More police patrols, please
-- East Coast residents urge
RESIDENTS on the East Coast Demerara, still in fear after the deadly terror sweep by heavily-armed gangs in several villages adjoining Buxton, have welcomed moves to beef up security in the corridor.

But they want more police patrols – especially at nights.

Villagers in Coldingen yesterday said they are pleased with the street lights that have been placed in the area, but are calling for more police patrols.

They also want a police outpost to be quickly established there.

When the Chronicle visited the area yesterday, residents said they felt much safer since 21 of the promised 24 street lights have been installed.

One resident said the new security measure has made his family feel better and more protected since he usually works at night.

The police outpost should be set up in the playfield in the area by tomorrow.

In a sustained and brutal attack that sent shocks waves across the nation, gunmen dressed in black clothes, two Saturdays ago sprayed the Sookra home at 205 Track 'A' Coldingen with bullets, killing their only daughter.

Nine-year-old Christine was shot in the head in the early morning attack that stunned Guyanese by its sheer ferocity.

The schoolgirl was shot as the terrified family huddled together in their front bedroom just after midnight. The family had crept there to hide after the gunmen opened up a barrage of fire on the concrete house.

Christine's brother, Ryan, 14, was shot in the left hand and admitted to a city hospital.

Their father, Rhajpaul Sookra, called 'Pally', 42, said they were asleep at around 12:30 hrs when barking dogs woke him up. The carpenter contractor said he saw a man dressed in black with a "long gun" standing in front of his yard.

He said he quickly walked through the house, dimly lit by a lamp, and gathered his wife, daughter, two sons and a niece and nephew staying with them, in his bedroom, which he thought was the safest place.

Sookra said the gunmen ordered them to open the doors to the house and after no one responded, the shooting began.

The hail of bullets cracked glass windows and blasted the concrete walls of the house, he related, adding that the shooting lasted for about 20 minutes.

"I told them to lie down...and my daughter was lying on the ground between the bed and the window but raised up to peep," he said.

A bullet hit the child in the head, tearing a portion of the left side, relatives said.

"After she get shot I start call for help...and that was it...the bandits left."

Sookra said no one went to their rescue, as everyone in the neighbourhood was scared of being shot by the gunmen, who later "ran down the street."

Police said the gang terrorised other families in the area.

Three bullets fired from under the Sookra house by the attackers pierced the wood floor, the bed and ceiling without hitting any of the seven occupants lying on the floor, the father said.

The family house was shut tight yesterday after Christine’s funeral Friday when hundreds turned out to mourn with the family.

The shooting marked the beginning of a crime-filled weekend for East Coast villages neighbouring Buxton, including Annandale, Lusignan and Coldingen.

Three men, Nigel Amsterdam of Buxton, Ramesh Suesankar of Lusignan and Anthony Parsram were killed and members of several households beaten and robbed.

Police have since mounted several operations in Buxton, including a search and cordon exercise Friday in which nine persons were arrested.

Police said they also found black clothes and camouflage uniforms in bushes.

Gunmen earlier last month launched a deadly attack on the Appanna family at Non Pariel.

In that attack, a 14-year-old girl hid under her bed while bandits stabbed her father, Davechand Appanna, 45, to death. Her mother Hemrajie, 42, was left unconscious from a fractured skull and stab wounds.

Residents from that village have been fleeing since that attack and have called for a police outpost in the area.

Days after, gunmen shot and killed a young policeman during a police operation in Buxton.

The government Wednesday announced that it will provide more resources to the Police Force and Community Policing Groups (CPGs) to beef up security against the armed gangs terrorising the villages.

Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon, said that “whatever is the cost in funding the resources would be made available” to ensure specific steps to improve security in the affected villages.

The government is adopting an aggressive and focused two-pronged approach in its efforts to reverse the insecurity and fear that stalks residents of villages adjoining Buxton, he told his weekly press briefing.

Luncheon said the measures include intensified police patrols and surveillance and providing existing CPGs with arms and other resources which would see them functioning under more convenient conditions at nights.

He said the upsurge in indiscriminate murder and attacks against obviously poor homes raise concerns about the real motives behind the wave of terror being unleashed.

He noted that heightened criminal activity has been generally associated with a deteriorating political environment, but said that criminality should be repudiated by all, regardless of the level of political discourse.

Luncheon was among top government officials who Sunday met residents at Coldingen after the deadly attack by heavily-armed men dressed in black clothes.

East Coast residents said the gunmen have been moving with ease through several villages at night.

After a security meeting with residents at the home of the Sookras on Monday afternoon, the top-level government team consented to a community plea for stepped-up police patrols in the scheme.

Guyana-born Sept. 11 survivor to share harrowing story
By David Mekeel
LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - Stanley Praimnath was there.

He was on the 81st floor of the World Trade Center. Tower Two.

He looked out the window of his office and saw “fireballs” falling from the tower across from him.

Stanley Praimnath was in the middle of the biggest tragedy in U.S. history. He was there — and he survived.

Praimnath will today be sharing his story with the congregation of Victory Church at Lancaster Mennonite High School Fine Arts Center.

The service is a chance for people to celebrate those who give so much keeping us safe.

“We’re honoring our heroes,” says Cristin Germaine, administrative assistant at Victory Church. “We’re honoring the people that protect us — police, firefighters, the military.”

