Brathwaite supports Russell
SYDNEY, Australia (CMC):Carlos Brathwaite has thrown his support behind West Indies teammate Andre Russell after replacing the injured all-rounder for the remainder of Sydney Thunder’s Big Bash League campaign.Russell was forced out of the Twenty20 tournament after sustaining a hamstring injury during Thunder’s win over Melbourne Stars seven days ago.The 28-year-old Brathwaite said he chatted with Russell on his arrival and was hopeful the player could regain fitness soon.”Obviously, it’s not the best circumstances to come in. I spent the night with him the same night I landed, just chilling and chatting,” Brathwaite said.”I told him I felt he needed rest, but it’s always sad to see someone get injured, especially someone you’re so close to, someone like him, who works as hard as he works and deserves everything that he gets.”SIMILAR TALENTSBrathwaite will bring identical talents to those of Russell’s. The barrel-chested Barbadian is a steady seamer who relies mainly on variations, and is an aggressive lower order batsman and sharp fielder.He put his abilities on show in last year’s Twenty20 World Cup final when he blasted consecutive sixes off the first four balls of the final over from Ben Stokes to lift West Indies to a dramatic victory.The feat has followed him ever since, but Brathwaite was quick to downplay expectations.”It’s very hard. I guess the biggest and most difficult expectation was from myself,” Brathwaite said.”I kind of put those expectations to bed now. I realise I won’t hit four sixes in a row probably ever again. I’m trying to be consistent as I can.”Brathwaite’s first outing for Thunder earlier this week was a quiet one, taking two wickets and making six as the reigning champions won their second straight outing after losing their opening four games.
Dear Editor,The Guyana Elections Commission continues to run daily and nightly advertisements calling on members to register in its current House-to-House Registration exercise, “even if they were previously registered”. The ad goes further: it threatens members of the public with criminal sanctions if they fail to register.This scaremongering is patently and legally false and dangerous. GECOM has no power to remove names of eligible voters by any device or subterfuge. The constitutional court has ruled that no person who was previously registered can be removed except on the narrow grounds set out in the Constitution.GECOM, consistent with the dictates of Granger and his APNU/AFC Government, is determined to disobey the court and the Constitution. The purpose is clear: to disregard the very list on which they came into Government in 2015 and create a new list meant to give them an electoral advantage as a mechanism to lead us back to the era of rigged elections.Sincerely,Christopher Ram
Former People’s National Congress (PNC) Member of Parliament Abdul Kadir, the former Mayor of Linden and a former convicted international terrorist, died in a penitentiary in the United States of America on Thursday morning.A chemical engineer by training, Kadir had served as a Councillor for Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) in the Guyana National Assembly from 2001 to 2006.At the time of his death, Kadir, in his 60s, was serving a sentence of life imprisonment, having been convicted for the 2007 John F Kennedy International Airport terror attack, which was said to be an Islamist extremist terrorist plot to blow up a system of jet fuel supply tanks and pipelines that feed fuel to John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in Queens, New York. Those pipelines travel underground in densely populated areas throughout New York City.However, the alleged plot was foiled when an undercover law enforcement official was recruited to the homegrown terrorist cell. The main suspects in the terrorist plot were identified as Russell Defreitas, a Guyanese born naturialised United States citizen. He was employed at the JFK Airport at the time, and was suspected to be the alleged ring leader.After the plot surfaced, Defreitas was allegedly clandestinely recorded telling an informant, “Anytime you hit Kennedy, it is the most hurtful thing to the United States. To hit John F Kennedy, wow – They love JFK – he’s like the man. If you hit that, the whole country will be in mourning. It’s like you can kill the man twice.”Defreitas had also allegedly seen arms and missiles being shipped to Israel, and he felt that those would be used to harm Muslims. The men had allegedly named the plot “Chicken Farm”.Reports back then indicated that there had been extensive surveillance of the targets, including by the use of satellite photographs, and attempts had been made to reach out to another Islamist terrorist group. However, no explosives had been bought.According to a Newsday report on the terrorist plot, New York investigators were probing a possible Iran connection to the plot because Abdul Kadir had planned to visit that country. In Trinidad, Police reportedly investigated whether Kareem Ibrahim had ties to Iraq and Iran.Despite Kadir having always maintained