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GTU wants special needs policy fast-tracked

The Guyana Teachers’ Union (GTU) is calling on government to fast track the implementation of the Special Needs Education Policy to aid in the development of children who have special needs.

High Tide: 03:530h and 16:25h reaching maximum heights of 2.76 metres and 2.67 metres respectively.

Low Tide: 09:56h and 22:15h reaching minimum heights of 0.44 metre and 0.53 metre respectively.

GTU President Colin Bynoe said there was no policy in place to detect children with special needs and called on the government to have the policy implemented as soon as possible.

Bynoe told Guyana Times recently that while the Education Ministry is engaged in compiling such a policy, the union believes there is an urgent need for it to be fully implemented in the school system.

“Putting all these children together with varying disabilities is not a good thing and it cannot happen, a child moving forward. The Education Ministry should, sooner or later, get control of the situation. I don’t know how soon, but that is something they have to work on,” Bynoe posited.

He added that in most instances parents only discover a child’s disability after much time has passed, and, even when it is detected, there are limited services available in this area, especially in schools.

Specialised training

The GTU head noted that at present, teachers are not trained to detect such disabilities and therefore, there is also a great need for them to be

trained.

He said, “I think that we need to do more specialised training for teachers in college, so we can establish more centres like that around the country... not only David Rose School, but they would need to look at establishing centres in other parts of the country –in the Corentyne, in New Amsterdam, etc.”

The Education Ministry has commenced the process of drafting the policy and according to reports, work is far advanced.

Education Minister Priya Manickchand has given her full support for the policy, stating that it will ensure that these children receive the care they need and have equal access to education throughout Guyana.

Education Ministry Special Needs Education Department Coordinator Karen Hall said she is looking forward to having the policy implemented at the soonest possible time, to bring relief to parents and help to care more

Local insurance industry recorded growth last year

The insurance industry here grew in terms of written premium value at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 7.3 per cent, a recent report has revealed.

The favourable regulatory framework supports the demand for insurance products in Guyana; licensed insurers are encouraged with exemptions from Value Added Tax (VAT) on insurance premiums, and a stable economic environment. These indicators are expected to contin-

ue to support the country’s insurance industry. The industry is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.2 per cent.

Guyanese insurance providers, especially life insurance providers, tend to retain a large proportion of their revenues and cede less to reinsurance providers.

Among some of the key highlights of the report are: the life insurance segment accounted for the largest share of the total insurance written premium value in 2012, and the non-life insurance seg-

ment grew at a CAGR of 14.2 per cent during the review period. Motor insurance was the largest category in the total nonlife segment in terms of written premium value, which represented a share of 55.2 per cent of total written premiums in 2012.

The report said Guyanese insurance providers largely generate revenue from premiums, with only a small proportion coming from investments in government securities, corporate bonds, and investment funds.

properly for the affected children. Among some of the areas it will address are the need for a national assessment to identify children with special needs from the nursery level and tracking them throughout their school lives.

It has also highlighted that each special needs education teacher should be trained in a specific area.

With the implementation of the policy, each special needs child will benefit from an individual education plan; each primary school will be required to have at least one teacher responsible for special needs education, while interpreters/ signers will be assigned to schools that have deaf students and a Braille list provided for those institutions with visually impaired students.

The policy also caters for the provision of a learning needs specialist for the various regions.

Editor: Nigel Williams

Tel: 225-5128, 231-0397, 226-9921, 226-2102, 223-7230 or 223-7231. Fax: 225-5134

Mailing address: 238 Camp & Quamina Streets, Georgetown

Email: news@guyanatimesgy.com, sales@guyanatimesgy.com

Editorial

More collaboration on TIP

In response to the U.S. State Department’s 2013 Report on Trafficking In Persons (TIP), government came out strongly to denounce the findings on Guyana as being “riddled with inaccuracies” and “lacking merit”. This came as no surprise, as over the years, the government has become very impatient with such criticisms, especially since it feels that the U.S. authorities are ignoring the efforts that are being made to address TIP.

In fact, no other than the president himself expressed how dissatisfied he was over what he described as the U.S.’s “flawed methodology” used in computing Guyana’s ranking with regard to TIP. Indeed, some of the comments in the report are unjustified, as there is hard evidence to show that steps are being taken to eliminate TIP in Guyana.

For example, in addition to enacting the relevant legislation, the Ministerial Task Force on TIP (MTFTIP) was established by Cabinet on July 6, 2007, and includes governmental agencies, such as the Home Affairs Ministry; the Labour, Human Services and Social Security Ministry; the Legal Affairs Ministry; the Foreign Affairs Ministry; the Amerindian Affairs Ministry; the Local Government and Regional Development Ministry; the Natural Resources and the Environment Ministry; the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC); the Guyana Police Force (GPF); and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), namely, the Indigenous Peoples’ Association, Help and Shelter, and Food For The Poor.

We do not believe that there is a lack of political will on the part of the government to address TIP. In fact, some of the actions that are required are outside of government’s control. For example, the report states that Indonesian workers were subjected to forced labour on several Guyanese-flagged fishing boats off the coast of Trinidad and Tobago during the reporting period. The government of Guyana considers this claim as spurious since it falls completely outside the jurisdiction of Guyana.

Additionally, on the issue of government’s failure to demonstrate evidence of increasing efforts to hold trafficking offenders accountable with jail time over the previous reporting period, the task force reiterated that it has told the U.S. government on numerous occasions that it has no control over the judiciary and the magistracy. Government, therefore, cannot and should not intervene in the work of these independent bodies.

The report had also noted that the government of Guyana does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but is making significant efforts to do so. In response, the Guyana government said it strictly adheres to and upholds the minimum standards of the United Nations Protocol to prevent, suppress, and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children through its own Combating Trafficking in Persons Act, Number Two of 2005.

Most would agree that it is not the obligation of the government alone to tackle TIP. There is need for sustained action by a wide cross-section of stakeholders if we are to really deal with the problem. And we believe that the MTFTIP took the right approach by responding to each major concern carried in the report. Hopefully, this would provide some clarity on the issues raised.

That being said, rather than dismissing the findings of the report completely, the authorities here should continue to press the U.S. for more information sharing and resources to fight TIP. It makes no sense for the U.S. to use certain information gathered from whatever sources and come up with an annual TIP rating for this country if it is not willing to share that information with the authorities here, so that the necessary action could be taken to investigate and penalise those persons found to be involved in this illegal activity.

There is certainly need for more collaboration and cooperation in dealing with TIP from all stakeholders.

Residents stand on road blocks to escape floodwater in a street after heavy rains hit Kunming, Yunnan province in China, July 19. Record downpours for this year have pounded Kunming since Thursday, crippling transportation in many parts of

reported (Reuters/stringer)

Addressing the traffic situation

Dear Editor,

For too long and also on too many occasions, I have been reading and hearing about how the traffic situation here is terrible. Here are my observations and these will either phase out, or the traffic police can go at them after taking care of some very simple things.

Speeding, overloading, jumping traffic lights, and taking some terrible

pole positions at junctions may be a bit challenging to tackle. However, two evils are overtaking us daily.

The first one is that of driving under the influence. How hard is it to nab these kinds of drivers? They can be nabbed right from their drinking zones. I thought this was supposed to have happened quite some time back, but apparently that was an-

other talk episode from the Guyana Police Force.

The next evil is driving with high beams. This is against the law, and it is not something that can be hidden. All that the police have to do is stand and wait and pull over and charge. Just about most people drive with high beams and this makes life so difficult, even if the oncoming driver reacts with

his high beam too.

For now, if I see the police at drinking spots, waiting to charge drunken drivers, and if I see them pulling over drivers who are using their high beams, then I will feel so much better. It will give me some confidence in their seriousness too.

Yours sincerely, Davendra Moolchand

Let us learn from what happened in Linden

Dear Editor,

The Linden Commission of Inquiry (CoI) was set up and all stakeholders allowed the body to do its work. The whole thing – commissioners and terms of reference – was the work of all concerned parties. Now to reject or even question the many pronouncements from this CoI is most annoying. Whatever was recommended should be acted on and life should just move ahead for everyone.

What concerns me is that there is still a call for any person who may have witnessed the shooting to come forward and assist the police. This should have happened already. If after a time, no one is coming forward, then what do we do? This kind of culture of not telling, is labelled as not snitching.

Go all the way back to the killing of Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 –

September 13, 1999) and the disgusting thing is that the killers could have been identified. The actual witnesses live by this code of not snitching. If in this Linden case, there are people who know more than what was revealed during the inquiry, then they should come for-

ward.

Right now, my concern is that the One Mile Primary School be quickly set up. It was destroyed during the protest. This is a great thing to focus on. Also, what people should realise is that irrespective of perspectives of justice, protest must nev-

er involve violence. Just look at how much Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela achieved. We can make better statements in an atmosphere of peace.

Yours sincerely, Gordon McAdam

Page Foundation

Parenting For Success

Pressuring children for academic excellence

There is a need to raise awareness on the issue of children being pressured to achieve perfect scores in school. The pressure some children face is very unfortunate. Some children at the primary school level say to us they want to commit suicide, as they are not able to live up to parental expectations and peer pressure. It is hard to understand parents pressuring their children to get perfect marks. Yes, it is important they say to make a great career and get into the best high schools or get into university, but should it be at the cost of the lives and sanity of young 10- and 11-yearold primary children or even 15- and 16-year-old teenagers?

We see some parents in our society placing emphasis on academic performance from an early age, sometimes because they themselves did not achieve they want their children to or they want to live their lives through their children. Some parents and teachers, as well as the education and social systems, see academic performance as the only baseline for a child’s success and failure. Therefore, if children fail or perform poorly or even at average, they think of themselves as useless and want to escape through either uninhibited

behaviour or painful death. Recently, ChildLinK was called to intervene in a case of a child who was experiencing violence from her immediate family as a result of her average performance at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) examinations. What we found was shocking, the reality of this story, we hope, will help parents and caregivers to relook at their priorities for their children and to find new ways of encouraging and working with them towards success.

Intervention

A very disturbing ob

teacher, who without hesitation called the child and enquired about the marks on her skin. The child was apprehensive and did not respond to the questions.

Magaila had carved on her lower arms with a razor blade “DIE” and “FML”, which means (F... My Life). On her left arm, it was done four times while on her right, three times.

At this point, the headteacher made the decision to contact the child’s mother. When the mother, Angella, came, the headteacher realised that the child had become more fearful

was perspiring profusely. Despite intense questioning by her mother, the child refused to speak, so the mother returned to work.

This was a breaking point for Magaila and she began to relate to the headteacher all that she has been experiencing at the hands of her family. She said her mother would beat her and an aunt would come over sometimes and say hurtful things to her because of her performance at the NGSA exams, for which she had recently gotten the results. When asked what were the hurtful things her aunt would say, she clearly

came from past experience with a male student who was being pressured by family members to excel academically. She related that that child subsequently took his life, because he was unable to cope with the pressure and expectations of his family.

A ChildLink’s counsellor was able to conduct the initial session with Magaila to assess her emotional state. During the session, the child conveyed that she wanted to die and that she was frustrated with her home situation and the family. The torment and verbal abuse started when the child was in Grade Four. She realised that her family was very disappointed with her achievement at the last national examination. She believed they expected her to perform at the same level of her older sister and because she did not, they belittled her through name-calling. The counsellor asked Magaila what she wanted and she clearly stated that she wanted to Die.

Cutting

The child was troubled, angry and she felt disappointed in herself for not being able to meet the expectations of her family. In the past, she tried to stop cutting herself with razors and she was not able to

do so. She believed that she could not stop this habit, because it was the only way she knew to release her pain. Magaila wished her family would stop calling her names and making fun of her performance. The child and her mother were referred for further support, since the intensity of this case was outside ChildLinK’s remit.

It is natural for any parent to want their child to perform well in school, sports, and in life generally. However, when children feel pressured to always perform with perfection, they experience anxiety and have low self-esteem among other adverse effects.

Self-defeating

There is need for balance in a child’s life. The aim should be for learning to take place, rather than exceptional performance. For example, rather than pressuring your child to perform well on a major test, encourage the child to learn from the test. If he/she does not do well on the test, encourage him/her to tell you what he/she has learnt from the experience, such as needing to put more time into studying, understanding the lessons for the next test, or getting more sleep/rest before the next test.

When children are pressured, they worry about their performance to the point that it hinders their ability to remember, to participate, and to perform meaningfully. When a child underperforms at a test or activity it’s not always because they are poor performers, as a number of factors can influence the result such as simple nervousness. Parents who understand this will help their children to improve and become more productive and participate meaningfully.

Children are more likely to suffer from self-esteem issues if they believe that parental pressure is too strong. Children might become withdrawn and angry, which could lead to unsatisfactory lives as adults. Furthermore, too much pressure from parents can make children question their own intelligence and abilities, which will further hinder their ability to learn and grow and affect their relationship with their parents. Facing too much parental pressure can have lasting negative effects on your child.

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

Crabwood Creek man perishes in early morning blaze

ACrabwood Creek, Corentyne, Berbice man was burnt beyond recognition when his one-storey wooden house caught fire in the wee hours of Sunday. The fire broke out sometime around 01:30h.

