented apartment on Mumbai's Carter Road in October this year. (TOI)

Bollywood star Akshay Kumar will give a dazzling performance on the inaugural day of the World Kabaddi League in London in the month of August.

While Kumar, who co-owns the Khalsa Warrior team in the league, is going to perform on some popular tracks, he's planned a lot more to enthrall the audiences.

Akshay's performance is part of the inaugural programme, which is being planned to mark the start of kabaddi league.

Expressing happiness, Akshay, through a statement, said, "I am quite excited about the event and my performance will be dedicated to all the Kabaddi fans who are going to cheer

the teams."

Saying the league is a way to promote the Indian contemporary sport, he further added that it will bring the fans closer to the game. (TOI)

‘Priyanka Chopra is Bollywood's Hilary Swank’-Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali compared Priyanka

er Mary Kom in a biopic produced by Bhansali. "If they (Hollywood) have Hilary Swank, we have Priyanka. She is a great talent and adds spark to her performance. As an actress I think she is in the league of Nutanji and Waheedaji," Bhansali, told reporters at the trailer launch of 'Mary Kom'.

Swank won the best actress Oscar for her portrayal of Margaret Maggie Fitzgerald, a waitress who aspires to become a boxing champion. Bhansali's film is inspired by Kom's struggle and has been directed by Omung Kumar.

The director producer said he did not take much time to say yes for the project. "Omung told me about making film on Mary Kom around two years back, and I immediately said yes. There was no lengthy meetings or discussions," he said. (Hindustan Times)

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has announced that his Being Human (BH) charitable organisation will help "100 genuine patients" suffering from heart condition by providing them free treatment.

Kicked by the ‘Kick’ success, Salman took to twitter to make the announcement.

"If any kids on FB ya twitter who has a heart condition n can't afford to get it treated, BH vil (will) get 100 genuine patients treated," he tweeted on Tuesday.

Initially, he told his followers to share details on the social networking sites, but later realised that there would be "confusion", so shared email address--beinghumanemail@gmail. com--to get in touch with the organisation.

A month back, he had used the microblogging site to help his fans and others find jobs through his site beinghumanworkshop.com. (TOI)

Kareena Kapoor: ‘Bajrangi Baijaan' has nothing to do with my personal life

Kareena Kapoor and Salman Khan's next ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ is about a Brahmin

Serial kisser of Bollywood, Emraan Hashmi has said that he will not kiss---male actors!

The actor, who is known for his kisses on-screen with beautiful actresses, revealed that he will not kiss male actors.

According to a video in Lehren, he was recently asked if he would kiss a male if asked so. The actor was shocked with the question and instantly said no.

He is back again with his upcoming film ‘Raja Natwarlal,’ which brings him back with his lover boy image. (TOI)

girl and Muslim boy, but the former says that it has no correlation with her personal life.

"The film is going on floors in October. It's a story of a Muslim guy and Brahmin girl. It's got nothing do with my personal life, but it's a beautiful human story," Kareena, who is married to Saif Ali Khan, told IANS.

"I think it will be Salman's career's best film. It will have Salman in a completely different light altogether and it's a very special film. It's special because Salman is producing himself and I am honoured I am with him. I am lucky to work with all the Khans in all their home productions," added the actress who was last seen in damp squib ‘Gori Tere Pyaar Mein’. (TOI)

Pa "kissing scene" for her debut Hindi movie, but she shuns bikini.

Humaima is making

her Bollywood debut with ‘Raja Natwarlal’ and the film releasing on Aug. 29 is said to be a crime comedy. "I don't think I will be able to wear a bikini, I really don't think so," Humaima told IANS

while sharing her views on donning that piece of costume.

by UTV Motion Pictures and directed by Kunal

will see Humaima teaming up with Bollywood's serial kisser Emraan Hashmi. "If I am a good actor, then there is no need to wear a bikini. In my film, there is no sex put in forcefully. Every romantic part makes sense. It's been shot sensibly, which will not look vulgar," she added. (Hindustan Times)

Is Pamela Anderson, Rick Salomon back together?

Pamela Anderson and Rick Soloman were reportedly spotted together just weeks after filing for divorce.

The former ‘Baywatch’ star, who filed for divorce in July, was seen canoodling the 46-year-old celebutante in Sardinia recently, U.S. magazine reported.

A source revealed that Anderson was staying with Soloman for now because she doesn't have the heart to hurt him and although he's a good guy, she just doesn't feel the same way.

The couple were previously married in October 2007, but split just two months later and had the marriage annulled. And this time filed for divorce last Thursday. (TOI)

Former model Katie Price launched an expletive-filled rant at two of her former friends on a social networking site for having affairs with her husband.

She blasted Chrissy Thomas and Jane Pountney on Twitter af-

ter it was claimed her husband Kieran Hayler cheated on her with them, reports contactmusic.com.