his innocence, US court documents revealed that he was the disciple of Mohsen Rabbani, an Iranian diplomat accused of being one of the masterminds behind the 1994 AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires.However, Defreitas was arrested in Brooklyn, New York. Kadir and Ibrahim were arrested in Trinidad on June 3, 2007. Nur surrendered to Police two days later in Trinidad.On June 25, 2008, Kareem Ibrahim, Abdel Nur and Abdul Kadir were extradited to the United States. They pleaded not guilty to charges of trying to “cause greater destruction than in the September 11 attacks”.Russell Defreitas is being held after an earlier not guilty plea. On June 29, the four men were indicted on charges of conspiring to “cause death, serious bodily injury and extensive destruction” at the airport; and on August 6, a Judge ordered three of the alleged plotters extradited to the United States.On August 2, 2010, Kadir and Defreitas were convicted in the JFK Airport bomb plot; while, in 2011, Ibrahim was found guilty of the crime, and in February 2012, Ibrahim was sentenced to life in prison.In August, 2017, the Guyana Government seized assets belonging to the two Guyanese accused of terrorism activities in the United States of America.The move on the part of the Administration was made utilising the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Laws, and the order was effected by Minister within the Finance Ministry, Jaipaul Sharma.Kadir, the former PNC Parliamentarian, was also found guilty, along with Kareem Ibrahim, a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, and Abdel Nur, another Guyanese and uncle of late former world welterweight boxing champion Andrew “Six Head” Lewis.Family members of the convicted terrorist reportedly learnt of his demise on Thursday morning. It was disclosed that the former MP had been ill for some time, and relatives had been informed of his condition.Reports are that he was rushed to a medical facility, where he succumbed to his aliments. Kadir was said to have had nine children and more than 15 grandchildren.
The driver’s license of Ian Forde, who was shot and killed during a shootout with Police at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown on Tuesday was found in a car that was allegedly stolen several days ago.The car bearing registration number PNN 8866 was found parked in a street aback, Industrial Site, Ruimveldt at about 06:00h on Friday morning. More details in Saturday, July 27, 2018 edition of the Guyana Times.Police searching the alleged stolen car
The Georgetown Mayor and City Council (M&CC) has made a hugh leap closer to collecting its own solid waste with the acquisition of a new tractor and trailer.The new tractor and dump trailerSolid Waste Management Director Walter Narine, in a brief telephone interview with this publication, said the new John Deere tractor and dump trailer were handed to City Hall as part of Government’s 2019 subvention to that municipality. The total cost of the equipment stands at approximately $9 million.Narine declared that the equipment would help to reduce the monthly expenditure of the City Engineer’s Department as it would be used when the alleyways and drains of the capital city are being desilted.The Solid Waste Department presently has two tractors while the Engineer’s Department has one, he noted.Narine reminded that the M&CC intends, in the near future, to cease paying contractors to pick up solid waste around the City, and instead provide this service itself.Such a move, he said, would save the Council millions per year, as City Hall presently pays $14 million to its two major contractors, Puran Brothers Disposal Services and Cevons’ Waste Management, to provide this service.“It is our hope that within another two or three years, with the continuous acquisition of these equipment, we would be free of contractors from the Solid Waste Department and the Engineer’s Department,” Narine disclosed.Georgetown Mayor Ubraj Narine last month revealed that, during a meeting with officials of the Council and the major garbage contractors, a five-year contract which would lower the monthly cost of these services from some $32 million to just over $14 million had been examined. This amendment was made to the existing contract which was signed in 2015, and was made valid until October 2020.The major solid waste collectors had, on November 25, 2018, withdrawn their services after months of operating without being paid. Immediately thereafter, services were provided by five agencies; namely: Granderson, Trash Tech, Tri Star, C&S Services and Garbage Eaters.The deadlock between the Council and the major contractors had had a major negative impact on the capital city, as residential and commercial areas were piled high with garbage just a few days after those contractors had withdrawn their services.As such, both these contractors had met with Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan and officials of the M&CC, and a promise that payment would be made had put an end to the unending saga between collectors and the cash-strapped Council.