Dead is 35-year-old Martin D’Aguiar, a GuySuCo worker of Lot 89 Grant 1780 Crabwood Creek, Ball Field Dam, Skeldon.

Guyana Times understands that the man was at home sleeping when the fire broke out. Reports reaching this newspaper revealed that a kerosene lamp was found on the bed by investigators.

According to a police release, the body of D’Aguiar was found among the ru-

ins of the house, which was completely destroyed.

A neighbour, Anjannie Phillips told this publication that she was sleeping when another neighbour alerted her about the fire.

“When me and meh husband go outside, the whole

house done catch afire and only the post them left,” she recalled.

The woman said that they then called the police and fire service. Phillips said at the time they were not aware that the man was in the house since he was seen earlier heading out.

“Meh husband see when he de going out and then me see he pon a bicycle when me been ah come home in a car, me see he and he smile with meh,” she noted.

Phillips said the fire was completely doused around 02:45h and it was then that they learnt D’Aguiar had been in the house.

“We na even know he come home, is till when the police come and tell we they

find he body then we know,” the woman explained. The woman described D’Aguiar as a friendly person who was loved by all the neighbours. She said since he was living alone, she would normally cook for him

Meanwhile, Joyce D'Aguiar, a sister of the dead man, explained that she received the message about 06:30h from an aunt who called from Skeldon. Upon receiving the unfortunate news, she, along with other relatives, went to the scene only to find her brother's house reduced to ashes.

Lived alone

The body was already removed and taken to the Skeldon Hospital mortuary, but determined to see her brother’s body, she went to the facility. Her brother, she noted, lived alone and did not have many friends.

She said based on information, her now dead brother went to a wedding earlier in the night. She admitted that he was a heavy drinker and might have left the lamp burning due to his intoxicated state.

She disclosed that another brother went to see him a few months ago. D’Aguiar is survived by his parents and 11 siblings.

Linden man crushed by lamp post

A22-year-old father of two was killed on Sunday afternoon when a power pole collapsed with him at Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara.

The dead man has been identified as Ronald Arthur of Lot 29 Pompey Street, Christianburg, Linden. The incident occurred sometime around 15:00h.

Guyana Times was told that Arthur was on the pole doing some work when the post fell down, crushing him in the process. He reportedly sustained injuries to the stomach.

Arthur was a contract employee attached to the Guyana Power and Light (GPL); however, it was unclear whether he was doing work for the company at the time.

He was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital, but died soon after while receiving treatment. According to a release from the medical institution, the 22-year-old man was suffering from blunt force trauma to the abdomen. “He was unresponsive on arrival and all efforts to resuscitate him failed.”

When this newspaper arrived at the hospital around 18:00h, relatives of the deadman who arrived from Linden, expressed shock his unfortunate and sudden death, while lamenting that they should

not have allowed him to come to Georgetown to work. The traumatised family declined to say anything further on the matter.

However, when contacted in Linden, the man’s sister, Rochelle Arthur said sometime around 15:30h, her mother received a call from a man who asked them to call him back. Attempts to do so proved futile; as such, she called her brother’s phone, but someone else answered and related to her what transpired.

“The man told me that a post fall with my brother on it and how the post fall, it fall on him and pin him down on his belly area,” she said. The grieving woman said at the time they received the news, her brother was already dead.

She added that her parents and other relatives then left for Georgetown, where they went to the Georgetown Public Hospital and the Plaisance Police Station. While at the station, they met with the contractor with whom the young man was working. The woman explained that her brother would usually travel to Georgetown for work, but this time he left about a month ago and was staying in Diamond, East Bank Demerara, with some friends.

The grieving sister de-

scribed her brother as a quiet, humble and a kind person. She said that his death comes as a shock to their family and they are still try-

ing to come to terms with it. Arthur leaves to mourn his parents, three siblings and two children, ages one and two months.

monday, july 22, 2013

New UN food safety and nutrition standards will benefit consumers

The United Nation food standards body Codex Alimentarius has agreed on new standards to protect the health of consumers worldwide. These include standards on fruit, vegetables, fish and fishery products and animal feed. Codex also adopted codes on the prevention and reduction of ochratoxin A, a carcinogenic contaminant, in cocoa, guidance on how to avoid microbiological contamination of berries and the use of claims for food that is labelled “non-addition of sodium salts”, including “no added salt” on food packages, to assist consumers in choosing a healthy diet.

Safer foods

The Codex Alimentarius Commission, jointly run by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), sets international food safety and quality standards to promote safer and more nutritious food for consumers worldwide. Codex standards serve in many cases as a basis for national legislation, and provide the food safety benchmarks for international food trade.

At its annual meeting last week, Codex celebrated its 50th anniversary. The session was attended by 620 delegates from 128 member countries, one member organisation, one observer country and 41 international governmental and non-governmental organisations, including UN agencies.

One of the important

work areas for Codex is setting safe limits and giving guidance along the food chain on prevention or reduction of contamination. Food can become contaminated by heavy metals, fungal toxins or bacteria and viruses. The commission adopted two important codes: prevention and reduction of ochratoxin A (a carcinogenic contaminant) in cocoa and of hydrocyanic acid in cassava, both important products for developing countries.

Foodborne illnesses

Fresh berries can be healthy additions to of the diet but are also prone to microbiological contamination and have been associated with several foodborne illness outbreaks caused by viruses (Hepatitis A, Norovirus); bacteria (E coli); and protozoa. The new Codex text gives advice to producers and consumers on how to prevent this contamination.

The commission adopted a number of commodity standards that will protect consumers from fraud and ensure fair practices in the food trade relating to fresh and processed fruit and vegetables (eg avocados, chanterelles, pomegranates, table olives, date paste and tempe) and fish and fishery products (smoked fish, abalone). The standards help buyers and sellers establish contracts based on Codex specifications and make sure that the consumers get from the products what they expect.

Granger calls on PNCR to recruit, reorganise and rebuild

The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) held its second General Council meeting for 2013 on Saturday at the party’s headquarters, Congress Place, Sophia, with its leader David Granger telling members that now is the time to rebuild, reorganise, and recruit.

The opening session was chaired by party chairman Basil Williams during which General Secretary Oscar Clarke presented a report on the work of the party and the party’s secretariat for the period under consideration. The oldest member of the party, Cecil Cunha (99 years old) who was present, was recognised by the council, a release from the PNCR said.

The general secretary also reported to the council that three new members had been appointed

to the Central Executive Committee of the PNCR. They are Region 10 Chairman Sharma Solomon, Region Seven Chairman Gordon Bradford and Region One councillor Richard Allen.

The main address of the opening session was presented by Granger, who affirmed that the PNCR remains committed to the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) coalition.

He said that the PNCR was a mass-based party and not an elitist party, and, therefore, had a responsibility to the people of Guyana to provide leadership inside and outside of the National Assembly.

According to the release, in a stirring appeal to the General Council, Granger said the PNCR had a service responsibility to all of its constituents.

He outlined a plan of action for consideration by the council’s plenary.

Retired Brigadier Granger called on the party to rebuild, recruit, and reorganise. He said that party offices in every region must be developed into multi-purpose centres and used as a base for Members of Parliament and regional councillors to meet with their constituents and provide services for the communities. He charged party leaders, especially Members of Parliament to give leadership and to be seen working with and for their constituents and constituencies.

The plenary session of the General Council was expected to discuss the leader’s plan of action, the general secretary’s report, and the PNCR's plans and preparations for local government elections.

New UN food safety...

The commission also adopted the nutrient reference values on sodium and saturated fatty acids, which are associated with non-communicable diseases (NCDs), to be included in the guidelines on nutrition labelling. This is part of the Codex’s on-going efforts to promote healthy dietary practices and address the increasing public health problem of dietrelated NCDs.

The commission also adopted the revised and updated guidelines on formulated supplementary foods for older infants and young children to ensure the health and nutrition of this vulnerable population group. Furthermore, the commission adopted hundreds of safe maximum limits for pesticide residues and veterinary

drugs and provisions for food additives. As animal feed can cause contamination in eggs, meat and milk products, the commission adopted guidance for countries on how to control animal feed and assess the risk of contamination. The commission also adopted guidelines for national food control systems to assist countries in implementing food control.

Because of the volume of trade and the need to harmonise national standards, the commission agreed to create a new Codex committee on spices and culinary herbs, which will be hosted and chaired by India. The commission approved its Strategic Plan 2014-2019, which will guide the work on protecting consumers’ health and

From page 7

ensure fair practices in the food trade over the next six years.

monday, july 22, 2013 | guyanatimesgy.com

GMSA to hold seminar on negotiation skills

Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation in Guyana, Ambassador Robert Kopecky′ will declare open the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) sponsored one-day seminar titled: “Mastering Win-Win Negotiation Skills” on Tuesday.

The venue is the Regency Hotel Conference Room, Hadfield Street, Georgetown. Participants will include representatives of some GMSA member companies and others in the

public and private sectors including the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, the Guyana International Conference Centre and the Small Business Bureau.

The agenda for the oneday seminar includes styles of communication, preparing for negotiations, building relationships and trust, maintaining emotional control, and managing a potential or existing impasse.

Facilitator Sandra-Ann Baptiste said that she will also discuss effective strategies to deal with unfair negotiating tactics.

Baptiste and other members of the North Americanbased Carigold Associates training and consulting team have been conducting training programmes for the GMSA since the mid 1990s. She is an international renowned training and business consultant based in Barbados and Miami, USA and carries the prestigious Canadian International Trade Professional (CITP) designation. GMSA President Clinton Williams will deliver remarks at the start of the seminar.

“Brown Sugar Too Bitter For Me” is back

Back by popular demand, local film “Brown Sugar Too Bitter for Me” will be aired on July 27 at the Satya Cinema, Mahaicony and on July 28 at the Enmore Hope Primary School.

Both shows are scheduled to be aired at 19:00h. Producer Mahadeo Shivraj said that the film brings to life the everyday issues which occur when someone of the upper class marries an individual of a supposedly lower class.

The film was first launched on April 20 at the National Cultural Centre and was released to coincide with the 175th arrival anniversary of East Indians to Guyana. It was also ded-

icated to the five Enmore Martyrs and has been shown throughout Guyana.

The movie was filmed in Guyana and captures the life of an ordinary cane cutter and depicts a tale of love, devotion and social injustice on a sugar plantation. The film includes 13 original songs, all produced by overseas-based Guyanese artistes including Terry Gajraj, Nadeen Bacchus, Princess Anisa and many others.

The movie is the third released by Shivraj in collaboration with the Dramatic Arts Academy headed by Neaz Subhan. Shivraj acknowledged that Guyana is yet to realise that cinema has come back to the coun-

try, stating that “it would take some time for Guyanese to know”.

Culture, Youth and Sport Minister Dr Frank Anthony praised the movement towards the development and revival of the film industry and film-making in Guyana. He paralleled the revitalisation of the film industry through Shivraj’s Productions with the dedication of the Enmore Martyrs, which are both turning points in Guyana’s history. Shivraj acted in approximately 100 plays and about 15 films. He is a member of the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

Miss and Mr Guyana Talented Teen contestants revealed

Eighteen young men and women were on Sunday revealed to the public as contenders in the Miss and Mr Guyana Talented Teen pageants this year slated for September.

This is the 12th edition of the Simpli Royal Miss Guyana Talented Teen Pageant and the introduction of the Mr Talented Teen contest which is expected to be steamy-hot, based on the line up.

The Miss Guyana Talented Teen contestants are Miss Cummingsburg Crystal Fraser, Miss Peter’s Hall Tiffany Bonner, Miss Enmore Chelsea France, Miss Liliendaal Riona Howell, Miss Plaisance Tiffany Ferguson, Miss Lethem Onika Rose, Miss Campbellville Jamaise Klass, Miss Victoria Greneshawana Cummings, and Miss Linden Romichell Clement.

The Mr Guyana Teen contestant are Mr Parika Kevin Smith, Mr Lacytown

Queen, recently certified Dr Pertab was also at the event and reminisced on her time in the pageant and the challenges she was confronted with during her pageantry career.

Speaking with Guyana Times, Simpli Royal Chief

The crowned Miss Talented Teen will represent Guyana in a similar pageant in a Caribbean territory.

However, Dillon explained that sponsorship is a challenge for the organisation, but is keeping her fingers crossed that the busi-

Omkaror Brumell, Mr Beterverwagting Kefa Smith, Mr Grove Fazil Rahaman, Mr West Bank Demerara David Loncke, Mr Anna Regina Dennis Glasgow, Mr Diamond Linden Isles, Mr New Amsterdam Royden James, and Mr Prashad Nagar Mark Junor.

The nine males were sashed by reigning Mr Guyana/United Nations Teen Devon Hernandes, while the beauties were sashed by reigning Miss Guyana Universe and newly-crowned Miss Guyana World, Ruqayyah Boyer. At the simple sashing ceremony, there were a few past beauty queens including Miss Talented Teen 2007 Jenelle Cox, Ulex Atwell, and others. The reigning Miss Guyana Talented Teen Sharona Haniff was also present at the prestigious event. They claimed the teen pageant has shaped their careers. Miss Guyana PlusSize

Executive Officer Pamela Dillon explained that this is the 12th year for the Miss Talented Teen Pageant, but the first for the Mr Talented Teen Pageant.