Victory Church has held a special service around this time each year since the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001.

“This year it should be pretty special,” Germaine said.

Praimnath, who is a deacon and Sunday school superintendent for Bethel Assembly of God in Long Island, will share one of the most harrowing and powerful stories of survival ever imagined.

On the web site truthorfiction.com, he describes curling up under his desk as the plane crashed into his building, breaking through a wall to escape the burning wreckage, seeing firefighters helping people get out of the building with no regard for their own safety and finally being reunited with his wife and two small daughters.

Praimnath, who was born and raised in British Guyana, has told his story in TV and radio interviews broadcast all over the world.

“I think people’s lives will be changed when they hear his story,” says Germaine.

Praimnath’s story, amazing as it is, will be only part of the special service.

“We’re have a color guard coming,” says Germaine. “And we’re showing a video by ESPN about 9/11.”

The Rev. Tommy Stout, Victory Church’s pastor, heard Praimnath’s story and invited him to speak.

He will preside over the 10 a.m. service. (LANCASTER NEWSPAPERS)

Tough nut gets cracking
`I have a great vision that as time goes by, years from now, the copra that is now the main thing, that is going to be the by-product’ – Sherman Stoll
By Ruel Johnson

His face is the epitome of grit, the embodiment of determination. It is deeply lined, most likely from his years – beginning from when he turned 14 – as a seaman.

Seaman, however, is the first of many professions leading finally to what is most likely his last, coconut farming.

When the Chronicle visited the B & E Stoll Coconut Estate on the Pomeroon River in December of last year, things weren’t in the best of states.

The drop in copra prices on the world market had devastated the business Stoll’s parents had built practically from the ground up.

Sherman, at the time, was still recovering from triple by-pass heart surgery in the United States; yet he stubbornly undertook the day to day management of the estate, including directing his workers to fix a busted dam.

Today, things are looking up.

Stoll is seated at a table at his sister’s – Mrs. Zena Bruce-Bone – resort, Adel’s on the Akawinni, about 50 meters from the junction where the black coffee coloured creek greets the café au lait Pomeroon.

He explains how he came to manage the estate.

“Originally, he says, “the estate was owned by my parents, my father and mother. My father passed away first, and my mother tried with it for a little while. She didn’t do too well; the estate was actually a complete ruin.”

Eventually the old lady reached out for help. Stoll explains that at the time he had his own business and was making a comfortable living from it.

“She came and pleaded and asked me to do what I could do. For some unknown reason, I’m gifted in taking scraps and turning them into something.”

Stoll says at first he was very hesitant.

The estate, even on the decline as it was then, was valuable property and he wanted to stay away from any family disputes over it.

It took additional convincing from one of his sisters to go and take on what he saw as the Herculean task of bringing B & E Stoll Estate back from the brink.

Even so, Stoll played hardball.

Before anything else, he secured a promise from his mother that he would have sole proprietary control over the affairs of the estate.

He says that he needed this to ensure that he could nurse the business back to health without any family squabbles interrupting him.

He made a deal with his mother. He would come and live on the estate and look after her until she passed away.

The entire estate would be left to him, while he gave a compensatory sum of money to his two living sisters. Even so, Stoll was wary of the dilapidated estate.

“I was very reluctant,” he recalls, “in taking it over. When I first came here in 1995, the most you could have gotten from it [the estate] was eight thousand coconuts per week…When I came, the entire place was under forest. Some places were actually impossible to penetrate.”

It was this heavy forestation, claims Stoll, that accounted for the relatively low production of nuts from an estate that covered 1,000 acres at the height of its existence. While a lot of the coconut trees were still there, it was impossible to get at the nuts.

Also, the area under cultivation had dropped significantly to around 300 acres. Then there was the biggest obstacle of all.

“We had a lot of squatters who were on the land and had already cultivated a lot of places on the estate. As a matter of fact, it was about eleven families. Each family had like a ten-acre, some a five-acre, some a fifteen-acre.”

In a land where the long arm of the law often doesn’t reach far enough, Sherman decided to take the easiest way out of the dilemma.

“I paid all of them. I probably paid out – I mean I’ve got it recorded – around $15M. I paid them properly, they all were satisfied. I mean it was my parents’ bona fide property but these people were squatting there for years. They had bearing coconut trees and a tree normally takes about five to six years to bear.”

Stoll says that he made an arrangement with squatters to pay them according to the yield on their particular plot. After having reclaimed most of the land, he decided to increase his output.

“Today,” he says proudly, “we are producing 10,000 nuts a day.”

B & E Stoll estate was revived, reclaiming its place – with 750 acres under cultivation – as the biggest surviving coconut estate in the country.

When his mother passed away, Stoll fulfilled his part of the bargain.

The bad times were far from over, though.

Up to a couple years ago, the United States soybean industry had waged an all out smear campaign against copra, linking the use of coconut oil with everything from heart disease to cancer.

The reason? To recreate a deficit in the edible oils and fats market that would be filled by soybean products. Copra prices around the world slumped.

At his productivity per acreage increased, Stoll saw copra prices drop from around a high of G$26 per pound to a low of $10 per pound. He had borrowed from banks to get the money to reclaim his parents’ land to invest in the business.

“We had a few years of suffering. I couldn’t meet my commitments to pay many of the loans I took.”