Banks DIH B claim… set precedence with “horrendous” $3.8B tax write-offThe Government has taken a tough stance against Banks DIH Limited’s multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA). According to Leader of the Opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo, the fault lies not with Banks DIH but with Government for the “horrendous” $3.8 billion tax write off to competitor, Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL).Opposition Leader Bharrat JagdeoThat write-off, which was granted by the coalition to Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL), followed over 15 years of litigation with the GRA over its tax payments. Jagdeo expressed skepticism of Finance Minister Winston Jordan and Attorney General Basil Williams’ posturing, stating that Banks DIH would never have made the claim were it not for that write-off.“I saw the Attorney General and the Minister of Finance pledge that they will vigorously oppose Bank’s DIH claim in the courts. And there is one point that both of these gentlemen missed. This claim by Banks DIH for refund from the Treasury was triggered by an action of the Government,” Jagdeo said.“And had that action, that event, not taken place, then Bank’s DIH would have never made such a claim. And so, until now the questions remain unanswered. Who gave the horrendous write-off to DDL that triggered this claim?”“Was it the Commissioner General? Was it the Board of Directors? Was it the Minister ofFinance Minister Winston JordanFinance? Or was it the Cabinet? And when we have an answer to that question, then we will be able to examine whether this claim or this write-off was done by the authorised party and was legal.”According to Jagdeo, Banks DIH is only looking out for its shareholders’ interest and was not at fault for seeking this resolution. Approaching the issue from the company’s perspective, Jagdeo said that the two companies (Banks and DDL) are in the same sector, and if one got preferential treatment to the tune of billions, then the other would protest.The former Head of State noted that rather than the AG and the Finance Minister criticise Banks DIH, they should examine why it happened. According to Jagdeo, Government has not been transparent on this issue. The Opposition Leader further accused the Government of skirting responsibility.“It happened because of this Government’s action, but they will not take responsibility for it. And if you think this is $3.8 billion, it’s going to mount. A year and a half ago I said this action (write-off) is going to cost us $80 billion in the Treasury. And it’s going to happen.”Govt’s positionJust a few days ago, Williams declared that Banks DIH will be fighting a lost cause against the GRA. He had stated that all efforts will be exhausted to ensure that not a dime comes out of the public purse to refund Banks DIH.This comes despite the fact that DDL, last year, benefited from a whopping $3.8 billion tax write-off. Back in 2002, DDL filed a legal challenge against the GRA over the Commissioner General’s assessment that consumption taxes owed by that company exceeded $1 billion, for the period January 2001 to September 2002.It was eventually quashed by the High Court on February 1, 2005. The GRA then moved to the court of Appeal. On July 31, 2008, the Court of Appeal dismissed this appeal on the ground that the Commissioner General had used a wrong formula for the calculation of the consumption taxes.In 2009, the Commissioner General then assessed DDL’s consumption tax liabilities for the period 2001-2007. The newly assessed liability of DDL for that period came up to $5.3 billion. Again, DDL filed legal proceedings challenging this assessment.GRA then retained an external Senior Counsel (SC) and was in the process of defending this challenge when the A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) coalition assumed office.Instead of the new Government continuing to defend against DDL, the beverage company was granted a $3.8 billion tax write-off and only paid $1.5 billion.Banks DIH, in December 2016, proceeded to file legal proceedings against the Attorney General and the GRA, claiming over $28 billion in repayments in light of the tax write-off granted to its competitor.Banks DIH had paid some $12.8 billion in taxes over the period 2001 to 2006. But in light of the DDL tax write-off last year, the beverage giant calculated that it should have only paid some $3 billion.The company argued that the Government would be “unjustly enriched” if it retained approximately $9 billion (the difference between the paid amount in taxes and the net figure Banks DIH estimated it should have paid).In this regard, Banks DIH claimed that it is entitled to some $9 billion plus 10 per cent interest compounded over the period 2001 to 2006 resulting in a total of some $28 billion after taking into account the settlement figure payable by DDL of $1.5 billion.The GRA, in a statement on Wednesday, said it will respect the court’s jurisdiction by not litigating issues of law in the public domain.
B.C. Hydro is dealing with problems in the South Peace after heavy rain.The Tumbler Ridge News reports that a B.C. Hydro transmission tower has become destabilized.Hydro spokesman Dave Conway, says a contingency service plan is being finalized in case the 230 kilovolt power line is compromised.- Advertisement -It is 68 kilometers south of the WAC Bennet Dam, between Hudson’s Hope and Chetwynd and included among the customers the line serves, are the residents of Tumbler Ridge, and several industrial customers adjacent to Highway 29.