Proper training

She disclosed that for the past 11 years, young men were trained to escort the young ladies on stage, noting that this is the first year they are being asked to compete.

“These young men are going to go through the rigors of pageantry… training… they will definitely be doing a charity… they are going to develop their talent… they are learning ballroom dancing and they are learning to behave in a social background,” Dillon added.

On pageant night, the contestants will be competing in a national wear, swimwear, evening gown, talent and intelligence segments.

ness community will come on board.

Motivator

Miss Guyana World, Ruqayyah Boyer was given the mandate to charge the teenagers as they step into competition mode, encourag-

ing them to stay focused and maintain a personality that will win the hearts of the judges and the audience. She also charged them to stay confident while reiterating that hard work will bring success.

Meanwhile, at the sashing ceremony, there were some outstanding performances by Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company Limited Jingle and Song Competition finalist Michael Small, who sang “I Was Here”, an R&B hit that was soothing for the occasion.

Y3K also performed a few pieces along with a spectacular rendition of the National Anthem. Nelsion Nurse also launched his new collection of high fashion design, which was definitely intriguing and well received by the persons present.

Four persons were also rewarded for their continuous support to Simpli Royal, including Guyana Times photographer Carl Croker, National Communications Network (NCN) Programme Manager Wendy Hermanstine, Former Miss Guyana Talented Teen Ulex Atwell and Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company official Marvin Peirce.

De opposition already got hydro

Old people seh one ting does lead to another. Well, it look like one lie does lead to another too. People who like to lie does have to remember what dem lie bout de last time fuh know how fuh lie de next time. And how fuh lie all de other times.

That is exactly what happenin with G-PEE-L. Dem seh dem upgradin de power supply and people gon get blackout. Now dem done de upgrade and people still in darkness. Even day time turn like night time. Now dem turn round and blame de weather. So is one lie leadin to another wid dem. De old people always right.

But if only de rain coulda talk, it woulda be a different story. G-PEE-L woulda end up shuttin down just how de power shuttin down. De G-PEE-L boss mouth woulda shut down too. De more he talk is de more blackout. Then GWI turn round and blame G-PEE-L when water cut off. So is still one lie leadin to another…thank God fuh de rain after all. And de old people right again.

Now de opposition also movin from one lie to another. Plenty of dem tek free trip from de guvament fuh go and see de hydro project, because dem seh dem ain’t understand any ting. Dem come back and claim that dem understand de project better after de visit. So de whole opposition come back happy and talk nice bout hydro.

But dem still go to Parliament and vote down de project. Dem mek excuse bout how dem want to talk bout other tings. Again is one excuse leadin to another. Just like de old people seh. After all, it look like de opposition don’t want any hydro because dem already got hydro – a different type.

Ting-a-ling-a-ling…friend tell friend…mattie tell mattie! And watch out fuh de opposition, fuh more lies, and fuh a certain type of hydro!

Kross Kolor Records releases “Summer Slammer” album

It is that time of the year again for swim suits, beaches, shorts and flip flops and as all get ready to indulge in the summer holiday fun, Kross Kolor Records is certainly set to join in.

School is out and the company has released yet another sizzling album, which features various artistes and promises to put fans in a party frenzy.

Produced by Burchmore Simon of Kross Kolor Records, the “Summer Slammer” album consists of 14 new and previously released tracks this year, some of which were arranged and produced by singers residing overseas. The songs are per-

formed by popular Guyanese artistes, including X2 (Adrian Dutchin and Jumo Primo), Vanilla, B52, Fojo, Malo, U.S.based Shatta Youth and Super Markie. Also featured for the first time is Jamaican superstar Kiprich, who teamed up with X2 on the first song on the album “Bubble and Wine”.

Both the previously released and new tracks have been blazing the airways and already have the fans craving more. The songs are of the soca and dancehall genres which are perfect to turn up the summer heat. The album was released on July 20. It is available for sale at Matt’s Record Bar.

Times Notebook

Rape – time to take a robust stance to stop this shameless scourge of humankind

Never before has the human race confronted the shameless scourge of rape as we seem to be doing at this juncture in history. Yet, we at Times Notebook believe it is not enough. Still, we choose to highlight the fact that there seems to be a greater effort to tackle this blight on humanity.

We are hopeful that in the coming weeks and months, a global stance and concerted effort will be made to recognise that rape of young girls and women is a pandemic – a pandemic that might be more recognised and talked about today, but one that has been with us for as long as our history as mankind.

There are encouraging signs of a greater urgency in dealing with the problem. While it is a public health problem, it is a criminal matter that must be dealt with through the law and with the engagement of public health professionals.

Times Notebook is cognisant of new laws that are being established around the world, in developing and developed countries, in an effort to ensure that men who commit the crime of rape are punished and the girls and women who are victims of such crimes receive the support of law enforcement and public health professionals that they deserve.

Landmark case

On May 27, in Kenya, a landmark case illustrates the progress, slow and definite, that we are making in this global fight against this degrading crime. Times Notebook brings this case to the attention of our readers, since it has the potential to change the status of women in Kenya, around Africa, and in developing countries.

A judge in Kenya declared that by “the failure to enforce existing defilement laws, the police have contributed to the development of a culture of tolerance for pervasive sexual violence against girl children”. The case started three years ago, when the Kenyan government was sued on the behalf of 160 girls between the ages of three and 17 for failing to protect them against rape.

The judge’s remarks were made as he declared that the government was, indeed, guilty as the police were often negligent in addressing the issue of rape of girls and women. This case will become a much-discussed and referred-to one, as it gives a whole new interpretation of constitutional rights.

Kenya has a serious problem with rape. A girl is raped every 30 minutes in

Kenya. The problem is not just in Kenya, but throughout Africa. The problem is not new, but the HIV epidemic is partly driven by this scourge, and also has recently contributed to an increase in rape cases of girl children in Africa. Many men believe that sex with a girl could cure them of HIV, and they believe that the younger the girl, the stronger the cure.

Lack of enforcement

In Kenya, as in many African states, the laws against rape, called defilement, are available to bring the criminals to justice and to protect girl children and women against rape by men. The problem is the lack of enforcement and the impunity provided by the police to the perpetrators.

The greater tragedy is that greater than 90 per cent of the rapes are perpetrated by people the girls know – by their fathers, uncles, brothers, cousins, neighbours, teachers, priests – the very people who are tasked with keeping them safe.

Some of these girls die, others are maimed, and all of them who survive are emotionally and psychologically injured for the rest of their lives. But the tragedy is even worsened – these girls are often abandoned by their families and by the system. Often they suffer from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Some become pregnant, and virtually all cannot go to school again and are, therefore, denied an education. Their childhoods taken away forever, they face only one future – poverty, destitution and ill-health.

Three years ago, 160 of these girls in a shelter at a town called Meru in Kenya had their case against the government filed in court. The case started on October 11, 2012 and was concluded with the decision on May 27 this year.

“Haki yangu”

On the day the case started, the girls marched with their advocates from their shelter to the courthouse. It was a demonstration of courage and determination. They chanted “haki yangu” – the Kiswahili words for “we demand our rights”. On that day, the guards tried to lock them out, but the girls continued to chant as they climbed over the fences.

The advocates were lawyers from Kenya, Malawi, Ghana and Canada. These lawyers were alarmed at the increase of rapes in Kenya and decided to bring attention to the plight of girls in Kenya. The Kenya case was patterned after a similar case in Canada where wom-

Protect our girls and women

en took their government to court.

The case was initiated by a group in Canada called Equality Effect led by Fiona

Sampson. She got together with Mercy Chidi of a group in Meru called Ripples International. Together, they decided to tackle the

problem of impunity of rapists and the failure of the justice system to charge and convict them.

But the problems of girls and women in Kenya are seen in every country around the world. While more progress has been made in developed countries, the problem is expanding exponentially in developing countries where the laws are ineffectively enforced.

There is another dimension to the growing plague of rape. On June 4, an American woman was raped in the Indian town of Manali. It’s a growing problem faced by women visitors to developing countries.

We can recall the case of the rape of a 23-year-old

Indian woman, a student, on a bus three months ago. That case finally awakened India to the major problem of rape in that country. Cases like these are opening people’s eyes and action –slow and not sufficient yet –is at least beginning to bear fruit.

Times Notebook urges the authorities in Guyana and elsewhere for us to do the right thing – protect our children and protect our girls and women. Rape is a crime, rape is unholy. Rape is degrading. Defilement is only but one result of rape. It is a living death.

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

monday, July 22, 2013

Commuters concerned about state of Vreed-enHoop, Georgetown stellings

Despite talk of rehabilitation, the two main ferry stellings across the Demerara River remain in a state of disrepair and commuters are questioning when the structures will be fixed to guarantee their safety.

“They really need to put proper steps and only changing the wood and not the entire concept is not enough,” one commuter, Elizabeth Alley said. Over the years, the stellings have deteriorated considerably. The Public Works Ministry, through the Transport and Harbour Division (T&HD), has been constantly repairing the main on and off loading steps as its prime focus and the other areas have been allowed to deteriorate.

Alley is one of the hundreds of persons who use the speedboat service on a daily basis to travel to Georgetown for work. Another frequent commuter noted that the relevant authorities should reintroduce the ferry servic-

es to ease the hassle at peak time.

“In the morning and afternoon when people travel, the step used to go to the boats are filled with people and the steps don’t have rails... the time people would be pushing to get on and off the boat,” another commuter, James Allen said, adding that “once a child almost fell into the water due to the rush on the steps”.

Meanwhile, speedboat operators said they have seen an increase in the number of commuters using water taxis. Some speculated the increase of commuters is because the Demerara Harbour Bridge has collapsed in the past.

According to Alex, a speedboat operator who has been operating water taxis since his early teens, the deterioration of the structure has worsened overtime without proper repairs being done.

“The step pon the stellings really got fuh look after because them people, espe-

cially old people, does get a hard time with the step and even the working girls with their shoes and when water low is worse,” Alex said.

He said the facilities at the stelling, especially at Vreed-en-Hoop need urgent rehabilitation.

Racheal Singh, a commuter, told this publication that she has been using the stelling for more than 10 years to go to her small snackette in Stabroek Market.

“It hard to climb this step because old age stepping in… one time meh slip and fall and them boatmen had to help me,” she said.

Numerous attempts were made to contact the T&HD general manager, but these proved futile. The last ferry that plied the Georgetown/ Vreed-en-Hoop route was the Jetboat and that went out of service in 2005.

However, earlier this year new steps were installed at the Georgetown and Vreed-en-Hoop ferry stellings.

Health-care services improved in Region One – regional chairman

Region One Chairman Paul Pierre said the administrative district is now self-sufficient when it comes to health care. His comments come in wake of the intervention by the Health ministry to tackle a diarrhoeal outbreak in the region. In an interview with Guyana Times, the regional chairman noted that the Mabaruma Regional Hospital has since been equipped with modern facilities, which include an X-ray Unit, Eye Care Unit and a modern laboratory where tests can be done.

“This has impacted positively on the region’s malaria programme and has resulted in the reduction of malaria and has more importantly, reduced deaths from the disease.”

He noted that the hospital is now equipped with a new operating theatre, which services the entire region.

“From time to time, there are surgeries being done at the Mabaruma Regional Hospital.”

Pierre said Region One, being a very large region, might have a few isolated cases where medical assistance could not be accessed in a timely manner, but

things have improved.

“In general, I think health services improved over the years. This year at Port Kaituma, we had an outbreak of diarrhea.

“The response by the Ministry of Health, I must say, was very good because there was no delay in responding to that outbreak and a massive survey was done both from the national and regional levels as to the cause of the outbreak.”

This, he noted, has resulted in officials being able to contain the outbreak. Several measures were adapted after the survey; one of which was the distribution of drinking water to all surrounding communities.

“Drugs were also distributed and we had various sessions on sanitation and on water treatment.”

Meanwhile, plans are under way for the construction of a new hospital at Port Kaituma, Pierre said.

“We have already identified the site and a design for the building has been shown to the RDC and the technical people are now working on getting things together, so that again definitely boost health in Region One.”

The chairman noted that the Moruca Hospital in the Kumaka district will also be enhanced this year.

“We are working currently to install an X-ray Unit there. We now have doctors at all of our hospitals in the region.”

There are two doctors at the Moruca Regional Hospital, one at the Kumaka District Hospital and one at Port Kaituma, while medics are scattered across the region at all the health centres.

“So with that, the health sector in the region is being kept under control.”

Some residents of the community have expressed satisfaction with the developments, which have taken place in the health sector in Region One.

Health minister updates Parliament on disease reporting system

The Health Ministry has recorded from 2001 to 2012 in Region One, a total of 114 deaths due to acute gastroenteritis/ acute diarrhoeal diseases. Some 65.5 per cent of these deaths were males, with 61 per cent being five years and younger and 11 per cent over 50 years.

This is according to information provided by Health Minister Dr Bheri Ramsaran in the National Assembly in response to questions by Opposition Leader David Granger as to the names and ages of the persons who would have died as a result of gastro-enteritis and similar or related diseases in the region from January 1999 to April 2013.