He survived, however, and the price for copra has been steadily climbing again to its current high of $20 per pound.

Stoll is not settling for this though. The long tough period of low prices taught him one thing: diversification is the key to survival.

Today, Stoll dreams of a coconut industry where every single part of the coconut is utilised.

“I have a great vision,” says Stoll, “that as time goes by, years from now, the copra that is now the main thing, that is going to be the by-product.”

He says that he has spent the last few years researching ways in which to use the different parts of the coconuts, something he had related to the Chronicle when we first met him last year.

He said that after he met some Sri Lankan businessmen, he had the idea of using the coconut shell to make garden mulch like they had demonstrated to him.

Lack of investment capital, however, prevented him from taking the initiative. But his vision spilled over to his family.

One of his nephews learnt of the idea and contacted Guyana-born businessman and political aspirant Peter Ramsaroop.

Ramsaroop bought into the idea and paid Stoll a visit.

Ramsaroop’s CariAir entered a business partnership with Stoll’s B & E Stoll Estate to process the coconut husk into garden mulch. The venture was officially launched at the estate two Saturdays ago.

The business is set to come fully in operation by year end with the construction of a US$250,000 processing plant to crush the husks, normally discarded into the Pomeroon River, into mulch.

The company will then package and ship the mulch to different countries in the Caribbean and South America, with a view to reaching wider markets later on.

Stoll’s grit and courage has brought his family’s business – now his – from the brink of dissolution. Even so, he is still restless.

According to Stoll, his vision doesn’t end there with the mulch facility.

He still has ideas, projects that he is bursting – even though he’s pushing seventy – to see through.

Ideas, he says that should be ready whenever the Chronicle pays him a visit again.

Guyana farmers targetted in food security scheme
-- support for rice sector
GUYANA farmers are among those targetted in a special Caribbean programme aimed at increasing food security in the region.

Dr P. I. Gomes, Project Manager for the Italian-funded food security scheme, was here recently for talks with Dr O. Homenauth, Director of the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI).

The institute is the focal point in Guyana for the project and Dr Gomes gave an update on activities under the scheme in other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states.

The Caribbean Regional Special Programme for Food Security (CRSPFS) is being implemented with funding from the Government of Italy and managed by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) office in Trinidad and Tobago.

It is using a two-prong approach to build capacity to produce vegetables and root crops year-round through micro-irrigation systems in the 14 CARICOM member states.

Linked to the demonstrations to boost productivity on farmers holdings are community-based consultations to assess food availability, prices, consumption patterns, health and nutritional needs of households.

Gomes said the project is also examining the prospects and problems facing agricultural trade at the regional and international levels and designing a specialised training programme on agricultural trade policy analysis.

A training needs analysis has been done by two trade policy specialists assigned to the project, based at the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) in Trinidad and Tobago and in the Office of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) in Saint Lucia.

Over the last six months, implementation plans for the sample demonstration farms, using the irrigation systems, have been designed in the Bahamas, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago, Gomes said.

In each country, a National Steering Committee and Focal Point organisation has participated with Ministry of Agriculture Extension personnel to select the sample farmers.

Gomes said that to be selected, farmers must have cultivated vegetables or root crops over the last five years; be willing to keep records on the irrigation system and recommended practices; be willing to allow other farmers to visit the demonstrations and the recipient farmer must share the costs of equipment and inputs provided by the project. Each demonstration farmer is invited to sign a memorandum of commitment to the terms for participation over the three-year period of the project.

Only crops with good market potential and prospects for year-round production are included in the demonstrations.

Some of these are cabbage, cassava, hot pepper, pumpkin, sweet potato, tomato and yam. All of these are regarded as having good nutritional value with beneficial dietary effects for a reduction of non-chronic disease, such as obesity, stroke, diabetes and heart disease.

In Belize, the host institution collaborating with the project, the National Food and Nutrition Security Commission (NFNSC), has selected 25 farmers from the districts of Corozal, Belize City, Orange Walk, Stann Creek and Toledo.

In Jamaica, the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) is supervising the demonstrations with 69 farmers in the parishes of St. Catherine, Clarendon and St. Elizabeth.

In the Bahamas, expanded production of onions will be undertaken on the islands of Abaco and Andros.

Trinidad and Tobago will introduce the drip irrigation systems with connections to large-scale water supply main lines established by the government, Gomes reported.

He said that in time for the coming dry season, almost 200 farmers are expected to participate in the intensive vegetable production demonstrations drawn from farming communities and coastal villages of CARICOM member states.

Along with vegetable production, Guyana and Suriname will receive support for the rice sector in the form of a seed paddy drying facility, to be operated as a joint venture between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Guyana Rice Producers Association.

The importance of good quality paddy has been emphasised to improve the yields of rice farmers. In addition, water users’ associations are being formed so that operations, regular maintenance and cost-sharing by farmers will be an integral aspect of the project interventions.

For Suriname, extensive planning is taking place with the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Rice Research Institute (ADRON) and farmers’ organisation so that a programme of integrated pest management, the reduction of pesticides and minimal tillage operations will be adopted as cost-reduction measures.

Gomes said these practices are expected to bring down the cost of rice production in Suriname to enhance the competitiveness of small farmers.