The former glamour model branded Chrissy Thomas a "s**t" and Jane Pountney a "w***e" on the micro-blogging site, even though she has insisted she is planning to work things out with Hayler, who is being treated for sex addiction.

This comes just after Katie, who is pregnant with her fifth child, her second with Kieran-announced that she and her spouse are working on their relationship following her discovery that he had cheated on her, but she will never forgive her former pals. (TOI)

Dwayne Johnson reveals sex helped him get buff body for 'Hercules'

Ashton Kutcher-Mila Kunis to wed in July next year

Actors Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, who are getting ready to welcome their daughter, have begun to plan for their wedding.

"The wedding will be next July. They want to focus on their daughter first and having it next summer seems logical," radaronline.com quoted a source as saying.

The source believes that their wedding will be a very

intimate affair with only close friends and family.

"They won't have a big production, but it will be elaborate. The wedding party will consist of the cast of 'That 70's Show' as they are all very close. They still hang out with the original cast all the time. Most likely Danny Masterson will be the best man because him and Ashton are like brothers," added the source. (TOI)

Gerard Butler's helicopter footage sparks aviation review

Actor Gerard Butler has sparked a review by aviation authorities in Australia after he shared a clip of a friend performing stunts in a helicopter on a chat show.

The Scottish actor has been Down Under filming a new movie, and he shared footage of his experiences in the country during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel's talk show in June, reported Hollywood Life.

The clip, which was also uploaded to YouTube shows Butler, 44, and his friends on a fishing trip as a helicopter comes in low and performs a dangerous-looking stunt close to the ground. The actor refused to reveal the pilot's name over fears he might get in trouble on the show.

It has now emerged that bosses at Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (Casa) have obtained the footage and are reviewing it. (TOI)

Charlize Theron gets approval from Sean Penn's daughter

Actor Sean Penn's daughter is thrilled that her father has found love in actress Charlize Theron.

The 38-year-old actress has been dating the 53-year-old actor for the past eight months, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"They're a great couple. They're both very happy and yeah, I love it. They're both extremely strong personalities and they're very intelligent so conversation lasts between them," said Dylan, Sean's

daughter from his marriage to Robin Wright. Theron sparked speculation about an engagement when she was recently spotted wearing a ring on her left hand. Dylan, 23, says she has no idea if they are planning to walk down the aisle. She said: "I don't even know. I have no idea."

But asked if she would welcome Theron into the family, she said: "Always. Sure, why not? If it's meant to be." (TOI)

Megan Fox gave up bread to shed baby weight

Actress Megan Fox had to stick to a low-carb diet following the birth of her second child to get back to her prepregnancy weight.

The ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ star, 28, has bounced back into shape after giving birth to her second child Bodhi five months ago, but she admits getting her pre-baby figure back was a lot

harder this time around.

"Well, let me tell you, the first time I didn't do anything, I was just lucky and I was younger, and then the second time it wasn't coming off the same way and I had to eliminate bread from my diet. It's typical but I'm on that highprotein, low-carbohydrate, very low-sugar diet," contactmusic.com quoted Megan as saying. (TOI)

'Fifty Shades' trailer sends sex toys sales soaring

The trailer of the upcoming erotic film 'Fifty Shades of Grey' is set to spark a 1 million pound boom in the UK sex toy industry, it has been revealed.

DThe film, which stars stunning Jamie Dornan and upcoming actress Dakota Johnson as the kinky lovers, have had "the Fifty Shades effect", as a sex toy has estimated that Brits will spend an average of 2 pound each on toys over the next year, the Daily Star reported.

Lovehoney, who is the of-

ficial supplier of all Fifty Shades sex toy merchandise, approved by the books' author E L James, will be releasing a new range of toys to tie in with the movie which is out on Valentine's Day and are expecting a surge in sales and a "bondage bonanza". (TOI)

Actors Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux reportedly are planning to have their wedding "by the ocean".

The couple, who began dating in 2011 and got engaged a year later, are keen to tie the knot at a private beach ceremony abroad in the near future, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

"Jennifer and Justin are getting married right by the ocean, so it will be a beach meets California modern-chic sort of thing. She is going to have it (the wedding) out of the country (U.S.)," said Kevin Lee, who organised Aniston's first wedding to Brad Pitt.

As per speculations, the pair will get hitched on Theroux's birthday on Aug. 10, exactly two years to the day he proposed to her on his 41st birthday. They sealed their relationship following "months of therapy" after their relationship reportedly hit the rocks. (TOI)

PORT-OF-SPAIN,

TRINIDAD: “It’s much more than just a fashion show or an opportunity to wear nice clothes and march,” Eintou Pearl Springer of Trinidad says of Emancipation Day, which is being commemorated on Friday.

“It is a time of learning and veneration for the trials of our ancestors.”

A celebrated local poet, playwright and cultural activist, Springer has, for more than two decades, dedicated her life to educating African descendants in Trinidad and Tobago about the antecedents which gave rise to the emancipation of slaves in 1838.