In his response, the minister explained that the ministry would have had available validated electronic information for the region that only covered the period 2001 to 2011. Prior to this, information was collected using a paperbased system, the records for which were destroyed in the 2009 fire that gutted the Health Ministry building.

In 2013, the ministry only recorded under five deaths in the region, including those of a sevenmonth-old female who died on March 4 of bronchopneumonia and acute gas-

troenteritis; a two-year-old male who died on March 13 of broncho-pneumonia and non-gastroenteritis; and another male, who also died of broncho-pneumonia and non-gastroenteritis on March 14.

The information provided by the ministry was collected in accordance with the principles and standards established by the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre (CAREC). This agency is now incorporated into the recently commissioned Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA).

According to the minister, information on acute gastroenteritis and related diarrhoeal diseases are routinely collected using the registration of death forms, which capture the information from the

health facilities where the death was registered.

The information, which does not include the person’s name, is coded and entered into the database which is then validated with the General Register’s Office and then submitted to CARPHA for review.

Based on this information, the Health Ministry can provide a line listing of the coded data on all deaths due to acute gastroenteritis and related conditions, namely diarrhoeal diseases from Region One.

Minister Ramsaran also informed that the chief medical officer has been advised to ensure that the surveillance is maintained and the system rigorously monitored in response to another question by Granger about the system the ministry has put in place to prevent a recurrence of such deaths.

Minister Ramsaran advised that in addition, the chief medical officer has been ensuring that epidemiological information and analysis already done are reviewed for conformity with CARPHA’s standards and principles, and that future collection and processing of epidemiological data and epidemiological analysis are done in conformity with international best practices.

Guyana can increase access to global financial markets – IDB specialist

The Inter-American Development Bank’s lead financial market specialist, Frank Nieder said Guyana’s current level of access to international financial markets is minimal, with the public sector recording less than US$3 million of US$1.36 billion of external debt from international financial markets and almost all external debt being from official multilateral and bilateral sources.

Nieder, during a recent presentation, stated that there was also no country credit rating for Guyana, and no transaction record of local firms in financial databases except for a US$50 million line of credit with the local subsidiary of Chinese mining company BOSAI.

He explained that the limited access is a result of limited demand from Guyana, the limited interest from external sources, and the public sector being able to meet external financing needs from official sources. Other factors are the country’s risk levels; consequent financing costs, which are likely to be high initially, owing to the lack of a track record; Guyana’s vulnerability to commodity price shifts; foreign exchange controls; lack of country credit classifica-

tion; and questions about local businesses, and an untested legal and regulatory environment.

The specialist noted that few local firms can structure sufficiently large operations to justify transaction costs associated with international capital markets.

He said the enhancement of access to international markets will come with potential risks if debt is relatively high, including greater potential for contagion effects from international financial shocks and crises and greater possibility of balance of payment shortfalls.

Potential benefits

There is also the risk of heightened foreign exchange. Nieder noted that the potential benefits for borrowers include lowercost and longer-term financing than those available from domestic financial markets, greater volumes of financing, and more options in structuring operations.

He pointed out that the benefits to the macro-economy would be the increased potential level for investment and for the domestic financial markets, it would enhance competition by providing an alternative source of financing and reduce potential “crowding out” by

the public sector.

Nieder pointed out that international financial markets are currently searching for higher return instruments, so it is a propitious time for Guyana to attempt to tap markets.

In order to obtain access to international markets, a country can test the waters by starting with a public sector operation, either central government or public enterprise.

Nieder said lowest risk borrowers have established a reference price and credit risk classification, to which private entities can be compared. He added that there are potentially larger-sized transactions than those of a private firm, which facilitates covering of transaction and administrative costs and assured access to foreign exchange.

IDB support

In terms of support from the IDB, Nieder said the bank has financial instruments to help both the public and private sectors gain access, and usually at lower rates and longer terms than those available if borrowers proceeded alone.

In explaining one funding option – co-financing, he said the funding for a project is shared by the IDB and private financial institutions. Financial institutions consider the risk to be less owing to the bank’s participation and are more likely to invest. For public loans, it is considered unlikely that governments would default on a bank-supported project, even if their portion does not have preferred creditor status.

Nieder noted too that for private sector operations, financial institutions have confidence in the bank’s due diligence process, as well as shared priority access to foreign exchange. In relation to a partial credit guarantee for credit enhancement, he detailed that the bank provides a guarantee on a proportion of loan payments.

monday, july 22, 2013

Scotiabank customers volunteer on first Habitat home construction site

There was a hive of activity at Hope, East Coast Demerara on Saturday as 13 Scotiabank customers spent more than 70 hours helping to complete the home of Amanda Anthony, under the Scotiabank/Habitat Build a Home promotion. The customers were from the Carmichael Street branch. Anthony, a widowed mother of two with a disability, is the first beneficiary under this partnership that involves Habitat Guyana, Scotiabank customers, employees, the public, and other stakeholders under the bank’s Bright Future Programme.

Scotiabank Marketing and Products Manager Jennifer Cipriani said through this promotion, the bank will donate to Habitat for Humanity Guyana Inc a percentage of the value of Scotia Plan loans, auto loans, and mortgages applied for and disbursed between March 1 and October 31 to build Anthony’s home.

She revealed that as of June, Scotiabank had managed to raise more than $750,000 through private donations and the bank’s own contribution towards the project.

Eligible customers were also given a chance to win gift certificates for loan instalments, jewellery, hardware, spa treatments, groceries, electronics, and

clothing by entering into quarterly draws.

At the time of disbursal of the loan proceeds, customers receive entry coupons commensurate with the amount of the disbursement.

Cipriani disclosed that the second draw is scheduled for Friday, September 13, at the Carmichael Street branch from 11:00h.

Donations

“Should anyone wish to make a donation towards building the home for Anthony without taking a loan, they can do so directly to Habitat for Humanity Guyana,” Cipriani said.

She further explained that should the required target be reached before the promotion ends, Habitat will identify another beneficiary and the remaining donations will go towards that family.

There is also a mechanism established by which the public can be kept informed on the amount of funds donated through monthly releases and advertisements.

Scotiabank has once again expressed a commitment to supporting the communities in which it operates both in Canada and abroad, through its global philanthropic programme, “Bright Future”.

Recognised as a leader internationally and among Canadian corporations for

its charitable donations and philanthropic activities, Scotiabank has provided on average approximately C$47 million annually to community causes around the world for the past five years.

Cipriani said that with a new programme direction called “Inspiration-inAction”, additional focus will be placed on community development, disaster risk reduction, and social action and awareness.

She added that through resource centres, the organisation has sought to make a stronger impact on communities through training, mobilisation, and various community driven projects.

Its partner in this initiative, Habitat for Humanity Guyana began its work in 1994 following an invitation from then President Dr Cheddi Jagan, and was officially registered in Guyana in 1995.

Since then, the organisation has supported more than 3000 families within the country’s 10 administrative regions, through partnerships with affiliates, home partners, volunteers, and sponsors to build simple, decent and affordable housing for low-income earners.

The organisation has also undertaken home repairs, rehabilitation works, and assisted in accessing secure tenure.

Colombia’s peace in doubt after soldiers’ slaying

Fifteen Colombian soldiers have been killed in an ambush by leftist FARC fighters, the country’s president said, raising concerns about peace talks launched last year.

The soldiers were killed in the ambush on Saturday in Arauca on the border with Venezuela, AFP reported.

The Colombian army has arrested 12 FARC rebels accused of killing the soldiers, President Juan Manuel Santos has said. Santos ordered more troops to the Arauca region and told them to respond forcefully to the killings.

He is expected to announce new security measures for the region.

The government and the FARC are currently holding talks in Cuba to end more

than five decades of conflict.

The incident happened in a rural part of Arauca known as El Mordisco, when more than 70 FARC rebels

attacked a group of 26 soldiers guarding an oil pipeline. Six rebels are also reported to have died in Saturday’s attack. Earlier

reports had put the number of dead soldiers at 17.

In a separate incident in south-west Colombia, clashes killed four soldiers and several FARC fighters.

Santos, who has gone to the Arauca region for a security summit in the town of Tame, said he was intent on ending the violence, which he described as plain terrorism.

“These are the instructions to our forces: don’t stop shooting for even a moment until we reach the end of this conflict,” he said. “All of Colombia must work for peace precisely so that incidents like those that occurred in the last 24 hours never happen again.”

Peace talks in Havana should continue as normal, he added. (Excerpts from Al Jazeera/BBC News)

Chile’s conservative bloc picks new candidate

Chile’s conservative Unión Democrata Independiente (UDI) party has picked Labour Minister Evelyn Matthei as its new candidate in the presidential election to be held in November.

Matthei steps in after the right-wing’s former candidate Pablo Longueira unexpectedly quit the campaign on Wednesday due to depression, sending the conservative bloc into disarray.

Longueira had launched his campaign after the right’s previous favourite

Laurence Golborne dropped his bid in April because of a scandal from his time as chief executive officer of retailer Cencosud.

“These are difficult times,” Patricio Melero, the UDI’s president, said during a news conference on Saturday, adding “we think Matthei is a winning candidate”.

An economist known for her blunt style, Matthei is a seasoned member of the UDI party. She will face former president and leftist candidate Michelle Bachelet

Eight found dead off the coast of Grand Bahama

The police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the discovery of eight bodies on the beach in Grand Bahama in The Bahamas early Saturday.

They initially found six bodies, including that of a child, on a beach at Holmes Rock; shortly after, two more bodies were discovered near a sunken boat, half a mile from the shore.

According to the police, it is believed that all eight were illegal immigrants who were trying to make their way to the United States.

Assistant Police Commissioner Hulan Hanna said further checks were carried out along the shoreline and at sea to ensure that there were no other bodies.

“We got the assistance of the Americans and they took us about a half mile from the shore, and we were able to see a boat submerged

in the water. Outside of the boat, two bodies were seen on the floor of the sea.”

He said assistance was being sought to refloat the boat as additional bodies could be inside.

“We are hoping that our regional and international connections will help us determine who these people are” Hanna appealed to the public to contact the police if they knew anyone, particularly from the area, who has been missing.

He said the identities of the victims were not known and added that autopsies would be performed to determine the cause of death.

“We don’t know the nationalities of the victims definitively, but again, the enormity of what we met here cannot be emphasised enough….please for God’s sake and listen to us and do not do it [illegally migrate]…,” Hanna said. (Excerpt from CMC)

in the presidential race. Bachelet, who was Chile’s first female president, is tipped to beat Matthei in the November 17 election or a potential December 15 runoff.

Her approval ratings hover near 75 per cent, compared with around 34 per cent for Matthei, according to a survey conducted by pollster CEP between November and December last year.

Paediatrician-turnedpolitician Bachelet has promised to tackle Chile’s

steep economic inequality by raising corporate taxes to work towards funding free university-level education. She also wants to legalise abortion in some cases and reform the dictatorshipera constitution.

While Matthei’s programme has not been unveiled yet, she has broadly backed conservative President Sebastian Pinera’s economic policies, and said she is against free university-level education and in favour of legalising abortion in certain cases. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Justice act a recipe for chaos – TT bar president

Senior Counsel and Criminal Bar Association President Pamela Elder has described the Administration of Justice (Indictable Offences) Act of 2011 as seriously flawed and a recipe to create chaos in the criminal justice system. Elder said there were too many serious concerns with the act.

“The concerns are so serious that I have penned and dispatched a letter to the minister of justice, with copies to the chief justice, the attorney general and the minister of legal affairs,” she said.

Elder said in the letter, she has highlighted just a few of the “serious flaws in both the act and the role.” She has also asked that the implementation date, August 2, be delayed until the necessary amendments to the act are made. “It is an extremely flawed act, which is going to create chaos in the criminal system. I have

a lot of concerns about the implementation date.”

Elder said, “Those amendments cannot be worked out before the implementation date. The act is seriously flawed. I am not even talking about the measures in place for implementing the provisions of the act like the masters, the training sessions, the accommodations. I am not even looking at those things, I am looking at the flaws in the legislation itself.”

Last August, the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act 2011 was partially proclaimed by former president George Maxwell Richards. The proclamation was gazetted on August 30. The controversial Section 34 of the act would have allowed some accused to apply for the charges against them to be dropped if the offences in question had been committed more than 10 years ago. (Excerpt

The Jamaican government has said it will set up electronic billboards across the island with photos and information of missing children.

A government official said the goal was to help the public identify the children as soon as they go missing and enable the police to rescue them.

More than 1100 children are currently listed as missing in Jamaica.

The billboards are part of an alert system launched in 2009, following the death of schoolgirl Ananda Dean.

Four children disappear in Jamaica every day. Eighty per cent of them return home within days or weeks, but the remainder are never found alive, said the BBC’s Nick Davis in Jamaica.

“These billboards should assist the public to see and identify these children quickly and call the Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR) or the nearest police station,” said OCR Registrar Greig Smith.

billboards

As part of the Ananda Alert System, the photos and crucial information about missing children are already printed and distributed across the country.

Some mobile phone providers also send the data to their customers.

“We think we are making some strides. There is still more work to be done,” Smith told the Jamaica Observer.

In the next few months, the electronic billboards will be installed in the capital, Kingston, as well as Montego Bay, Savanna-la-Mar, Ocho Rios, and Spanish Town.