At a National Consultation on Food Security in Guyana on July 8-9, 2004, the project initiated a process to comprehensively assess the state of food insecurity and to identifify the poor and marginalised groups of society.

The process will involve multi-sectoral and multi-agency stakeholders in describing the socio-economic characteristics of persons and households facing chronic or transitional hunger and under-nutrition.

The assessments will also determine the factors associated with accessibility and affordability at community levels, since it is often perceived that in many countries, food is not a problem at the national level.

Particular attention will be given to the rural communities where on-farm demonstrations are being conducted.

In this phase of project activities, consultations will concentrate on Belize, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica and Suriname. Workshops utilising data from the assessments will be held to raise awareness and sensitise the public on nutritional consequences of food consumption habits, food use and linkages for improving health and diet of the population.

Co-ordinating this component is Ms Sandra Plummer, Food Security Specialist, whose office is in the CARICOM Secretariat.

Within the framework of the OECS strategic framework and action plan, the preparation of negotiation briefs by the Trade Policy Specialist, Mr Gregg Rawlins, has been undertaken in areas of agricultural trade policies, the consequences of loss of preferential prices for bananas and issues of special and differential treatment for the OECS in the context of WTO and EU-Caribbean relations.

By a series of missions to the participating countries, a Training Needs Analysis has been undertaken by Mr Rawlins and Dr Andrew Jacque, Trade Policy Specialist based at CARDI.

A comprehensive three-week training programme on trade policy analysis will be held for policy makers and senior officials of ministries during the last quarter of this year, Gomes said.

The programme will be held in collaboration with Italy’s National Institute for Agricultural Economics

How does parent involvement help children?
IN THE more than 30 years of research on parent involvement, researchers have consistently found that parent involvement produces positive results for children.

In a 1994 publication, `Parents and Schools: Partners in Education’, parents are identified as more significant than either teachers or peers in influencing educational aspirations for the majority of children.

The following list includes a few of the many benefits associated with parent involvement in children's education.

Benefits for students include:
* Improved academic performance

* Improved school behaviour

* Greater academic motivation

* Lower dropout rates

Benefits for parents include:
* Enhanced sense of adequacy, self-worth, and self-confidence

* New ideas for helping their children learn as a result of working in the school environment

* Increased knowledge of child development

* Strengthened social networks

* Expanded community involvement opportunities and networks

* Increased feelings of control over their environment

* Positive rapport with school

The benefits of parent involvement are not limited to students and parents. Parent participation can have a lasting impact on teachers and schools as well. Detailed below are a few of the potential benefits:

* Schools experience better parent and community relationships, as well as greater support and respect from the community

* Schools can provide teachers with better work environments

* Schools receive extra help in implementing everyday programmes, from one-on-one tutoring to schoolwide fund-raising efforts

* Schools can experience more effective academic and social programmes

* Schools can save money with increased parental involvement (money can be saved on materials, resources, and personnel)

Despite the abundance of research that exists on parent involvement, and the countless experts who agree on its importance, schools often struggle to engage a significant number of parents.

In many schools, it is not uncommon for the same small group of parents to be the only ones to show up to volunteer or participate in school activities. On the other hand, it is also not uncommon for parents to find themselves wanting to be involved, but feeling unwelcome in the school and unsure how they fit in.

Parents also may become frustrated if they volunteer their limited time (many parents take precious vacation time to volunteer at school) only to be assigned basic tasks such as making photocopies or stapling worksheets; they end up feeling underutilised and unappreciated.

Helping parents understand the needs of schools, and helping schools understand how to optimise parents as resources, are key.

Bringing the two sides together to form a strong partnership can be challenging, but when achieved, immeasurable benefits result. (MINISTRY OF EDUCATION)

One dead, two injured in early morning smash-up
AN EARLY morning smash-up yesterday involving a motor car and near Bath, West Coast Berbice has left one dead and two hospitalised.

Dead is the driver of the car, 62-year-old Wellington Rose, of Joppa Farm, Corentyne, Berbice.

The injured two admitted to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) were said to be his passengers.

The accident occurred shortly after midnight.

Police said Rose, who was proceeding east along the Bath public road, swerved to avoid hitting an unlit truck parked on his side of the road.

The truck, police said, had apparently encountered mechanical difficulties.

In swerving, Rose is believed to have run headlong into a motor lorry which was travelling in the opposite direction. He and his two passengers were taken to the city where they were admitted at the GPHC.

He died without regaining consciousness around 06:30 hrs yesterday.

He had sustained major injuries to head, internally and about the body.

Up to press time, his two travelling companions were listed as stable.

Meanwhile, the drivers of the truck and the lorry are assisting police investigations.

Corentyne cane cutter murdered
A CORENTYNE cane cutter died Friday morning at the Skeldon Hospital after he was severely beaten by two men at Kingston, Corriverton, Corentyne, Berbice.

Police said Balram Lalman, 38, of Kingston, Corriverton, was attacked and beaten by two men on the public road at about 20:30 hrs on August 30.

He was dealt several blows to the head and body.

Police said the two men later doused Lalman with a liquid which burnt him.

Police said they have arrested one man and are looking for another.

PPP raises crime concerns with Police Commissioner
THE People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has met Police Commissioner Winston Felix to express its concerns about crime in the country, especially the escalating situation along the East Coast Demerara.