And while her struggle to create a heightened consciousness about the horrors of slavery remains a work in progress, Springer says she will not rest until it is recognised that emancipation is not a gift but the result of the ceaseless efforts of a people to gain freedom.

“Emancipation is not just about a day. The clothes and the march are symbolic but it is much more than that,” she explained. Or is it?

One-day event

Retired head of the Department of History at the St Augustine Campus of the

University of West Indies, Dr Rita Pemberton, believes that Emancipation is still largely “a one day event for many people.”

“Although many people have become conscious over time, it is not happening at a rate that is satisfactory,” she said. “For many, it is just about

the clothes and the parade. Behaviours have not moved much past that.”

Designer Heather Jones was unsure as to the extent to which such perceived superficiality existed in the society.

“It is difficult to say because I know of many people who do not see Emancipation as just a celebration. They truly live an emancipated life,” she indicated.

Meaningful

Pemberton contends that the glossed-over view of Emancipation could be reversed through teaching and discussion “in a meaningful way.”

She observed, however, that many of the persons attending lectures and discussions were already knowledgeable and committed to the process.

Historian and author Michael Anthony agrees.

“We, as a people, have not been moving forward to achieve and sometimes I feel that we

are our own executioners,” he indicated.

Emancipation Day, Anthony observed, is still largely about celebrations as opposed to an internalisation of its message.

A Humming Bird Medal (Gold) recipient for Literature, Anthony admitted that he used to “dress up” and participate in the annual parade and other aspects of the observance, “but I don’t do that anymore. I see it as nonsensical.”

For this year’s celebration, Springer will again preside over the theatrical piece, ‘Freedom Morning Come’, which re-enacts the events leading up to the proclamation of Emancipation on the morning of August 1, 1834.

Participants will then perform libations through the streets to the Yoruba Village, before re-enacting the Proclamation of Emancipation at the Treasury Building. (TT Newsday)

Preparations heat up for Guyana Festival

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA:

Guyanese and visitors who want to be at the heart of the action this August should head to the inaugural Guyana Festival to enjoy three spectacular days of fun, entertainment, and food.

The countdown is on and with days to go before the grand opening, festival fever is sweeping the country as more persons are clamouring to get a hold of their Festival Passports, which would guarantee them access to all three days and the chance to win a car.

The National Steel Orchestra, Woodside

Choir, and Nyrityageet dancers are among the line-up for a star-studded National Concert that will kick off a weekend of celebrations Guyanese Style come August 8 at the National Stadium.

The National Concert, to be held under the theme “Myths and Legends…Sweet, Sweet Guyana”, is just one element of an action-packed August 8-10 weekend; a host of other events and attractions will be taking place at the Stadium, including live music, kids zone with complete with Coney Island, and daily displays of art and craft.

Acting Tourism, Industry and Commerce

Minister Irfaan Ali explained, “The concert is the headline event in an exciting weekend of Guyana Festival celebrations, which will ensure that National Stadium in Guyana is the place to be!

“We’re absolutely thrilled to have attracted such a fantastic lineup. The sheer variety of performers is sure to appeal to family audiences; there’s plenty for younger concert-goers but also acts that their parents will enjoy.”

Guyana Festival passports are available for the event, priced at Gy$3000 each, and demand is high. They al-

Sean Harrison is Jamaica's top writer

KINGSTON, JAMAICA: Sean Harrison took home the coveted Best Overall Writer title at the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Jamaica Creative Writing Competition and Exhibition Awards Ceremony at the Blue Mountain Suite of The Knutsford Court Hotel, St Andrew last Tuesday.

"I'm ecstatic, I still can't believe that I won," Harrison told Jamaican media.

Harrison was handed the prestigious award on the back of several strong pieces that netted him three gold and one silver medal. He took the gold medals for his poems ‘The Captive Song’, ‘Summer Sun’, and ‘Keep Your Soul’. The lone silver was for his fourth poem ‘Who Are You’. He will also receive a cash prize from sponsors and his work will join the many chosen entries in Jamaica Creative Writing Exhibition Tour that starts on August 7, ends on March 15, 2015 after visiting every parish library.

The Jamaica Observer's Cecelia Campbell-Livingston received two bronze medals for her play 'Crossroads' and short story ‘The Cawna’.

Winning the Jamaica Creative Writing Competition comes as a bright spot to Harrison, who quit his job a year ago to take up writing full time. This is his third year entering the contest.

"I would definitely recommend that budding writers enter the contest as the exposure it provides just cannot be achieved by normal means," he said.

Currently, Harrison has an E-book of poetry ‘A Deeper Joy: Keeping Hope Alive in a Fallen World’ available online and hopes the accolades will spur sales and his writing career. (Jamaica Observer)

low

days, include

CAL powers travel for Limacol CPL teams

PORT-OF-SPAIN, TRINIDAD:

When the six Caribbean Premier League (CPLT20) teams meet in high-energy 20/20 matches, they do so powered by travel with Caribbean Airlines, the official carrier of the series.