The latest government figures, from June 26, say there are 1154 listed as missing and some 190 unaccounted for in the Caribbean nation.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says the government has made “impressive strides” to improve the quality of children’s lives, but violence and abuse against children are still “a serious problem”. (Excerpt from BBC News)

First English speakingCaribbean/France military exercise a success Jamaica launches missing children electronic

The first leg of a military exercise, aimed at enhancing operational effectiveness between Barbados, the rest of the English speaking-Caribbean and France has been deemed a success.

This is as the crew of the French naval vessel Dumont d’Urville and personnel from the Barbados Defence Force, completed a joint beaching exercise; the first such exercise of its kind in Barbados.

Speaking to the media following the landing on Browne’s Beach, French Defence Attaché to Barbados, Lieutenant Colonel Isabelle Vinciguerra, noted that the exercise was of vital importance, given the region’s susceptibility to natural disasters, which could cause damage to a country’s sea or airport.

“[The Dumont d’Urville] is a transport vessel specialising in disaster relief and

transportation. The vessel is based in Martinique and what we are doing here is some reconnaissance in case of disaster so that [if need be] we can mount an operation to assist. We only can do that, [however], with the cooperation of the local military and government and the forces that have the knowledge of the place,” she said.

Chief of Staff of the Barbados Defence Force, Colonel Alvin Quintyne, noted that that the vessel does hold significant promise not only for Barbados, but also the Regional Security System (RSS).

“This has been a Barbados exercise, but [it] can be translated into a wider RSS level.… This is an excellence resource we have within the region that can be mobilised if needed.” Quintyne said. (Excerpt

Around

Egypt starts amending constitution despite political divisions

Apanel of legal experts started work on Sunday to revise Egypt’s Islamist-tinged constitution, a vital first step on the road to fresh elections ordered by the army following its removal of Mohamed Morsi as president.

Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood, which has accused the army of orchestrating a military coup and denounced plans to revise the constitution, staged fresh rallies on Sunday to maintain pressure on the new, interim government.

Setting a highly ambitious timeframe, the military wants new elections in around six months and has tasked a panel of 10 legal experts to present proposed changes to the constitution within 30 days for review before a broader-based body.

The original constitution

zens, political parties, and all sides”.

Khaled Dawoud, a spokesman for the National Salvation Front, Egypt’s main secular political alliance, called the start of the committee’s work “a very positive development”.

Islamist-Kurdish fighting spreads in rebel-held Syria

he local commander of

Twas approved by a referendum last year, but critics said the text failed to protect human rights, minorities, and social justice.

Ali Awad Saleh, a judge

and the constitutional affairs adviser for the newlyinstalled president, chaired Sunday’s panel, saying it would spend the next week receiving ideas from “citi-

Japan’s Abe has chance to show true colours after big election win

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling coalition scored a decisive victory in an election on Sunday – so big that there are suspicions he will lose interest in difficult economic reforms and pursue his nationalist agenda instead.

The victory in the vote for the parliament’s upper house gives Abe a stronger mandate for his prescription for reviving the stagnant economy. Ironically perhaps, it could also give lawmakers in his own party, some of whom have little appetite for painful but vital reforms, more clout to resist change.

Public broadcaster NHK said early today that Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its partner, the New Komeito party, had won at least 74 of the 121 seats up for grabs in the 242-seat upper house. With the coalition’s uncontested 59 seats, that ensures it a comfortable majority, tightening

Abe’s grip on power and raising the chances of a longterm Japanese leader for the first time since the reformist Junichiro Koizumi’s rare five-year term ended in 2006. It also ends a parliamentary deadlock that began in 2007 when Abe, then in his first term as premier, led the LDP to a humiliating upper house defeat that forced him to resign two months later. But the LDP fell short

of a majority on its own on Sunday.

Abe, who returned to power after his coalition’s big win in a December lower house poll, repeated on Sunday that he would focus on fixing the world’s thirdbiggest economy with his “Abenomics” mix of hypereasy monetary policy, fiscal spending, and a growth strategy including reforms such as deregulation. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Portuguese president says government should stay to tackle crisis

Portugal’s President

Anibal Cavaco Silva on Sunday ruled out a snap election, and said he wanted the centre-right coalition government to stay in place to keep an international bailout on track.

Political turmoil had threatened to derail Portugal’s planned exit from the European Union/ International Monetary Fund bailout in mid-2014, especially after “national salvation” talks between the two coalition parties and the opposition socialists collapsed on Friday.

Lisbon has already been forced to request a delay in the eighth review of the bail-

out by its creditors, originally scheduled to start last Monday, until the end of August or early September.

“As the national salvation compromise was impossible to achieve, I consider that the best alternative solution is for the present government to remain in its functions, with reinforced guarantees of cohesion and solidity of the coalition, until the end of its term (in 2015),” the president said.

As president, Cavaco Silva has the right to seek to dissolve the parliament and call early elections if he believes the government has lost its ability to govern.

But an internal rift within the coalition that triggered

the crisis appears to have been resolved, and the government, which has a solid majority in the parliament, last week easily defeated a no-confidence motion.

In his televised address, Cavaco Silva said the coalition presented him with “guarantees of a solid understanding” on how to successfully complete the bailout programme and allow Portugal to return to full market financing.

“I think it’s a positive decision to calm down investors that removes uncertainty and maintains the drive of meeting the bailout goals,” said Rui Barbara, an economist at Banco Carregosa. (Excerpt from Reuters)

The Muslim Brotherhood has shown no sign it is ready to engage with the new administration or the army, sticking firmly to its demand for the full restoration of Morsi, who has been held in an undisclosed location since his ousting on July 3. Army and judiciary sources denied a report in state-run Al-Ahram newspaper’s early edition today that the public prosecutor had ordered the arrest of Morsi for 15 days pending an investigation into charges of spying and inciting violence. (Excerpt from Reuters)

a Syrian rebel group affiliated to al Qaeda was freed on Sunday after being held by Kurdish forces in a power struggle between rival organisations fighting President Bashar al-Assad, activists said. However, the pro-opposition activists gave conflicting reports of how the Islamist brigade commander in the Syrian town of Tel Abyad near the Turkish border had come to be free.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Islamist rebels had exchanged 300 Kurdish residents they had kidnapped for the local head of their group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS). Other activist groups challenged this account, saying Islamist fighters had freed Abu Musaab by force, with no Kurdish hostages released.

Sporadic fighting over the past five days in towns near

the frontier with Turkey has pitted Islamists trying to cement their control of rebel zones against Kurds trying to assert their autonomy in mostly Kurdish areas.

The trouble highlights how the two-year insurgency against 43 years of Assad family rule is spinning off into strife within his opponents’ ranks, running the risk of creating regionalised conflicts that could also destabilise neighbouring countries.

The factional fighting could also help Assad’s forces, who have launched an offensive to retake territory. Assad has been trying to secure a belt of territory from Damascus through Homs and up to his heartland on the Mediterranean coast and, with the help of the Lebanese guerrilla group Hezbollah, has won a string of victories in Homs province and near the capital. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Woman jailed in Dubai after reporting rape hopes to warn others

ANorwegian interior designer jailed in Dubai for illicit sex after she reported being raped said she had no regrets about coming forward if her warning will protect others from a similar fate.

A court on July 17 sentenced Marte Deborah Dalelv to 16 months in prison for having sex outside marriage, drinking, and making false statements. She said a male colleague pulled her into his hotel room and raped her after she asked him to help her find her own room when they had had a few drinks.

The 24-year-old has been released on condition that

she remains at a Norwegian Christian centre in Dubai pending the outcome of an appeal. Asked if she regretted reporting the assault, Dalelv said no: “The truth is the only thing that will help me get through this.”

The news has dominated the front pages in Norway and raised questions about the judicial system in the Gulf state, which lures large numbers of expatriates and tourists with a Western lifestyle but has little-publicised conservative laws on its books covering sex and alcohol.

Norway has complained. Foreign Minister Espen

Barth Eide told reporters: “We believe this is a completely unacceptable verdict, which is contrary to human rights and the basic sense of justice.”

In the United Arab Emirates, as in some other countries using Islamic law, a rape conviction can require either a confession or the testimony of four adult male witnesses.

According to the United Kingdom-based Emirates Centre for Human Rights, Dalelv’s is only the latest in a string of cases in which women who have reported being raped have ended up with jail sentences. (Excerpt from Reuters)

Death toll rises in Iraq after weekend violence

Bombings and shootings in Iraq have killed at least 13 people, as the death toll from a coordinated wave of latenight car bombings and other attacks the day before jumped past 70, authorities said.

The explosions were the latest in a relentless surge in bloodshed that has rocked Iraq since the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan on July 10.

The deadliest of Sunday’s attacks came in the afternoon, when gunmen attacked a checkpoint manned by the Kurdish security forces known as Peshmerga near Kirkuk, killing five Peshmerga fighters. The oilrich city of Kirkuk is 290 kilometres north of Baghdad.

Saturday night’s blasts went off after the sundown “iftar” meal that breaks the daily Ramadan fast.

Streets during the holy month are often filled with people out shopping and re-

laxing in cafes in the evenings, suggesting the attackers aimed to hit as many civilians as possible.

As the scale of the carnage became clearer early on Sunday, police reported that a total of 11 car bombs went off in Baghdad late Saturday.

Two morning bomb attacks on the outskirts of Baghdad killed six people, Iraqi authorities said. Police and hospital officials said

the attacks included a blast in a market in the town of Taji that killed four and wounded 15. Another bomb exploded outside the house of a local Sunni leader in the town of Basmaiya, killing two and wounding four. There has been no claim of responsibility for the latest attacks, although coordinated bombings against Shia Muslims are a favourite tactic of al-Qaeda’s Iraq branch. (Excerpt from Al Jazeera)

Will TT govt opt to transfer wealth?

With the launch of the First Citizens initial public offering of shares last Monday, the Trinidadian government has an unparalleled opportunity to transform the middle class, which has been struggling for the last five years from a combination of high inflation, declining interest rates on income funds and deposit accounts, and a slowdown in the increase in incomes as a result of the financial collapse

in 2008.

From all indications, the First Citizens offering of 48,495,665 ordinary shares at TT$22 a share is going to be hugely oversubscribed, because the stock has significant upside potential and it will generate a handsome and consistent dividend flow. There will also be significant demand for First Citizens shares because TT individuals and institutions have been starved of new equity investment opportuni-

ties for about a decade and as a result, vast amounts of money are sitting in the deposit accounts of commercial banks and in the income funds of the country’s mutual fund providers.

The Central Bank estimates that in March 2013, the total deposits held by commercial banks amounted to TT$93 billion, while the same institution estimated that TT$35 billion was being held in income funds. (Trinidad Guardian)

detroit legal battle over bankruptcy petition

Ajudge in the U.S. state of Michigan has ordered the city of Detroit to withdraw its application for bankruptcy over its debts of US$18 billion.

Judge Rosemarie Aquilina said the petition, filed on Thursday, violated the state’s laws and constitution because it threatened pension benefits. But the state’s attorney general immediately appealed against the order.

Earlier, Governor Rick Snyder said the move towards bankruptcy would reverse dec-

Europe

ades of decay.

Bankruptcy would allow Detroit’s state-appointed emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, to liquidate the city’s assets to try to meet the demands of creditors and pensioners. Really, this is all about the pensions of city workers and retirees.

They and their lawyers don’t object to bankruptcy per se, they just want the debt to them – their future pension rights – to be dealt with outside the “Chapter 9” bankruptcy process.

That’s hardly surprising since in bankruptcy, pension plans would be far down the list of people getting any of the money they are owed.

Banks and bondholders would be paid long before any pensions.

But since Detroit’s obligation to its present and future pensioners amounts to nine of the 18 billion of its total debt, it’s also easy to see why the emergency manager and state governor insist that that debt be part of Detroit’s bankruptcy as well. (BBC News)

Europe still sleeping even as Japan, Britain stir

Another month, another listless set of business surveys is likely to show this week just how much the eurozone economy still has to do to get over its debilitating debt and banking crisis.

An index based on a poll of purchasing managers across the 17-country bloc probably edged up to 49.1 in July from 48.7 in June, but remained below the watershed of 50 that would

signal a resumption of growth, according to economists polled by Reuters.

The single-currency area, which makes up about 20 per cent of the global economy, has been shrinking since the fourth quarter of 2011.

Petr Zemcik, director of European economics at Moody’s Analytics in London, is pencilling in marginal growth in the final three months of 2013, but expects output for the

year as a whole to drop by 0.5 per cent.

Some economists think the euro area might have just escaped recession last quarter, but Zemcik said: “We are still on course for contraction. The eurozone most likely contracted in the second quarter and might contract in the third quarter as well.”

The weakness is not confined to heavily indebted countries on the rim of the eurozone. (Reuters)

Africa

Tanzania: Tulawaka strikes another gold reef

Preliminary findings of the Tulawaka Gold Mine exploration in the Western Tanzania have shown there are gold resources that have potential to support the eventual development of the mining project.

Tulawaka has been looking for gold in an area of Mojamoja and West Zone near the current Tulawaka mining pits within Biharamulo Forest Reserve in Biharamulo district, Kagera region.