It said a delegation at the meeting Friday was led by PPP General Secretary, Mr. Donald Ramotar, and included Foreign Trade and International Cooperation Minister Clement Rohee, Mr. Cyril Belgrave, Mr. Neil Kumar and Mr Tularam.

The main partner in the governing PPP/Civic alliance said it raised the issue of the need for closer cooperation between the police and community policing groups, as well as the Force’s response time and effectiveness in reacting to emergency calls.

Regarding the attacks on the East Coast, the PPP team again raised concerns about the apparent motive of the crimes, which the party believes is terrorism.

According to a press release, the party drew attention to the fact that most of the victims were people of modest means. The team also highlighted the brutality of the crimes.

“The manner of attack,” states the release, “on the Sookras’ residence, which resulted in the slaying of Christine Sookra, demonstrated the callous and terroristic nature of the bandits.”

The PPP also raised the issue of the failure of the police to apprehend wanted man, Neil Bovell, on the West Bank Demerara.

The party said it assured the commissioner of its support for the police in the fight against crime.

According to the release, Commissioner Felix made the delegates aware of the work the force is involved in, concerning the apprehension of criminals and national security in general.

Mr. Felix conveyed the force’s determination to stop the criminal activity along the East Coast and elsewhere, the PPP said.

In the release, the PPP took the opportunity to express its condolences to the families of persons who were killed or injured during the attacks.

Leader of the main opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), Mr. Robert Corbin last week also led a party delegation to meet Commissioner Felix on the crime situation.

ROC condemns East Coast killings
THE Rights of the Children (ROC) group has condemned renewed violence on the East Coast which led to the killing of schoolgirl Christine Sookra at Coldingen and attacks on other children in the area.

In a statement yesterday, it called on the government, politicians and the Police Force to create, implement and monitor a national action plan for violence prevention.

The ROC said the death of nine-year-old Christine highlights the level of crime within Guyana where the adult world is targetting children through violence and brutality.

It expressed deepest condolences to the family of Christine on her untimely and brutal death.

The ROC is also asking for enhanced data collection on violence and said primary prevention responses should be promoted.

There should also be strengthened responses for victims of violence and violence prevention should be integrated into social and education policies to promote gender and social equality and respect, the group said.

It added that violence is a serious problem since it produces a heavy burden of avoidable death and morbidity, particularly towards children and young people.

The ROC called on the general public to be responsible in their actions by not assisting criminals and not making stereotypical judgements of communities.

It said they should condemn violence against any section of the community and especially against defenceless children and young people.

Guyana Nite fun
CROWDS turned out last week Saturday for Guyana Nite 2004 at the Everest Cricket Club Ground, Camp Road, Georgetown.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Other Crops and Livestock, Mr Satyadeow Sawh billed the affair as one of the biggest expositions for the year in Guyana.

Several companies had booths at the ground and some launched new products.

Guyana Annual tradition continues
-- call out for submissions
THE tradition continues as the Guyana Annual is launched yet again.

The Annual 2004-2005 was launched Friday during a simple ceremony at Castellani House in Georgetown.

The man behind the magazine’s yearly publication, Dr Tulsi Dyal Singh, was in the country to officially kick start this year’s edition, the seventh since it was resuscitated in 1998.

In his presentation, Dr Singh recalled that as a small boy he used to look out every year for the Chronicle Christmas Annual. The publication remained in his thoughts, even years later when had already migrated.

He recounted that in 1998, he called head of the Guyenterprise advertising agency, Mr Vic Insanally and inquired whether the veteran radio announcer remembered the Christmas Annual and whether he’d be willing to resuscitate its publication.

Since the publication was no longer under the aegis of the Chronicle, the name was changed to the Guyana Christmas Annual.

The first two editions were edited by Alan Fenty of the Guyana Cookup Show. Subsequent editors were Charles de Florimonte (2000) and Ruel Johnson (2001).

Fenty again edited the 2002 edition and Kojo McPherson edited the 2003-2004 edition, which he renamed the Guyana Annual.

This year, the Annual is being edited by Petamber Persaud, producer and host of NCN TV’s ‘Oral Tradition’ and ‘Between the Lines.” Persaud said he wanted to continue the practice started by McPherson, of dropping the word “Christmas” from the title of the annual digest, and having it cover two years instead of one.

“It’s time,” he said, “to change the perception that it is only for Christmas. When you look at it in the bookstore you must get the sense that is something current."

Fenty was also present to give a brief bio of Singh, whom he praised as an overseas-based Guyanese always willing to contribute to the land of his birth.

Singh presented small tokens of appreciation to last year’s contributors, as well as to former President, Mrs Janet Jagan, a staunch supporter of the publication.

Singh himself received a thank you gift from Insanally, a painting by artist, poet, Terence Roberts.

Roberts, also a contributor to the Annual and the Sunday Chronicle’s “Film Classics Round-Up” writer, presented his ‘Fiesta’ to Singh.

Submissions are now open for entries to be published in the Guyana Annual.

The categories are: Youth and Open Poetry; Youth and Open Short Fiction; Photography and Art.

Persaud said that this year he would like to accept short, one-act plays, with a maximum of 10 to 12 minutes running time, to expose local playwriting talent.