This incident in the Peace Region comes just a week after a transmission line collappsed crossing the Fraser River just west of the Port Mann Bridge in Surrey.Hydro will monitor the situation and provide more information as it becomes available. Advertisement
Los Angeles Unified School District 333 S. Beaudry Ave., Los Angeles; (213) 241-1000. www.lausd.net Cities served: Los Angeles, all or parts of 32 other cities, some unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County Superintendent: David Brewer III Grades: K-12 Total enrollment: 708,461 Total schools: 435 elementary, 74 middle, 61 high, 19 multilevel, 45 continuation high schools, 19 special education, 26 community adult Calendar: Traditional and year-round Average class size: 20 in kindergarten through third grade Mean SAT math score: 458 Mean SAT verbal score: 443 English-language learners: 43 percent Fully credentialed teachers: 92.6 percent Free or reduced-price lunch: 74 percent of student population qualifies Pupil-teacher ratio: 20-to-1 (K-3); N/A (4-12) Two of eight local districts are in the San Fernando Valley: Local District 1 District Superintendent Jean Brown, 6621 Balboa Blvd., Lake Balboa, CA 91406; (818) 654-3600 Number of schools: 77 elementary, eight early education centers, 14 middle, 16 high, 12 continuation, two span schools (covering multiple grade levels) Local District 2 District Superintendent Sue Shannon, 5200 Lankershim Blvd., first and second floor, North Hollywood, CA 91601; (818) 755-5300 Number of schools: 74 elementary, 24 middle, 30 high, 14 early education Burbank Unified School District 1900 W. Olive Ave., Burbank; (818) 729-4400; http://www.burbank.k12.ca.us Cities served: Burbank Superintendent: Gregory Bowman Grades: K-12 Total enrollment: 15,000 Total schools: 18; average class size: K-3, 19; ninth-grade English and math, 20; 30.5 for the rest of the district Fully credentialed teachers: 95 percent English-language learners: 17 percent Students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch program: 28 percent One-year dropout rate, grades 9-12: 11.1 percent Pupil-teacher ratio: 4-12, 30.5-to-1; K-3, 20-to-1 Glendale Unified School District 223 N. Jackson St., Glendale; (818) 241-3111 www.gusd.net Cities served: Glendale Superintendent: Michael Escalante Grades: K-12 Total enrollment: 27,852 Total schools: 30; average class size: K-3, 19; grades 4-6, 31.5; grades 7-8, 33.8; grades 7-12, 34.8 Fully credentialed teachers: 96.4 percent English-language learners: 27.7 percent Students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch program: 40.5 percent One-year dropout rate, grades 9-12: 1.4 percent Pupil-teacher ratio: 20-to-1 (K-3); 31-to-9 (4-6); 33-to-8 (7-8); 20-to-1 (9 math and English); 34-to-8 (9-12) 160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set!
By contrast, Liverpool moved back above Tottenham into third and to within two points of bitter rivals Manchester United in second following the Red Devils’ defeat at Newcastle earlier on Sunday.In a recurring theme of Liverpool’s season, Jurgen Klopp’s men made a fast start by scoring inside 10 minutes for the ninth time this campaign.Van Dijk began the move as he cut out a cross with his head before Liverpool ‘keeper Loris Karius freed another former Southampton player, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.His pass to Salah was turned inside by the Egyptian for Firmino to apply the finishing touch for his 20th goal of the season.Southampton responded well to going behind, but lacked a clinical touch as their wait for a first home league win since November continued.Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg had the hosts’ best chance for an instant reply when he fired too close to Karius at the back post.The German goalkeeper was then put to work by headers from Guido Carrillo and twice by James Ward-Prowse but wasn’t unduly troubled.And Liverpool showed why the sides are battling at different ends of the table with a stunning move to double their lead three minutes before half-time.Salah slotted in his 22nd league goal of the campaign © AFP / Adrian DENNISFirmino returned the favour from the first goal with an audacious backheel into Salah’s path and he slotted the ball into the bottom corner for his 22nd league goal of the campaign to close back to within one of Harry Kane in the golden boot race.Salah missed a huge chance to move level with the Englishman when he side-footed into the side-netting with the goal at his mercy after Alex McCarthy had saved Firmino’s initial effort 20 minutes from time.Van Dijk had been subjected to criticism following shock defeats by Swansea and West Brom and conceding a last-gasp penalty as Spurs snatched a draw at Anfield in his previous three outings.But the former Saints captain will scarcely have had an easier 90 minutes at St Mary’s as Southampton failed to muster any danger after the break.More of Liverpool’s former Southampton contingent, Sadio Mane and Adam Lallana, should have rubbed salt in the home side’s wounds when they both fired wide when clean through.However, the visitors were able to coast through the final stages with Firmino and Salah even replaced in perfect preparation for their return to Champions League action at Porto in the first leg of their last 16 tie on Wednesday.0Shares0000(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today) 0Shares0000Van Dijk made a winning return to Southampton as Liverpool swatted aside the toothless Saints © AFP / Adrian DENNISSOUTHAMPTON, United Kingdom, Feb 11 – Virgil van Dijk celebrated his first Premier League win as the world’s most expensive defender on his return to Southampton as Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah ensured Liverpool ran out 2-0 winners at St Mary’s on Sunday.Van Dijk was jeered by the home support following his £75 million move to Anfield last month, but got his revenge by shutting out a toothless Saints side who drop into the relegation zone.