Already, Pangea Minerals Limited, managers of Tulawaka Gold Mining, has

appointed MTL Consulting Company Limited to undertake the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) studies for Mojamoja and West Zone mine pits. The ESIA studies would also touch on waste management facilities like landfills, bioremediation, and incinerators.

MTL Managing Director, Dr Wilson Mutagwaba told East African Business Week in Mwanza last week that his company “is a consulting firm that gets engaged to undertake professional services”.

ESIA studies are one of the

key legislative requirements prior to applying for a mining licence in accordance to the requirements of the Tanzania Environmental Management Act, 2004.

According to a joint statement by MTL Consulting Company Limited and the Tanzania National Environment Management Council (NEMC) last week, “the ESIA will investigate the project’s benefits and adverse impacts and describe measures both to enhance benefits and to mitigate adverse impacts”. (allAfrica)

Volatile markets generate little cheer for asia’s trading

desks

Trading desks normally love volatility, but Asian operations have found little joy in recent wild swings, undercut by investors’ brutal reassessment of the region’s prospects as they prepare for the end of unlimited cheap cash from the United States.

The massive monetary stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve and other major central banks of recent years has cheaply funded in-

Middle East

vestments in emerging markets, such as high-yield bonds.

But with the Fed saying it may be time to start pulling back and China and India slowing significantly, investors don’t want to be left holding high-risk assets as their funding costs rise.

“With the markets under pressure now, that underlying liquidity has vanished,” said the head of Asian fixed income trading at a U.S. bank in Hong Kong. “So to get into

emerging markets now is a bit like catching a falling knife.” A credit crunch in China last month, the Indian rupee’s plunge to record lows, and a strengthening U.S. dollar have added to the reluctance to buy in, and trading volumes are falling.

“We are hardly seeing any inflows on the institutional side on the FX or the fixed income space in Asia,” the trader said. (Reuters)

Work starts on dubai’s new cultural quarter project

Building work has begun in downtown Dubai at the site planned for the emirate’s cultural quarter, which was announced in March and will include a museum, two art hotels and an opera house, it was reported on Sunday.

A large area of land close to the Burj Khalifa, facing Mohammed Bin Rashid Boulevard, has been cordoned off and a number of mobile cranes and piling rigs were in operation at the site, according to a report by

ConstructionWeekOnline. com.

Contractor Al Futtaim Carillion also appeared to be playing a role in its development as it has a sign at the site entrance with instructions for site visitors.

Announcing the project, HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum said that facility “will not only encourage our talented local artists but also facilitate global cultural exchange”.

Emaar Properties chairman Mohamed Alabbar add-

ed: “The focus of ‘Dubai Modern Art Museum & Opera House District’ is to stimulate the city’s cultural and artistic milieu through an Opera House, modern art museum, galleries and design studios –in short, the entire infrastructure for arts and culture to thrive.”

A model of one of the buildings has been placed on display at a special ‘Downtown Ramadan’ tent erected by Emaar Properties to celebrate the holy month. (Arabianbusiness)

SEC voted unanimously to pursue charges against SaC’s Cohen – sources

U.S. securities regulators were united in their decision to file civil charges against billionaire hedge fund owner Steven A Cohen last week, in a high-stakes case that could result in Cohen being barred from the industry, people familiar with the case told Reuters.

The charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission against Cohen still fall short of what the SEC had hoped for.

The agency has been struggling to uncover evidence implicating Cohen with insider trading, one of those people said.

In a last-minute 09:00h meeting on Friday, with a five-year statute of limitations deadline approaching, enforce-

ment lawyers presented SEC commissioners with a lengthy memo urging them to vote to charge Cohen with failing to supervise former SAC Capital Advisors portfolio manager Mathew Martoma and SAC executive Michael Steinberg, sources said.

Both Martoma and Steinberg are facing criminal and civil insider trading charges.

SEC Chair Mary Jo White, an independent, and Democratic SEC Commissioners Elisse Walter and Luis Aguilar attended the meeting and subsequently voted in favour of filing charges, these people said.

SEC Republican Commissioner Troy Paredes

was on a plane en route to Texas at the time, but he cast a yes vote after he landed, according to one of the sources.

The SEC’s other Republican commissioner, Daniel Gallagher, was out of town last week and did not participate in any of the SEC’s closed-door enforcement meetings.

Jonathan Gasthalter, a spokesman for SAC Capital, declined to comment beyond his statement on Friday, in which he said the SEC’s case was without merit and that Cohen intended to fight the charges. She has already established a new policy in which the SEC will occasionally try to extract admissions of wrongdoing in settlements, or else force the case to trial.

(Reuters)

certain legal rights, and is presumed to be unaware that (if such were the case) the instrument was at any time overdue, dishonoured when presented for payment, had any claims against it, or the party required to pay it has valid reasons for not doing so. Also called protected holder, or bona fide holder for value.

Be on guard when it comes to contributing financially to something, even if it involves close friends. You could suffer a loss, along with everyone else, and relationships could be damaged.

By Bernice Bede Osol

(June 21July 22) (Jan. 20Feb. 19) (Dec. 22Jan. 19)

If you decide to get involved in a competitive situation, don’t underestimate your opposition. To be on the safe side, assume your challenger to be a worthy one.

There is a possibility that you could expect more from others than they are prepared to give or you would be prepared to give them, especially when it comes to material matters. This attitude is selfdefeating. Hastily committing yourself to an agreement isn’t likely to serve your best interests, so stop and think about what it is you’re saying before you open your mouth.

(Aug. 23Sept. 22)

(July 23Aug. 22) (Feb. 20-March 20)

There is a strong possibility that you might have to deal with a few responsibilities that won’t be to your liking. Unfortunately, they will be things you simply can’t ignore.

(March 21-April 19)

Unless you are discriminating about the company you keep, you could easily find yourself drawn into a situation that could bring nothing but trouble. Choose your pals wisely.

(April 20-May 20)

Be honest with yourself about whether or not you deliberately drew someone into a situation that has ended up causing him or her problems. Only virtuous intentions can be excused.

(May 21June 20)

Don’t say anything to someone in confidence that you would not want relayed to other people. If you say something unkind, you’d better believe that it will be shouted from the rooftops for everyone to hear.

If you allow a matter of some importance to be brushed aside, it could create a new series of problems that will only compound your recent difficulties. Stop procrastinating and tackle problems head-on.

(Sept. 23Oct. 23)

You’ll be more inclined to take risks today, which could cause you to get involved in a project that has only a very slim chance of success. Make sure that you can live with the consequences if it fails.

(Oct. 24Nov. 22)

Usually, you’re not easily intimidated by others, yet today you might do something against your better judgment due to peer pressure. Be careful.

(Nov. 23Dec. 21)

Although you might be able to get your points across quite easily, it doesn’t mean they’ll be well-received. You could make your case and create enemies simultaneously.

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Canadian train disaster a dark turn for rail veteran

Ablinding flash of orange light jarred Weyauwega residents awake before dawn on March 4, 1996. An 81-car freight train had been barrelling toward the farm town in central Wisconsin when it jumped a broken rail. The train’s propane and petroleum cargo had caught fire and exploded.

Gerald Poltrock II, a rookie local police officer, thought it was a prank when the dispatcher called to say the city “blew up”.

It was no joke. When he arrived at the Mill Street railroad crossing, Poltrock recalled, the scene was “mass chaos”, Thirty-five rail cars were piled up like toys and firefighters were battling a roaring blaze. No one was seriously injured or killed, but the inferno burned for 16 days and the entire town had to be evacuated.

Seventeen years later, another North American railway disaster has brought back memories of Weyauwega. On July 6, a runaway freight train with 72 cars of crude oil derailed in Lac-Megantic, Quebec. A fireball levelled the centre of the picturesque lakeside town and killed about 50 people.

More than two weeks later, emergency crew are still digging through the charred rubble to find bodies, police are investigating to see if there was criminal negligence, and Canadian regulators are probing the railroad’s safety practices.

In both disasters, the railroads involved were headed by Edward A Burkhardt, a veteran industry entrepreneur credited with helping to lead a renaissance in U.S. regional and local freight railroads in the 1980s and 1990s.

Federal investigation

There are clear differences between the two cases; for instance, the Wisconsin Central Ltd train that jumped the track in Weyauwega was operated by a two-man crew, while the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway Corp (MMA) train that derailed in LacMegantic had a sole engineer who was not on board.

Still, a review of the U.S. federal investigation into the Weyauwega derailment offers clues on the kinds of questions that MMA is likely to face from transportation safety regulators, according to rail industry executives, transportation investigators, and experts.

Burkhardt, who is about to turn 75, stands by MMA’s safety record and noted the company had no serious derailments before LacMegantic. “I have never been involved with anything remotely approaching this in my whole life,” he said.

With a career spanning more than five decades, Burkhardt specialises in piecing together small, aging

or financially troubled rail lines. He cuts costs by trimming staff, pays for infrastructure repairs, and creates mid-size railroads that can run on thinner margins than larger competitors, according to union officials, regulators, former employees, and business partners.

Like other regional railroad operators, Burkhardt has to strike a balance between ramping up traffic on rail lines to boost profits –and keeping up with maintenance and other costs to safely handle increased traffic volumes.

Henry Posner III was a partner of Burkhardt’s in a railroad venture in Estonia in 2001 through 2007. He said Burkhardt kept a close eye on rail safety, and often began board meetings each month with discussions about how to improve safety measures.

Posner said they significantly reduced the number of personal injuries caused by the railroad over five years, adding, “It was the number one priority of Ed’s and the shareholders.”

Maintenance

Critics contend that not all of Burkhardt’s rail lines were always well maintained, pointing to the Weyauwega crash as an example. U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators said the cause of that derailment was a broken switchpoint rail that they said was not properly maintained by Wisconsin Central.

According to an NTSB report filed in August 1997, the broken rail should have been caught by Wisconsin Central’s track inspectors during federally mandated monthly inspections.

“The switch point rail broke due to an undetected bolt hole crack that progressed from improper maintenance, because Wisconsin Central management did not ensure that the two employees responsible for inspecting the track structure were properly trained,” the NTSB report said. It did not specify any individuals by name.

Former Wisconsin Railroad Commissioner Rodney Kreunen, who investigated the accident, said the company had been using decades-old tracks that were

designed for lighter-weight trains. Wisconsin Central had improved some weak spots on the line, but had not modernised the whole system, he said.

“They knew they were going to have to rebuild the railroad at some time,” Kreunen said. “They really ramped up that business and started putting so much traffic over it that it went beyond (the rail’s) capacity,” he added.

Burkhardt disagreed with that assessment.

Wisconsin Central “was completely rebuilt under my management”, said Burkhardt, who was the company’s chairman, chief executive, and president at the time of the accident.

“There were several years where capital budget, as a percentage of its revenues, was the highest of any North American railroad,” he said, without giving figures.

One-person crews

In February 1997, following the accident, Wisconsin Central agreed to federal safety inspection directives to roll out widespread improvements to its tracks, railroad cars, and locomotives. For example, it agreed to spend at least 30 per cent more on track improvements.

The company also underwrote repair costs to the town, voluntarily paid Weyauwega residents $50 for each day they were dislocated, and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to non-profit groups in the area.

More than 20 families and several businesses sued the company, which settled for an undisclosed sum.

Wisconsin Central estimated the total cost of the derailment at around US$28 million, according to regulatory filings.

The derailment had other repercussions on the company’s operations. For example, it drew Wisconsin state lawmakers’ and federal regulators’ attention to the railroad’s deployment of one-person crews on some of its lines, even though the Weyauwega train was operated by two people.

Later in 1997, the company suffered another derailment. (Excerpt from Reuters)

England crush Australia by 347 runs at Lord's

England crushed Australia by 347 runs at Lord’s to take a 2-0 lead in the series and tighten their grip on the Ashes urn on Sunday.

The hosts bowled Australia out for 235 late on the fourth day, having set them a notional 583 to win after declaring on 3497 when Joe Root was dismissed for 180.

The tourists’ last-wicket pair frustrated England for an hour and threatened to take the match into a final day.

But with just four balls remaining before a delayed close, Graeme Swann trapped James Pattinson lbw for 35 to send England’s players into delighted celebrations.

The off-spinner finished with 4-78, and nine wickets in the match, while Tim Bresnan, James Anderson and Root took two wickets apiece.

Once again, the day featured controversies over the decision review system - Steve Smith and Ashton Agar fell to marginal calls - but there was no masking the gulf in quality between the sport’s two oldest rivals.

The resounding victory, England’s third biggest in terms of runs, puts Alastair Cook’s team in a commanding position from which to win their third Ashes series in a row.

Don Bradman’s 1936-37 Australians are the only team in the 136-year history of Test cricket to have come back from 2-0 down to win a series.

Should Australia fight back to draw 2-2 - something neither team have ever managed - England would still retain the urn, having won the last two series between the sides.

Despite an overnight lead of 466, England chose to continue batting in an effort to get Root to his double-hundred and further wear down the pitch.

But, after Jonny Bairstow had been caught behind cutting at Ryan Harris, Root attempted a ramp shot and scooped to Smith at third man, provid-

ing the cue for Cook to declare and set about dismantling the Australia batting order for the fourth time in the series.