“As the Caribbean’s hometown airline, it is our honour to participate in the CPLT20, which is as much a celebration of the spirit of the Caribbean, as it is a world-class sporting cricket event,” said Alicia Cabrera, senior marketing manager, Caribbean Airlines.

As the official carrier of the Caribbean Premier League, Caribbean Airlines has taken the teams to matches in TT, Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana and Grenada. Additionally, Caribbean Airlines Facebook fans have the opportunity to win match tickets to any of the airline’s North America destinations.

“When you look at the challenges of holding a major international sports league across

cPL t/20 players make the connection with caribbean airlines (TT Guardian photo)

the Caribbean Islands, it becomes obvious that the most obvious strategic partner for any such event is Caribbean Airlines.” said Jamie Stewart, commercial director of the Caribbean Premier League.

“With that in mind we are delighted to have Caribbean Airlines onboard as the Official Airline of the CPL. ”

Legendary cricketer Brian Lara, who is also Caribbean Airlines’ Ambassador, recent-

ly hosted several players for a rap session. Joining Lara were, Daniel Vettori, Jerome Taylor and Captain Chris Gayle of the Jamaica Tallawahs and Dwayne Bravo, captain of the TT Red Steel.

Speaking to the players, Lara said” “You gentlemen have the unique opportunity to bring a new generation of fans into cricket, and it’s exciting to watch this happening now.” (TT Guardian)

KINGSTON, JAMAICA: The fourth International Reggae Wine Festival is scheduled for October 18 at the Whitter Village in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

Artistes for the event have not been confirmed, but Carlos Daley, founder of the event, expects the presence of an American wine sommelier to broaden its appeal.

Chris Joyce, who has ties to the famed Nappa Valley wine region in northern California, will attend the show. According to a post on his Facebook page, Joyce said he will be displaying his products at the festival, and encouraged colleagues to follow suit.

While acts like John Holt, Leroy Sibbles, Etana, Protoje, Romain Virgo and Tessanne Chin have helped draw enthusiastic crowds in previous years, Daley considers Joyce's 'endorsement' significant.

"When we were planning the show we positioned Jamaica as an area of wine introduction and he responded, saying he'd like to come to Jamaica," Daley told Jamaican media.

"You have 30,000 people in Jamaica who are direct wine lovers, so the market is there and the potential is great."

Daley first held the International Reggae Wine Festival in 2011 at the Rose Hall Aqueduct in Montego Bay. It had a strong turnout, but he admits last year's two-day show at Secrets Resorts & Spa, also in the tourist resort, was a disappointment.

The previous festivals were held in

artistes for the event have not been confirmed

August. Daley is confident a move to October, which has a less competitive show calendar, will pay dividends.

"We are putting in a lot of energy and expect good things this year," he said.

A graduate of Howard University, Daley is a financial analyst by profession. He has lived in Maryland for nearly 40 years and is promoter of the Caribbean Food and Wine Festival and Jamaica Day shows in that state.

Their success prompted him to stage a Jamaican show catering to wine lovers, complemented by easy-listening reggae.

Daley expects to announce the artistes for this year's show by August. (Jamaica Observer)

ST.JOHN’S, ANTIGUA: Antigua’s summer festival got under way last Saturday with thousands of colourfully adorned revellers and participants taking part in a street parade that was witnessed by spectators who thronged the streets to view the widely anticipated event.

The t-shirt mas’ group saw an increase of six new bands for this year and Minister of Culture Paul “Chet” Greene, said the numbers were up across the board.

He called on the public to show support at all of this year’s carnival events.

Speaking at the opening last Saturday, Minister Greene commended the outgoing Carnival Development Committee (CDC) Chairman Kayode O’Marde, the sub-com-

patrons, contestants and all other participants for showing continued support to carnival.

O’Marde, who has held the post for the last three years, noted that given that general elections was held so close to the annual event, affected the festival from

a planning and financial point of view, but sought to see the positives.

The brief ceremony at House of Culture included speeches from O’Marde and title sponsor for the opening parade–Scotiabank–made by Country Manager Gordon Julien. (Antigua Observer)