Entries are also being called for the “Henry Josiah Children’s Story Competition”, for which a cash award will be given to the entrant with the best story suited for children ages eight to 14.

The deadline for submissions is Friday October 1st, 2004.

Interested persons can contact Petamber Persaud at 226-0065 or can call Guyenterprise

Three-day ‘Yag’ for Sanskritik Kendra
AS PART of its 30th anniversary celebrations, which began earlier in the year, the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha will, later in the month, be holding a Yagya at its Sanskritik Kendra in Prashad Nagar, Georgetown.

The three-day event will run from September 23 to September 26, with sessions the first two days beginning at 19:00 hrs and going until 21:00 hrs, the sabha said in a press release.

On September 26, however, which is dedicated to reflecting on what the organisation has achieved in its 30 years in existence, things will get going at the usual time, but could run until 01:00 hrs the following day.

Also slated for that day is the receipt of greetings from well-wishers here and overseas, following which will be the Purnahuti, a ceremony that will see participation from the organisation’s central and regional executives.

They are to be joined as well by Shri Prakash Gossai, who is the spiritual leader and President of the recently-opened Bhuvaneshwar Mandir in Queens, New York.

Throughout the event, the sabha said, there will be recitals and bhajans.

The sabha was founded by Pandit Persaud on January 8, 1974. A ceremony to officially mark the occasion was held at the Shri Krishna Mandir in Campbellville, Georgetown.

The kendra was later established at its headquarters on Ganges Street, in Prashad Nagar.

Bar association launches justice access project
THE Guyana Bar Association (GBA) has launched the Caribbean-wide Access to Justice project here as part of its programme to ensure access to justice for all Guyanese.

Access to Justice is designed to use technology to make free or cheaper legal services available to Guyanese, the association said in a press release.

National Coordinator for the project is Teni Housty, Attorney-at-law and GBA Assistant Secretary-Treasurer.

GBA says the project aims to provide an efficient way for lawyers and the public to have easier access to legal forms and precedents through the use of technology.

It feels this will enable them to deal with legal disputes more effectively.

During the first year this long-term project will deal primarily with domestic violence, habeas corpus and bail matters, the association said.

The project is a partnership among the GBA, the Organisation of Commonwealth Caribbean Bar Associations (OCCBA), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Nova South Western University of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

OCCBA is more than 40 years old and comprises all bar associations in the Commonwealth Caribbean.

GBA said Guyana has had a long and distinguished history with OCCBA.

The current President is Guyanese Attorney-at-law, Patrick Patterson and past presidents include Chancellor Desiree Bernard.

Yesterday’s announcement was made by GBA President, Mr. Khemraj Ramjattan and OCCBA Chairman, Dr. John Epp.

Community health lecture today
THE general public is invited to a community health lecture hosted by the Kids First Fund at the Sai Baba Centre at 102 Laluni Street, Queenstown, Georgetown today.

A press release from Kids First Fund said Dr Kolanuvada and Dr Reddy will give the lecture from 09:30 hrs to 12:30 hrs.

Topics include women's health, mother and child wellbeing, men's health, heart care, alcohol and tobacco abuse and immunisation.

Naya Zamana thrills as usual
ARDENT followers of the caprices of Naya Zamana, the whimsical musical put on every year by the youth arm of the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha, turned up in their numbers to see what new flights of fancy the production team had come up with this year.

And as usual, they were not to be disappointed as the promoters pulled out all the stops, just as they had promised, to ensure that this year’s performance surpassed those of the previous nine years.

The show was staged two Saturday evenings ago at the National Cultural Centre (NCC) in Georgetown.

Chockfull of dazzling new costumes, varied styles of dance including folk, classical, modern and interpretive, and drama, the show got off to an early start with the usual welcome by ‘Sabha’ President and acting Prime Minister, Pandit Reepu Daman Persaud, and the symbolic lighting of the lamp.

The honour of kindling the ceremonial lamp, which act was said to have dramatically transformed the stage “from Guyana to India,” fell this year to acting President, Samuel Hinds; Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Ms Gail Teixeira; and Indian High Commissioner, Mr Avinash Gupta.

This over, the programme proper was ready to roll, with the first act being four young men’s journey to the land of their fore-parents through song and dance, which succeeded, as was intended, in holding their audience captive.

Another memorable performance that evening were the various dances done by the Dharmic Nritya Sang, with the magnificent Taj Mahal as its backdrop lending an eastern touch to the atmosphere.

According to a release from the ‘Sabha’:

“The colourful and glittering costumes; the attention to detail and flawless execution of diverse styles of dances mesmerised those in the hall. Whether it was the energetic Bhangra; Indi-pop done on the TV screen; the patriotic ‘Vande Mataram’; or the technical Kathak dance; the momentum of the entire evening never fell.”

As the evening progressed, the audience was kept entertained with alternately witty and dramatic exchanges, which made for a smooth transition from one scene to the next.

Another crowd-pleaser was the skit in which a group of local boys show their brothers in India how to dance, Guyanese style, the popular ‘Rajinder…chana nana’.

Among performers on that evening’s programme were noted singers Mohan Nandu and Sookrane Boodhoo, who “created their own musical magic as they, too, got into character, singing memorable melodies.”

They were ably supported by musicians; Khemo and Vishal Khellawan.