Shane Watson’s innings followed a familiar trajectory, a trio of fours followed by an lbw dismissal as Anderson nipped one back.

Swann removed lefthanders Chris Rogers and Phil Hughes in quick succession on a pitch tailormade for his spin-bowling artistry.

After two sharply turning balls had fizzed past the outside edge, Rogers played no stroke to a delivery that went on with the arm and

SCOREBOARD

Australia 2nd innings

S Watson lbw b Anderson 20

C Rogers b Swann 6

U Khawaja c Anderson b Root 54

P Hughes lbw b Swann 1

M Clarke* c Cook b Root 51

S Smith c †Prior b Bresnan 1

B Haddin† lbw b Swann 7

A Agar c †Prior b Bresnan 16

P Siddle b Anderson 18

J Pattinson lbw b Swann 35

R Harris not out 16

Extras: (b4, lb5, w1) 10

Total: (all out, 90.3 overs) 235

Fall of wickets: 1-24, 2-32, 3-36, 4-134, 5-135, 6-136, 7-154, 8-162, 9-192, 10-235

Bowling: J Anderson 18-255-2, S Broad 21-4-54-0, G Swann 30.3-5-78-4, T Bresnan 14-8-30-2, J Root 7-3-9-2

knocked over off stump. A similar delivery accounted for Hughes, who played for spin that was not there and was trapped lbw. For the second time in the match Hughes used up one of Australia’s reviews, which established the ball would have hit leg stump.

On 36-3 at lunch, and with Swann turning the ball considerably, Australia were in danger of crumbling to a lower total than their first-innings 128, but Michael Clarke and Usman Khawaja battled hard in a stand of 98.

Clarke was struck three times by Stuart Broad, with one ball thudding into the badge on his helmet, and showed good footwork to the spinners before he glanced Root to leg slip to

Phil Mickelson cards superb 66 to win at Muirfield

Phil Mickelson came from five strokes back to clinch his first Open title and fifth major on a dizzying final day at Muirfield on Sunday.

The 43-year-old American triumphed by three shots from Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, with English pair Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood four back, alongside Australia’s Masters champion Adam Scott.

Mickelson surged to the third leg of a career Grand Slam of all four majors with a stunning five-under 66 to finish three under.

The left-hander, who won the Scottish Open last week, birdied four of the last six holes and was in tears on the final green as he hugged caddie Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay.

The mercurial Mickelson’s Open record had been modest up to now, despite a third place at Troon in 2004 and second at Royal St George’s in 2011, as he slowly got to grips with a style of the game he initially “hated”.

this game. These last couple of weeks, these last couple of months, I’ve played some of the best golf of my career.”

depart for 51.

The part-time off-spinner, generating some alarming turn from the rough outside the lefthander’s off stump, accounted for Khawaja for 54 in the next over, when a thick edge was caught by Anderson at second slip.

When Bresnan removed Smith and Agar either side of tea - both to thin edges that were given out by the third umpire despite no obvious Hot Spot marks on the bat - the game was as good as up.

Swann collected his third wicket when Brad Haddin padded up and was given out lbw. With no Australia reviews remaining, Haddin was powerless to overturn what turned out to be an incorrect call.

Anderson castled Peter Siddle to break a partnership of 30 with Pattinson and move England to within one wicket of glory.

The resistance of Pattinson and Harris, however, frustrated England and forced them into taking an extra half-hour.

Seven more overs came and went, with plenty of near misses, until Swann got a ball to fizz past Pattinson’s outside edge and clatter into his back leg to deliver the final act of a compelling drama.

Given the vast margin of victory, it is easy to forget that England were reduced to 28-3 on the opening morning of the match after winning the toss under cloudless skies.

A classy 109 from Ian Bell helped them recover to 361 before Australia were blown away in an abject, and at times comical, display of batting.

England stuttered again at the start of their second innings, but such was the margin of their lead that it only needed one innings of substance to all but ensure a home win.

Root was the man to oblige, with a masterful century that ground Australia into the Lord’s turf and set the stage for England’s bowlers to bring home the match - and quite possibly the series. (BBC Sport)

But a play-off victory over the Castle Stuart links in Inverness last week, and now his first Claret Jug, should make amends for his devastation at recording a record sixth runner-up spot in the US Open behind Justin Rose last month.

“This is such an accomplishment because I never knew whether I’d be able to develop my game to play links golf,” said Mickelson.

“I played arguably the best round of my career, and shot the round of my life. It’s such a difficult six-hole finish, I putted so good. It feels amazing.”

He added: “The range of emotions I feel are as far apart as possible after losing the US Open. But you have to be resilient in

Mickelson, who won the Masters in 2004, 2006 and 2010 and the US PGA in 2005, continues the list of illustrious former champions at Muirfield, which includes such greats of the game as Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo (twice) and Ernie Els, who was defending champion this week.

American Mickelson becomes the third consecutive player in his 40s to win the Open, after Els and Darren Clarke.

Westwood, seeking a first major title at the 62nd attempt, led by two going into the final day and moved serenely into a threeshot lead after five holes. But he took two to get out of a pot bunker on the short seventh and from then on was always struggling for momentum in a 75. (BBC Sport)

Marc Marquez wins at Laguna Seca to extend lead

Marc Marquez extended his lead at the top of the MotoGP World Championship by beating Stefan Bradl at Laguna Seca on Sunday.

Marquez, 20, had never raced at the California circuit before but produced a superb ride to stretch his advantage over his Repsol Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa to 16 points.

Valentino Rossi was third with Alvaro Bautista fourth and the injured Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo fifth and sixth.

Britain’s Cal Crutchlow had his worst finish of the season in seventh place.

Lorenzo and Pedrosa were both back in action after missing last weekend’s German Grand Prix with collarbone injuries, and despite neither being fully fit they were able to remain in the title race by taking top-six finishes.

But rookie Marquez took full advantage of his rivals’ troubles by seeing off a de-

termined ride from pole-sitter Bradl - who took his first ever podium finish - to win for the third time in MotoGP and enter the mid-season break on top.

There was a minute’s silence before the race as MotoGP marked the death of Italian rider Andrea Antonelli – who was killed in an accident during the World Supersport race in Moscow earlier on Sunday.

Bradl and Rossi then made cracking starts to move ahead before Marquez passed Rossi to take second place with a daring pass.

Marquez lunged around the outside of Rossi as the riders tipped into the corkscrew – Laguna Seca’s trademark corner – with both riders running wide across the sand.

It was reminiscent of Rossi’s own move on Casey Stoner at the same corner in 2008 and a further sign of the Spaniard’s prodigious talent.

Marquez then stalked Bradl before passing the German with 13 laps to go. Rossi told BBC Sport: “It looks like Marc made my own overtake but I have the trademark! He owes me some money!”

Marquez said: “I had been watching videos of Valentino from 2008 and I thought it was impossible to repeat that move.

“But when I passed him I had to go wide and it was exactly the same.

“I am so happy to win, I thought I would struggle here but I have taken 25 points and now we can enjoy the break.”

Crutchlow made a bad start from fifth on the grid and could make no impression on the injured duo of Lorenzo and Pedrosa.

There is now a monthlong break in the series, with the next round taking place at Indianapolis on August 18.

Local Limacol CPL volunteers get ready to play

With the inaugural Limacol Caribbean Premier League just seven days away, more than 90 volunteers from across the country gathered at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, on Sunday for a training session aimed at ensuring their readiness for the greatest party in sports.

The men and women, most with experience from previous such events, were trained in nine functional areas of operation for the

matches, including cricket operations, event support, media and accreditation, VIP and hospitality and entertainment.

Limacol CPL Volunteer Coordinator Sabrina Panday, pleased with the outcome of the training session, noted that the total number of those agreeing to donate their time and energies to the successful hosting of the Guyana leg matches would be more than 100 come match day.

“One hundred and thirty

five volunteers will be placed in the different job areas to ensure our spectators are given an awesome experience,” Panday said.

“I know our charm and hospitality as Guyanese will be on show. Training was successful and we are ready to play our part in this inaugural tournament,” she added.

The Limacol Caribbean Premier League tournament will commence July 30, with matches in Guyana scheduled on July 31, August 2 and 4.

Pietersen could miss third Test because of injury

England batting coach Graham Gooch admits the injured Kevin Pietersen may miss the third Ashes Test as well as the remainder of the second.

Pietersen had a scan on Saturday which revealed he has a left calf strain, and will not take the field as England look to go 2-0 up in the series at Lords.

Gooch said: “Kevin has got a small strain in his calf and there’s a doubt over his selection for the next Test.

“James Taylor’s having a good year. The selectors will look at the options.”

Nottinghamshire’s Taylor, 23, played two Tests against South Africa last year, scoring 48 runs in three innings.

This season he has

Serena Williams beats Johanna Larsson to win Swedish Open

Wrecovered from her shock early exit at Wimbledon by beating home hope Johanna Larsson to win the Swedish Open.

The American dropped serve twice in the first set but overcame those setbacks to win 6-4 6-1 in Bastad.

Williams, 31, has now won 51 matches and seven titles in 2013.

She had been a strong favourite to win her 17th Grand Slam title at Wimbledon earlier this month, but lost to Sabine Lisicki in the last 16.

“It was really good to come here and win after a disappointing Wimbledon,

scored 824 runs in 15 Championship innings at an average of 58, with two centuries and four fifties, and a best of 204 not out against Sussex in June.

Gooch told the BBC’s Test Match Special: “They also have to look at the conditions at Old Trafford. Once you decide what the pitch is like you decide who the replacement will be.

“Spinners are flourishing in this sort of weather so I think once you decide what the pitch is going to be like you’ll decide who the replacement will be if Kevin is not fit, but there are plenty of good young batsmen around.”

Pietersen suffered the injury while fielding in Australia’s first innings on Friday and looked uncomfortable when he went out to bat later in the day.

He made only five runs before reaching away from his body and hitting bowler Peter Siddle to point.

It is only Pietersen’s second Test since recovering from a knee problem that forced him to return early from the New Zealand tour in March. (BBC Sport)

so hopefully this confidence will help me for the rest of the year,’’ said the top seed.

Williams chose to return on clay at the relatively low-key Swedish event, and victory brought her a first ever title at an ‘international’ level tournament, the fourth tier below Grand Slams.

The second seed was Romanian Simona Halep, ranked 30th in the world, so it was no surprise that Williams won all five matches without dropping a set.

She did not have it all her own way in the final, however, struggling in the early stages and letting out a huge scream when she finally slammed a forehand winner at 3-1 down.

Larsson, the Swedish number one and world number 76, had her chances but could not convert as she struggled to make enough first serves. Williams eventually found her range and from 4-3 down lost just two more games on her way to capturing the 53rd WTA title of her career. She remains unbeaten on clay this season, having also won in Rome, Madrid and Charleston.

In Hamburg, Argentine qualifier Federico Delbonis could not follow up Saturday’s win over Roger Federer with another victory, as Fabio Fognini won the German Tennis Championships final 4-6 7-6 (10-8) 6-2. (BBC Sport)

Liverpool’s Luis Suarez joins summer tour in Australia

Luis Suarez has joined Liverpool’s pre-season tour of Australia and will hold talks about his future with boss Brendan Rodgers in the coming days.

The Uruguay striker, 26, flew to Melbourne from Montevideo on Sunday having been given extended leave by the Reds following the Confederations Cup.

He wants to leave Anfield to play for a Champions League club, with Arsenal having a £30m bid rejected. Rodgers will re-emphasise to Suarez that Liverpool do not want to sell him.

The Northern Irishman is also expected to remind his forward of the debt he owes the club for standing by him during two difficult and highly controversial seasons.

Ex-Ajax player Suarez, who was Liverpool’s top scorer last season with 23 Premier League goals, must now wait to learn if the Gunners are prepared to increase their offer for him to around £40m.

It is understood he remains hopeful that Real Madrid will follow up their interest, but at this stage their valuation of the player is well short of Liverpool’s.

Speculation has also grown about Suarez’s future since he was punished with a 10-game ban at the end of the April for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic. He still has to serve six games of that sus-

pension. That incident followed the eight-game ban he was given in December 2011 after being found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra. Suarez has complained about his disenchantment with life in England, stating he was “not prepared to continue suffering at the hands of the English journalists”.

(BBC Sport)

Baird still in shock after CAC gold medal performance

To determine the brightness of a star astronomers have to use different variables and like a star USA-based Guyanese athlete Kadecia Baird’s light is getting brighter with every 400m race she runs.

Three weeks ago she won the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Championship gold medal.

The 18-year-old, who won the World Junior silver medal in the 400m last year with a time of 51.04s, recorded 51.32s to capture CAC goldm which qualified her for the 2013 World Championships next month in Moscow, Russia.

Returning to her home in New York after the performance and gaining praise from top officials in Guyana and Nichola Martial, Baird said, “The race was good. I went in hungry for the victory but it hasn’t hit me really yet that I won so I don’t know to explain the feelings.

“I did aim for a different time range but unfor-

tunately I didn’t get it. I’m still happy and thankful though,” Baird told Guyana Times Sport.

However, the 400m specialist revealed her thought pattern before the race to this publication, indicating that her confidence was at a high especially due to the training she received in preparation for the prestigious event.