Star of the Week

Rapper Ryan Audron Hurry better known by his pseudonym "RACS", has quickly transformed his childhood nickname into a well recognised professional alias within his home country of Guyana. His obsession with music and perfecting his craft has pushed him to make waves not only in his hometown but in his adopted home of New York, which has birthed some of the biggest iconic rap stars. Hurry born in Georgetown, grew up in the Stevedore housing scheme. He attended both Tucville Primary School and Central High School in Guyana before moving to the U.S. Hurry as a young child grew up listening to soca, reggae, calypso, dancehall, R&B, soul, and many mo-town hits. The musical melting pot triggered an appreciation for all genres of music. With his father also being a musician, the gene was unknowingly passed to him. By the transitional age of 13, Hurry’s mother had chosen to migrate to the Flatbush area of Brooklyn, NY, with his two older sisters and threeyear-old brother. This new place quickly raised the young boy into a man. By January 2011, Hurry, like many, had created a fresh start for the year. He began writing his version of the popular rap song "Black and Yellow". The song by WIz Khalifa was very popular at the time and several remixes were made but it was Hurry instant hit that made this once unknown Guyanese rapper into a respected artist. As soon as his music video was uploaded to YouTube it took only five days to reach approximately 15,000 hits. The song was soon an anthem for the Guyanese community. With a short span of four months, Hurry was back in Guyana performing his hit. Hurry uses his music to tell the struggle of an artist attempting to find his own success in the music industry. With big dreams of success, Hurry wants to use his future wealth to give back to his hometown.

Jamaicans glitter in Glasgow with gold-medal finishes

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND:

Jamaica’s O'Dayne Richards created history in the shot put and Kemar Bailey-Cole kept Jamaica's sprinting pride intact as the island's athletes made the most of the unusual blanket of Caribbeanlike weather, winning two gold medals Monday to lift their Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games medal bounty to seven (two gold, three silver, two bronze).

The Jamaicans were hot on the track and in the field, where Richards won the country's first Commonwealth Games gold medal in the shot put, while setting a new national and Games record.

"This feels great. I hope that this will inspire

the next generation of Jamaican throwers to do great things, they have been doing great things, they are out there and are world beaters and, I hope this inspires them to go to the next level," said an elated Richards.

Richards hurled the shot put 21.61 metres-the best-ever mark registered at the Commonwealth Games, and the best ever by a Jamaican.

He finished ahead of New Zealand's Tom Walsh, 21.19 metres, and Canada's Tim Nedow, 20.59 metres. Jamaica's Raymond Brown finished eighth with 18.65 metres.

Poor start

Richards wasn't the only Jamaican draped in the island's flag, however, as Kemar Bailey-Cole didn't seem too bothered

by another poor start, steamrolling his way to 10.00-flat in the men's 100 metres final.

The towering sprinter seemingly pulled back the entire field, including silver-medal winner, England's Adam Gemili, 10.10, and fellow Jamaican, Nickel Ashmeade, who finished fast in 10.12 for the bronze.

"I couldn't believe, but I came out here to win, and I did just that. I had to power through when I saw everyone leaving, hold my composure and not panic. It feels pretty good because we are number one in sprints, and I wanted to keep the trend going," said Bailey-Cole.

It has been a tough last few months for Veronica Campbell-

Brown, who had won two silver medals--in the 100 metres and 200 metres---at previous editions and was seeking

her first Commonwealth gold medal.

However, Nigeria's Blessing Okagbare ensured that her return

to the Commonwealth Games women's 100m final would also be full of challenges, winning in a blistering 10.85 seconds-a new Games record. Campbell-Brown's silver lining came in the form of another second-place finish, with the Jamaican sprinting standout stopping the clock at 11:03 seconds, as her countrywoman, Kerron Stewart, finished third in 11.07 seconds. Alia Atkinson, swimming in the women's 100m breaststroke final, clocked 1:08.14 to finish behind gold-medal winner, Sophie Taylor (England), 1:06.35, and Lorna Tonks (Australia), 1:07.34, adding a bronze medal to the silver she won in the 50m breaststroke. (Jamaica Gleaner)

Guyanese player in professional baseball training camp in Florida

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA :

Lindani Jamal Anderson departed Guyana over the weekend to be a part of the Orioles Academy in Florida in an effort to become a professional baseball player. Anderson was afforded such an opportunity when he was handpicked by Baltimore Orioles scout Fred Ferreira, who keenly observed Anderson both as a pitcher and strong hitter with the bat during the E-Networkssponsored Baseball Star reality show organised by the Guyana Baseball League (GBL). Managing Director of E-Networks, Vishok Persaud, was pleased

with the product and Anderson’s success, admitting that he has become a believer in the sport.

“We are happy to be associated with

the Guyana Baseball League, it was a project that was interesting because Guyana doesn’t know about baseball; but we at E-Networks wanted to be a part

Limacol CPL organisers pleased with crowd response

BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS:

Organisers of the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL) say they are pleased with the second edition of the regional Twenty20 tournament, despite a lukewarm start two weeks ago.

The showpiece got off to a slow start, with noticeably empty stands at the first match in Grenada earlier this month and moderate attendances in Antigua, but CPL CEO Damien O’Donohoe said it was encouraging to see increased numbers of spectators attending the matches around the region since.