The show was directed and choreographed from start to finish by Dr Vindhya Vasini Persaud and Simantini Persaud.

Now in its 10th year, ‘Naya Zamana’ has won several Theatre Annual Awards (TAA) for ‘Best Set’; ‘Best Costume’; and ‘Best Dance’. Its team of dancers has just returned home after a successful run last month in New York.

The group has also performed from time to time in Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and St. Lucia.

At this dark time
THE Guyana Police Force, which remains in need of as much public cooperation as possible, was very much on the offensive against the criminal upsurge on Friday when little Christine Sookra, murder victim of armed robbers, was buried as hundreds of grieving family members, relatives, friends and villagers mourned at her funeral.

Some members of the Police Force were, on the same day, rounding up criminal suspects at Buxton, where camouflage uniforms and black-fitting outfits of the type used in a number of armed, terrorist attacks were discovered. Others of their colleagues were engaged in Georgetown with the court appearance of a trio of accused on charges of unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition following a dramatic police raid and startling weapons discovery on Wednesday.    

Daring, murderous criminals, whatever connections some may have, or the real nature of their networking, seem bent on spreading  mayhem and fear, as if unsatisfied with the loss of lives, stolen properties and general harm their criminal misdeeds have already caused in the year of the notorious jailbreak -- 2002..

Now, at another dark time for Guyanese, particularly those living in East Coast villages that remain the focus of what is believed to be linked to centrally-directed armed attacks, the courts also have a critical role to play in the cooperation the Police Force needs and seeks in the war against crime.

In the absence of even a limited curfew and more empowerment given to the security forces --which we feel should be seriously considered -- the judicial arm of the state should reflect an understanding of the necessity to extend to the police at least reasonable time to complete investigations in major anti-crime operations leading to suspects having to be in their custody for further inquiries.

This could be done without circumscribing due process and in the interest of the greater good for a safe environment for all law-abiding citizens.

SHARED RESPONSIBILITY     
The legal profession, whatever the political affiliation of its practising members of the bar, certainly have a responsibility to show their concern also for the victims of criminals -- those lucky enough to survive being shot, knifed or beaten to death.

Often, the haste with which some lawyers rush to the defence of suspects in police custody, at times within hours of questioning, sharply contrast with a deafening silence from the legal profession generally in the face of a criminal rampage. This is also true about the attitude of some of our civil society organisations that are noted for their selective interventions.

Of course, when ex-cops or, worse, serving members of the Police Force, are implicated as suspects in criminal acts, of whatever nature, it does not help the image of the Force. Nor does it inspire public cooperation.

It is, however, most unfair to blame an entire disciplined force like the GPF for the crimes of a few, just as it would be improper to castigate the legal or any other profession for the immoral or illegal acts of their members.

In the circumstances of last week's anti-crime activities by the police, there is, nevertheless, one development that requires serious review by both the GPF and the media. It is related to the seizure by the police of tapes belonging to MTV 14/65 television resulting from police operations at Buxton on Friday.

The media have the responsibility to be sensitive in the coverage provided in such anti-crime operations, knowing the harm that can come to cops by exposing them, without discretion, to criminals. Indeed, there have been cases of cops in the line of duty being targetted by the criminal network.

At the same time, police officers involved in anti--crime operations must demonstrate their own appreciation for the rights of members of the media in the course of their work, and avoid arrogance and high-handed behaviour instead of desirable sober approaches that could invite needed cooperation.

At this time of renewed traumatic criminal activities involving, ALL sections of the Guyanese society have a role to play to ensure triumph over lawlessness.

All are truly involved!

`Shared governance’ politics 
-- glancing at the past and present
`What NO major political party in any of our CARICOM states seriously considers for action, is the idea now being pursued by the PNCR for its own survival as an alternative government -- shared governance’
By Rickey Singh
THE major opposition party, the People's National Congress Reform concluded its 14th biennial congress last weekend by placing the issue of "shared governance" as a strategic platform for action ahead of the next general election, constitutionally due in March 2006.

No one in the Caribbean region familiar with party politics in Guyana and the depressing political culture spawned by a mix of ideology, class and race conflicts over many years, should hold his/her breath for shared governance here.

Certainly not any time soon.

Across the Caribbean Community, ruling and opposition parties often resort, expediently, to advocating the concept of "inclusiveness" for improved governance; better or equal representation on boards of state corporations and institutions and, more generally, "government by consultation" featuring regular, structured dialogue.

Just as often, save for some token gestures, such good ideas tend to fall by the wayside, dashing hopes for a "consultative democracy", or governance based on regular and serious consultations and reflecting appreciation for "inclusiveness" based on merit and not as political decorations.

The experience has been that meetings between a Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition are more the exception than the norm -- outside of a crisis situation or when such an encounter is politically incorrect to avoid.

Let it, however, be admitted that in Guyana under governments by the PPP/Civic consultation between the ruling party and the main opposition has been far more regular and significant than elsewhere within CARICOM. 

In plural societies with sizeable dominant multi-ethnic communities, such as Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, concepts of governance by "consultations"  and/or "inclusiveness", coupled with a policy that ensures fair or equal representation on parliamentary committees and boards of state corporations, are even more desirable than the so-called "homogenous" ones, like Jamaica, Barbados or those of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

What NO major political party in any of our CARICOM states seriously considers for action, is the idea now being pursued by the PNCR for its own survival as an alternative government -- shared governance.