“The training was great once I have my coach Shaun Dietz my training is always going to be great I just have to learn to believe in myself and have faith.

“Going into the race I was really confident because of my training all I need to do was run my own race and not focus on anyone else. That’s exactly what I did and gained the victory,” Baird informed.

With the two world class medals along with the regional Carifta bronze earlier in 2013, Baird is being looked at as a future Olympian by president of the Guyana Olympic Association K Juman Yassin who said that the athlete will receive proceeds from the Olympic Solidarity Fund.

With the World Championships in less than a month, Baird revealed that she is looking forward to competing with the world’s best as she aspires to achieve great things.

“I’m looking forward to competing in Russia, just training hard, running hard and having fun… going into World Champs I’m just going to focus on one race at a time and see what happens. Hoping for great things,” Baird stated.

Reece wins Grenville Felix 40-mile road race in Berbice

Young cyclist Neil Reece added another title to his name, moving back into the winners circle. His latest win came on Sunday when he won the second annual Grenville Felix 40-miler in Berbice.

Reece completely dominated the event and took all six sprint prime point prizes.

He was out and away from the bunch from the start of the race at Canefield, East Canje. Just before he made it to get out of sight Adriel Ross worked his way up to catch the leader and ensured that the pack came with him.

Reece, who found himself at the back of the race for a short period, took his

cue when quarter of the race had been completed and despite several challenges by Ross, Tristan Camal and Keith Griffith, Reece was unstoppable.

Elijah Bijadder headed the pack of four that finished after race, copping second place ahead of Griffith and Syborne Fernandes respectively. Bijadder was the first junior with Camal coming second in that category. The lone veteran to complete the event was Syborne Fernandes.

The event was organised by the Flying Ace Cycle Club (FACC) and was open to club members only. Grenville Felix who recently turned 96 was on hand to present the winning prize to Reece. The former Guysuco

engineer has been an ardent fan in the East Canje area. Speaking at the presentation ceremony one of Felix’s sons said that as long as his father is alive the event will continue. “We have an Aunt and a cousin who died at the age of 110-years-old. So as it looks we will be having this event for a long time to come and by 2025 it should be even easier to live pass 100.” Roberts thanked the family for sponsoring the event while another one of the Felix’s siblings, Rawle took the opportunity to make a financial presentation to Roberts for his sterling contribution to the development of cycling in Berbice. (Andrew Carmichael)

Samuels century trumped by Pakistanis

Gros Islet, ST LUCIA – Marlon

Samuels hit a fifth

One-day International hundred in vain, as Mohammad Hafeez and Misbah-ul-Haq combined to lead Pakistan to a sixwicket victory under the Duckworth-Lewis Method in the rain-affected fourth ODI against West Indies on Sunday.

Samuels struck nine fours and four sixes in a

typically languid 106 off 104 balls, as the Windies compiled 261 for seven from their rain-reduced allotment of 49 overs at the Beausejour Cricket Ground.

But a rain delay lasting close to an hour and 20 minutes ruined the home team’s bowling plans and left the Pakistanis to chase a revised target of 189 off 31 overs.

The West Indies bowl-

ing lacked penetration and Hafeez with the top score of 59, Misbah with 53 not out and Umar Akmal with 29 not out led the visitors to victory with six balls remaining.

The result meant that West Indies will now hope to salvage a series draw from the final match on Wednesday at this venue, after Pakistan took an unbeatable 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

The Pakistanis won the first ODI by 126 runs two Fridays ago at the Guyana National Stadium, where the Windies won the second ODI by 37 runs two days later before the third ODI ended in a tie last Friday here.

West Indies had kept Pakistan on a tight leash, restricting them to 68 for two off 17 overs, chasing 262, when the second rain delay of the day occurred.

Things seemed to favour the hosts with the visitors needed 121 from 14 overs, but inconsistent bowling from the Windies and purposeful batting saw the Pakistanis over the finish line.

West Indies claimed Hafeez caught at backward point off Kemar Roach, but a stand of 72 with Misbah for the fourth wicket had put Pakistan within sight.

When Dwayne Bravo had the big-hitting Shahid Afridi caught at deep midwicket for seven, this tightened the contest.

But the Windies let things slip when Umar Akmal came to crease and put on 45 – unbroken –with Misbah to take the

Pakistanis over the threshold.

Bravo suffered at the hands of Akmal, when the visitors’ wicketkeeper/batsman struck successive boundaries off the first three balls off the eventual final over which cost 15.

The defeat would have left Samuels crestfall-

West Indies

D. Smith c +U Akmal

b M Irfan 8 + J. Charles lbw J Khan 32

DM. Bravo c S Ajmal b W Riaz 9

M. Samuels not out 106

C. Gayle c (sub U. Amin)

b Afridi 30

L. Simmons b S Ajmal 46

D. Sammy b M Irfan 7

*DJ. Bravo run out (M Irfan) 6

K. Roach not out 0

Extras: 6lb 9w 2nb 17 Total for seven wickets (49 overs) 261

Did not bat: S. Narine, J. Holder. Fall of wickets: 1-20, 2-50, 3-63, 4-120, 5-215, 6-239, 7-253. Bowling: M. Irfan 10 - 1- 602, M. Hafeez 8 - 1 - 30 - 0, J. Khan 9 - 2- 39 - 0 (4w) (1nb), W. Riaz 6 - 0 - 42 - 1 (4w) (1nb), S. Afridi 6 - 0 - 41 - 1 (1w), S. Ajmal 10 - 0 - 43- 1.

en. He added 57 for the fourth wicket with compatriot Chris Gayle, batting at five, and put on 95 for the fifth wicket with Lendl Simmons. Simmons made 46, Johnson Charles chipped in with 32 and Gayle scored 30 to add some beef to the West Indies total. (WICB)

Pakistan

N. Jamshed run out (Charles) 22

A. Shehzad lbw J. Holder 14 M. Hafeez C Darren Bravo b K. Roach 59

*M. Ul-Haq not out 53

S. Afridi C L. Simmons b Dwayne Bravo 7 + U. Akmal not out 29 Extras 1 lb 3w 1nb 5 Total for four wickets in 30 overs 189 Fall of wickets: 1-20, 2-60, 3-132,4-144. Did not bat: H. Sohail, W. Riaz, J. Khan, M. Irfan, S. Ajmal. Bowling: J. Holder 5- 0- 41- 1, (2w) (1nb), K. Roach 6-1-33-1, S. Narine

7-0-29-0, D. Sammy 3-0-100, Dwayne Bravo 6-0-49-1 (1w), M. Samuels 3-0-26-0.

Froome wins 100th edition of Tour de France race

Britain’s Chris Froome has won the 100th edition of the Tour de France.

Taking the title by more than four minutes, he linked arms with his teammates as he crossed the line in Paris on Sunday.

It is Britain’s second successive victory in the race - Froome’s Team Sky colleague Sir Bradley Wiggins became the first Briton to win it a year ago.

Marcel Kittel claimed the final stage in the twilight, with Manxman Mark Cavendish third in a hotly contested sprint along the Champs Elysees.

Cavendish was attempting a 26th Tour stage win - and a fifth on the trot in Paris - which would have put him third on the alltime list behind five-time Tour winners Eddy Merckx (34) and Bernard Hinault (28).

But he was edged out by a wheel length by Germany’s Kittel and Andre Greipel in the French capital, with more than 350,000 spectators lining the streets.

Froome had finished runner-up last year but with Wiggins electing not to defend his title after injury problems , the 28-year-old was favourite to win the race and he brought the yellow jersey home in emphatic style, ahead of Colombian Nairo Quintana and Joaquim

Rodriguez of Spain.

He had first taken the lead when he won the eighth of the 21 stages in a summit finish at Ax 3 Domaines in the Pyrenees.

The Briton, who was born and raised in Kenya, claimed a further two stages in his maiden Tour de France title .

He told ITV4: “Crossing the line with [the] guys brought tears to my eyes. I expected it to be big but this is something else.

“Dave [Team Sky manager Sir Dave Brailsford] has been talking about the future of cycling - the youngsters coming through and the way the sport is moving. I look at the last decade and the way sport is going - we’ve got something to be proud of.”

But in the first Tour since disgraced rider Lance Armstrong admitted to doping in his seven Tour de France wins , which have since been expunged from the records, Froome found himself having to answer questions about drugs in the sport.

He added: “I’m glad I’ve had to face those questions - after all the revelations of the last year. I’m glad that’s been channelled towards me.

“I’ve been able to deal with it. Cycling has changed - the peloton is standing together.”

In his victory speech while standing on the podium, Froome dedicated his triumph to his mother Jane, who died of cancer in 2008, for giving him “hopes

and dreams”.

“Without her encouragement to follow my dreams, I’d probably be at home watching this event on TV,” he said. “It’s a great shame she never got to come see the Tour, but I’m sure she’d be extremely proud if she were here tonight (least night).”

He also thanked his Team Sky colleagues for “burying themselves” for him during the gruelling race.

“I’d like to thank my team-mates, who have buried themselves day in day out throughout this Tour to keep this yellow jersey on my shoulders, and the Team Sky management for believing in my ability and building this team around me. (BBC Sport)

St George’s book semi-final ticket with 2-1 win over NATI in Digicel c/ships

St George’s High Secondary are through to the semi-final round of the Digicel Schools Football Championships after registering a 2-1 win over New Amsterdam Technical Institute (NATI) on Sunday at the Burnham Park, New Amsterdam.

In soggy conditions the visitors laboured before they were rewarded in the 34th minute when Azuma Small found the back of the net. The water logged outfield made passing difficult and tired the players.

After the resumption, the home team, despite having the advantage of going with the wind, goalkeeper Neil Smith was made to show his worth. However in the 47th minute St George’s goalkeeper Royston Darolyn was drawn forward and team mate Quincy Clarence ran into him bring the goalkeeper off his feet. It was a golden opportunity for Shamar Richards to register the equaliser.

Once again, under pressure St George’s showed why they are the current

The winning St George’s High School team

Milo champions as they turned the pressure on NATI. St George’s goalkeeper Neil Smith made several mistakes but St George’s players were not able to take advantage of his lapses until Orin Moore found the back of the net in the 65th minute. St Georges next take on Waramadong Secondary on home soil in a semifinal game on Sunday. Waramadong Secondary

earned their semi-final spot when they disposed of Santa Rosa Secondary 4-0 at the Ministry of Education ground, Carifesta Avenue in Georgetown on Sunday.

Wazir Bascombe was on a goal feast and registered a helmet trick, scoring in the 62nd, 66th, 71st and 80th minutes.

Meanwhile, in another quarter-final game played at the Wisburg Secondary School ground in the min-

Sacking ‘totally unfair’, says Arthur

Mickey Arthur has claimed he had no choice but to take legal action against Cricket Australia over the “totally unfair basis” for his sacking.

Arthur has also said he was given a positive appraisal by Cricket Australia before the Ashes tour and that his reputation had suffered extensive damage after his axing, which would make it hard for him to find another job.

Arthur has been in South Africa since his sacking and on Sunday arrived in Perth, where he delivered a statement to the media. Arthur reiterated that he was not responsible for last week’s leaking of details of his legal claim against Cricket Australia, in which a rift between Michael Clarke and Shane Watson was detailed.

But he homed in on the CA chief executive James Sutherland’s admission that Arthur had been made a “scapegoat” as the key to his case.

“James Sutherland himself said that, to an extent, I had been made, I quote, ‘a scapegoat’,” Arthur said.

ing town of Linden, Wismar Christianburg Secondary School overpowered the Region One champions Santa Rosa Secondary 4-0. Scoring for Wismar Christianburg were Jashawn Moore in the 31st and 73rd minutes and Shane Luckie in the 64th minute.

Godwin Mitchell netted in the 84th minute for the home team to give them the comprehensive 4-0 victory.

(Andrew Carmichael)

“I find that a totally unfair basis to end my career. The damage to my reputation and career has been immense, which means the chances of me getting a senior job are that much less.

I was truly shocked and devastated by my dismissal. I had received a positive appraisal on all my key performance indicators just prior to departing for the Ashes tour.

“I am told that David Warner’s conduct was ‘the last straw’ for the board. I received no hearing at all

over that issue, and no one was doing more to improve discipline in the young Australian team than I was. After my dismissal, I received nothing in writing from Cricket Australia, no contact, and no payment at all, not even of my basic leave pay, until I was forced to bring in lawyers to assist in the process. I had tried on a number of occasions to make direct contact at a very senior level of Cricket Australia, for days there was just no response.

“I thought, perhaps naively, that, under all the circumstances of my dismissal, that Cricket Australia would be willing to have sensible and good faith talks in private. Sadly that hasn’t happened.

And here we are today. I never wanted to launch legal action but Cricket Australia simply left me no option.”

Arthur said the handling of David Warner’s punch at Joe Root in a Birmingham bar during the Champions Trophy had been the catalyst for his axing, despite his attempts to instill discipline in the developing squad.

Responding to Arthur, CA released the following statement: “Cricket Australia stands by its earlier statements on this matter and disputes a number of claims made by Mickey Arthur today. We will not be articulating these disputes publicly except to say that we are confident in our legal position, are comfortable with the level of support provided to Mickey and look forward to resolving this matter in an appropriate manner.”

(Cricinfo)