“We’re really delighted, it’s hard to believe

we’re only three weeks in, and I think everyone will agree that the cricket’s been absolutely first class and the crowds that have come out, it’s very exciting,” O’Donohoe

said. “And we’re rolling into two big weeks next week with Jamaica and St. Lucia, before we go to the finals in St. Kitts,” he noted. (CMC)

of something different and something special,” Persaud stated at a press briefing held last Friday at the E-Networks boardroom in Georgetown, Guyana. Anderson, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management and Administration

from the Manchester Metropolitan University, was elated with the opportunity afforded him and noted that failure is not an option.

“I think the transition will be easy for me because cricket and baseball have a lot of similarities so I don’t see a problem there;

I’m looking forward to it…my family supports me and I’m positive,” Anderson mentioned. President of the GBL, Robin Singh, believes that Anderson has what it takes to do well in the camp and wished the 6’ 8” behemoth the best in his quest to go pro. (Guyana Times)

sport

Dwayne Bravo impressed by Red Steel run in Limacol CPL

PORT-OFSPAIN, TRINIDAD:

Dwayne Bravo, captain of the Trinidad and Tobago Red Steel, is impressed by the four-game winning streak of the franchise team at the 2014 Limacol-sponsored Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

The Red Steel spanked the St. Lucia Zouks by nine wickets at the Queen’s Park Oval on Sunday, on the heels of their four-wicket win over the Guyana Amazon Warriors (July 24) and 13-run triumph over the Jamaica Tallawahs (July 26). The Red Steel’s winning run began on July 20 with a nine-wicket spanking of the Antigua Hawksbills.

“I said to the guys “winning is a habit”, said Bravo, during the postmatch media conference. “We remembered how disappointed we were this time last year and how hard we had to work to win games. We’re playing good cricket at the moment, we started

well in the tournament. We want to be number one so we can go straight into the final (in St Kitts on August 16),” Bravo indicated.

Noting that “there are still three games left (against the Zouks on Saturday, the Barbados Tridents on August 7

and the Hawksbills on August 9),” the captain assured that “it’s going to be a different ballgame.”

Following the Red Steel’s win against Guyana Amazon last Thursday, Bravo dedicated the last ball victory to the government and

people of TT.

“We are thrilled at the victory and I would like to dedicate this win to the people of this country as well as the government,” Bravo stated; his comments come in light of the Red Steel being able to retain the TT name. (TT Newsday)

Guyana register four-wicket win over Windward Islands

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA

:

Guyana made heavy weather of their 62-run target for victory but were able to cross the line by four wickets on the final day of the second round game against the Windward Islands in the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Regional Under-19, Three-day tournament.

Guyana were obviously delighted over the achievement of their bowlers, especially the spinners who took eight of the opponents second innings wickets at the Everest Cricket Club. Leg-spinner Steven Sankar was particularly lethal, having claimed 5-35 in 25.5 overs.

Windward Islands had begun the day 24 runs adrift the Guyanese first innings lead of 104. Resuming at 79-4, Anson Latchman and Roland Cato stretched their fifth wicket stand to 47 before the visitors lost both overnight batsmen in quick succession.

Anson Latchman was run out for 12, while Roland Cato followed soon afterward, bowled by leg spinner Steven Sankar for a top score of

46.

Doran Edwards stay at the wicket was short after he was bowled by Sankar without scoring.

However, Ryan John made a fighting 21 before he and Vice-captain Kershaskie Jno Lewis (2) were dismissed by off spinner Sharaz Ramcharran. Windward Islands reached lunch at 159-9, with a second innings lead of 55 runs.

Sankar took the final wicket of Deron Hypolite (20) immediately after the break. Ramcharran finished with 3-44, while Kemp Paul ended with

Jamaica claim three medals at Pan Am champs

KINGSTON, JAMAICA:

Jamaica won three medals-gold, silver and bronzeat the Pan American Junior Badminton Championships, which ended in Guatemala at the weekend.

Samuel Ricketts and Sean Wilson defeated the American pair of Timothy Lam and Justin Ma 21-16, 21-15 to take gold in the under-19 boys event.

Ricketts then pocketed silver in under-19 singles. He was beaten 22-20, 21-13 by Lam in the final.

Earlier, the under-17 pair of Alana Bailey and Shane Wilson won the bronze medal in the under-17 mixed doubles.

Fifth seed Ricketts gave a good display in the under-19 singles final, but was worn down by the class of Lam. The first set saw Samuel playing point for point against the more consistent Lam. Lam had Ricketts beaten with several cross-court smashes, but the Jamaican countered with his own style

TT’s

1-22.

Starting the modest chase, Guyana were in the middle of an incredibly tough situation on a pitch that helped both seam and spin.

They lost first innings’ centurion Shimron Hetmyer without scoring at 3-1 but fellow opener and West Indies Under-19 batsman Tagnarine Chanderpaul and captain Brian Sattaur dug in and pulled the hosts back with a 45-run stand.

But then Chanderpaul (10) departed and Guyana dem-

onstrated a mini-collapse from 48-3 to 56-6, losing Sattaur (31), Balchan Baldeo (5), Kemo Paul (1) and Sharaz Ramcharran (0).