0Shares0000Niko Kovac (L) needs his Bayern players to lift their game after a surprise Bundesliga defeat © AFP / Odd ANDERSENMunich, Germany, Oct 1 – Bayern Munich host Ajax in the Champions League on Tuesday with Niko Kovac needing to fix a leaking defence and lack of finishing after yielding top spot in the Bundesliga.The clash at Munich’s Allianz Arena could well decide Group E after Bayern claimed a 2-0 win at Benfica in the opening round a fortnight ago while Ajax won 3-0 at Greek side AEK. Dauntingly for Ajax, Bayern have won the last 12 matches at home in the Champions League group stages.However, the five-time European champions finished the weekend second in the German league after crashing to a shock 2-0 defeat at Hertha Berlin on Friday after being outplayed in the capital.“It is an important game against Ajax. A win would make things easier for us going into our next four games,” said Bayern head coach Kovac.“Many people said we wouldn’t lose a game (in the Bundesliga) this season, but now it has happened in no time at all.”Ajax had a tough time getting to Munich on Monday as a power failure at Amsterdam’s Schipol airport delayed their departure by two hours, but they will face a Bayern side eager to make amends.Uncharacteristically for the Munich giants, they conceded a late equaliser in a 1-1 league draw with Augsburg last Tuesday, which was followed by the defeat in Berlin.But veteran winger Arjen Robben remains unfazed.“I think we have to show a good response, it’s nice that we get the chance so soon,” said Robben on Monday.“Last week we were seen as unbeatable, now things have flipped 180 degrees.“I’ve been here too long to join in talk like that.“I’m looking forward to the game and it’s something special to play against a Dutch team, especially Ajax,” added the former Netherlands captain.However, Kovac will have been troubled by the ease with which Pal Dardai’s Hertha unpicked the lock of the Bayern defence.He will seek a tighter performance against Ajax, who are second in the Dutch league after a 2-0 win at Fortuna Sittard on Saturday.Ajax coach Erik ten Hag will have taken note of how Bayern’s defence was shaken in the first half by Berlin.Jerome Boateng needlessly gave away a penalty by fouling Salomon Kalou and Vedad Ibisevic converted for the opening goal.Niklas Suele, Bayern’s other centre-back, was out of position when Hertha’s Ondrej Duda, the league’s current top-scorer with five goals in six games, smashed home a close-range cross.Bayern’s star-studded attack also has a point to prove against Ajax. Arjen Robben’s goal in the draw with Augsburg is all they have to show for 40 shots on goal in their last two games.Even the likes of James Rodriguez, Franck Ribery, Robben and Robert Lewandowski could not breach Berlin’s defence despite 25 shots.“Augsburg and also Hertha didn’t have many chances, but they created goals,” said Robben, 34.“We had far more corners and chances than our opponents, that’s football sometimes, but there is no need to talk about a crisis.“We will put in a good performance as a reaction and start a new run of results.”A win over Ajax would boost confidence before Saturday’s home league match against Borussia Moenchengladbach when they can aim to make up the one-point gap to Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund.Historically, there is nothing separating Bayern and Ajax, who have three wins each, plus two draws, in their previous eight meetings.0Shares0000(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)