For the visitors, the game was still on but Askay Homraj and Kemol Savory pulled their side out of the doldrums to ensure the win.

Ryan John (2-15) and Sherman Lewis (2-23) and Craig Phillip (1-21) were the successful bowlers. The third and final round will begin on August 1. (Guyana Times)

and fitness to push the American to the limit in the first set, which he lost 22-20.

The second set saw a close battle early, but Lam continued to employ the same down the line and cross-court smashes, and this took a toll on Ricketts.

Sean Wilson, who looks destined for greatness, with his cool and controlled temperament, came out with Ricketts in the doubles, with revenge on their minds.

The Americans Lam and Ma were never given a chance to settle, and the Jamaican pair dominated the match, winning and taking the country's only gold medal at the championships in straight sets. Ricketts and Wilson, along with the rest of the Jamaican team, will now turn their attention to the Sports Development Foundation/National Commercial Bank Caribbean Badminton Championships that will be held at the Alfred Sangster Auditorium from August 7-15.

(Jamaica Gleaner)

Machel

Cedenio strikes World Jr gold

OREGON, USA:

Trinidad and Tobago quarter miler Machel Cedenio struck gold at the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championship, Eugene, Oregon last Thursday night.

Cedenio added World Junior Champion to his list of achievements after winning the boys’ 400 metre finals in a World Junior Leading time of 45.13 seconds which is also his personal best.

Cedenio won by more than one second ahead of Japan’s Kato Nobuya (46.17) and Bahrain’s Abbas Abubakar Abbas (46.20) who placed second and third respectively.

Cedenio became TT’s seventh athlete to win a World Junior title following the likes of Ato Boldon (1995), Darrel Brown (2002), Rhonda Watkins (2006), Renny Quow (2006), Jehue Gordon (2010) and Keshorn Walcott (2012).

The 18-year-old was

in an ecstatic mood last Friday following his struggles earlier this year.

“This win is especially good because I was injured earlier this season. Honestly, I did know I had a 45.13 in me because I trained for this. I didn’t realise the lead I had before the race ended. I just executed my own race,” Cedenio declared.

Meanwhile, TT 110m hurdler Ruebin Walter missed out on a medal after stumbling at the start of the race to finish in sixth position with a new personal best of 13.52 seconds.

In the boys 200m, Jonathan Farinha was able to secure a spot in last Thursday night’s finals after finishing fourth in his heat in a time of 20.74. He ran out of lane two in his finals. Kayelle Clarke was unable to secure a spot in the girls’ equivalent after finishing third in her semi-final heat in 23.44. (TT Newsday)

Guyana Amazon Warriors steal Dwayne Smith’s thunder

- in exciting win over Barbados Trident

BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS:

Dwayne Smith’s

brilliant hundred went in vain for the Barbados Tridents as they lost

to the Guyana Amazon Warriors by a small margin of seven runs in the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL) last Saturday. A late fight from the Guyana Amazon Warriors bowlers saw them through in the 14th match of this year’s CPL.

Trident’s captain Kieron Pollard won the toss elected to field first as the home team preferred to chase targets. Warriors, the visitors had an excellent start. Both the openers Lendl Simmons and Martin Guptill were aggressive from the beginning. Specially Simmons, who hit four sixes in his inning of 64 of just 40 balls. Guptill made a responsible 55 of 51 balls. The Barbados bowlers looked

ineffective in front of them. Their last match’s hero Ravi Rampaul had a bad outing in this match. He gave 39 runs in his four overs with just one wicket to his name.

Jeevan Mendis brought the Tridents back in the game in the 12th over when he picked up Simmons. He also picked up opposition captain Denesh Ramdin. After that Amazon Warriors lost the wickets of Ramdin, Jimmy Neesham and Christopher Barnwell in the space of 17 balls for the addition of just 18 runs. But a 10 ball 30 of Mohammad Hafeez took them to a competitive 173 for five in their allotted 20 overs.

Chasing 174 to win Barbadose lost their

opener Shane Dowrich early. But other opener Dwayne Smith was in no mood to slow down. He along with Shoaib Malik took the Tridents to a comfortable position. When Malik was run out the score was 152 for two after 16.4 overs, needing just 22 runs in 20 balls for the home side. It looked easy task for them. But sudden-

ly in the next over they lost Pollard and Mendis. Though Smith brought up his second century of this year’s CPL in 62 ball and remain not out but that was not enough for the home side.

Barbados finally finished their innings on 166 for four. For his hundred Dwayne Smith got the Man of the match award. (CPL)

Barbados’ top surfer shines in California

CALIFORNIA, U.S.A.: Barbados’ best has done it again!

The country’s top international surfer, Chelsea Tuach just continues to make history, having upset ASP World Junior champ Ella Williams en route to the semifinals of the Vans U.S. Open in her first ever appearance. Competing at Huntington Beach, California, Tuach,

the North American Pro Junior Series champion, stunned a highly rated field in her quarter-final heat following a vertical, backhand attack that netted her a total of 12.70.

Tuach easily walked away with the heat, relegating Hawaiian surfer Brianna Cope, who posted 9.40, into second while the New Zealand-born

Williams was third with 8.94. Zoe MccDougl, another Hawaiian surfer, was fourth after posting an 8.73.

Tuach won’t take to the water again until Saturday, when she competes in the semi-finals.

The biggest and most prestigious surf contest in the North American region, the Vans U.S. Open runs from July 26 to August 3. (Barbados Nations)

Jamaica Tallawahs aim for rebound

- still optimistic of retaining Limacol CPL trophy

KINGSTON, JAMAICA:

Coach of Jamaica Tallawahs, Mickey Arthur, is pleased with the performance of the team so far, as they look to retain the Limacol Caribbean Premier League (CPL) cricket trophy.

Following a 13-run defeat to Red Steel last Saturday at Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad, the Tallawahs will aim to rebound when they face Antigua Hawksbills later this week at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica.

"There is always pressure, but I am pleased with what I've seen from the team," Arthur, who took over as coach this season, told Jamaican media during the team's tour of Digicel head-

quarters, downtown Kingston, Tuesday.

Jamaica Tallawahs won their first three games, then lost to Red Steel, and will now play three consecutive games at their Sabina Park home ground. After the match against Antigua Hawksbills, the Tallawahs will take on Guyana Amazon Warriors on Saturday, then Barbados Tridents on Sunday.

"It's good to be home, and we're looking forward to the home support. We plan to impress at home, and win the three games," Arthur, a South African, said.

"We've seen some good performances from the players, and it makes me feel really good, as we have depth in the squad. I'm very

confident in the players and hope to start well at home," he added.

Captain Chris Gayle has amassed 219 runs from four matches at an average of 73, with a top score of 111 against St Lucia Zouks.

"He (Chris Gayle) is playing well, he's the best Twenty/20 batsman in the world. He is an inspiration to the team and a quiet captain who leads from the front," Arthur also said.

The Tallawahs coach also praised Chadwick Walton, André Russell and Daniel Vettori among the players making reasonable contributions.

Meanwhile, assistant coach Junior Bennett pointed out that the team had a wonderful start but needs to regain its winning form.

"It's a decent start, the team did fairly well on the road. Now we have three very important games at home. It's important for us to play well in front of the home fans," Bennett said.

"The expectation is high, as we are the defending champions. We are pleased so far, but a lot more work needs to be done. The new players in the team are doing well," he added. (Jamaica Gleaner)

Jamaica sweep women's 400m, win triple jump, 110m hurdles - in glittering Commonwealth Games display

LASGOW, SCOTLAND:

Glasgow, cue the Bob Marley, the Jamaicans are taking over!

That's how it seemed any-

way, as a historic women's 400 metres medal sweep Tuesday, plus podium-topping performances by Kimberly Williams and Andrew Riley meant Jamaica won their third,

fourth and fifth gold medals at Hampden Park, pushing their 2014 Commonwealth Games haul to 12 (five gold, three silver, four bronze).

Several Bob Marley reggae anthems, including the iconic 'One Love', blasted through the Hampden Park speaker system as Stephenie-Ann McPherson pulled off a perfectly timed last 120-metre assault to lead home an unprecedented Jamaican one, two, three in the women's one-lap final.

McPherson stopped the clock at 50.67 to win ahead of Novlene Williams-Mills, 50.86 - who went in chase of defending champion and 2011 World Champion Amantle Montsho (fourth in 51.10) - with Christine Day, 51.09, finishing third.

"I came here not exact-

ly fit, but with my coach's instructions, I came here with a Lion's heart, determined to do my best, and I'm very happy to have won this gold medal here," said McPherson.

She noted that all three athletes wanted desperately to ensure that Jamaica won all three medals on offer.

McPherson became the first Jamaican winner in the event since Sandie Richards in Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

Triple jumper Williams, the World Indoor bronze medallist, had her fair share of troubles in the pit, fouling three times in her series, before capping off victory with a seasonbest 14.21-metre hop, skip and jump.

By then, the gold medal had already been won.

"At the start of the year, I said I wanted to come to the Commonwealth Games and win; I really didn't care about the distance, so I'm pretty pleased with my performance here," Williams said.

The second Jamaican in the final, Shenieka Thompson, took fourth with 13.85 metres. England's Laura Samuel, 14.09 metres, was second, with Trinidad and Tobago's Ayanna Alexander taking the bronze with 14.01 metres.

The gold rush continued in the 110m hurdles final, where Andrew Riley, 13.32 seconds, recovered from an untidy midrace to clip England's William Sherman, who clocked 13.36 seconds, with Barbados' Shane Brathwaite, 13.49, taking third. (Jamaica Gleaner)