Originally introduced in December 2001 by its then leader, Desmond Hoyte, the deceased ex-President, the "shared governance" idea is being aggressively marketed by Corbin who made it a major focus at last week's biennial congress.

This comes after some 12 years as the main parliamentary opposition and after running a virtual one-party state, with a tight fist on successive governments, for 28 years -- 24 of which were based on documented rigged elections as monitored by local, regional and international observers..

If, therefore, the current PPP/Civic administration of President Bharrat Jagdeo betrays no enthusiasm for the PNCR's concept for "shared governance", which is viewed as a recipe for gridlock in a power-sharing cabinet, it should come as no surprise to observers of Guyanese party politics.

Especially since prior to even exploratory talks on shared governance, Corbin would be expected to resume the high-level dialogue he broke off with Jagdeo and lead his parliamentary colleagues back into the National Assembly they have been boycotting for most of this year.

For his part, Jagdeo would be expected to be far more forthcoming in ensuring implementation actions on the historic joint communique he and Corbin signed on May 6, 2003, while both make a conscious effort to promote improved social relations among their party colleagues, starting, of course, with them.

Under the years of his stewardship, in government and opposition, the PPP's founder-leader, Cheddi Jagan, had been a consistent advocate for either a broadly-based national government or a coalition government of the PPP and PNC. 

This was largely the case right up to the mid 1980s when a joint committee of representatives of both parties was established to explore initiatives that could result in some form of "unity" government amid the then prevailing socio-economic crisis.

As fate would have it, the PNC's founder-leader, Forbes Burnham, who had split in the 1950s from the PPP, then the country's national movement, passed away in 1985 from cardiac failure at the age of 62.

His successor, Desmond Hoyte, revealed no appetite for reaching out to Jagan and the PPP. Instead, he extended the normal five-year presidential term to seven before new elections in October 1992 brought an end to PNC rule that had begun back in 1964 first, in coalition with the minority conservative party, the United Force, as favoured by and covertly sponsored as a documented anti-Jagan Anglo-American deal..

Back in government after 28 years in the political wilderness, Jagan was dead by March 1997, also from cardiac failure, like Burnham, at the age of 79.

His widow and matriarch of the PPP, Janet, led the party to victory at early election in December 1997, and later handed over the reins to Jagdeo, then Minister of Finance.

Jagdeo came into his own as a first-term President at the March 2001 elections.

The PNCR's own history perhaps constitutes the major barrier to achieving the laudable objective of shared governance.

Frankly, I do not foresee this happening BEFORE the next general election, as the PNCR's leader Corbin wants.

Corbin is also now articulating his party's call for a change in the Proportional Representation (PR) electoral system to include a significant component of the prevailing first-past-the-post system, or constituency-based representation, that remains the preferred choice of Westminster-style parliamentary democracies in other CARICOM states.

Changing the electoral system also seems quite unpractical for the 2006 election. It calls into question the PNCR's sincerity of its claimed readiness for unconditional dialogue and "a break with the past" in order to move Guyana forward.

Unless there is a seismic shift in the traditional voting pattern, I do not envisage the PPP/C and PNC/R being replaced at the 2006 election as the dominant parties with mass-based support.

Whatever the results, however, no coalition government, or concept of shared governance would have any legitimacy unless such an arrangement reflects the authentic will of the electorate and based on principles and programmes made known to voters before and during the election campaign.

Should the PNC/R succeed, in the coming 18 months, to establish even an electoral alliance for 2006 with the three minority parties in parliament, it would be the incumbent President Jagdeo against whom Opposition Leader Corbin would have to face-off.

That itself is no mean political challenge before the rhetoric of "shared governance" can be given a chance to manifest itself in practical forms and based on the expressed will of the electorate.

GOA establishes steering committee…
Canoeing and kayak at future Olympics?
By Isaiah Chappelle
GUYANA could be fielding teams for canoeing and kayak competitions in Olympics to come.

The Guyana Olympic Association (GOA), yesterday, announced at their press conference at Olympic House on Church Street, Queenstown, that it has established a steering committee.

GOA president K. Juman-Yassin disclosed that the national Olympic body was trying to introduce canoeing and kayaking, here, having received some craft earlier this year from the international body for which the government granted duty-free concessions.

There was a preliminary meeting on Friday with Maurice Amres, Captain Gerry Gouveia, Pat Holder, Wilfred Jagnarine, Charles Corbin and Mary Chung who make up the steering committee. They are to meet again on Thursday.

Juman-Yassin said an official from the international body would soon be visiting Guyana and from time to time thereafter for the formation of a local body.

As a jump-start for the Beijing Games in 2008, the GOA general secretary will be writing national associations for the plans for the next Olympiad.

Juman-Yassin also disclosed that assistant secretary/treasurer Garfield Wiltshire whom he praised for an excellent performance as Chef de Mission, was reading for a Masters Degree in Strategic Sport Management.

Wiltshire said that his project was strategic planning for the GOA for the next four years, which would be concluded in another two weeks.

He will present and defend the project at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lusanne, Switzerland, on October 7, and the following day all participants will have a ten-minute public demonstration at the Olympic Museum.

Wiltshire had to go to several countries for lectures - module one in Switzerland, module two in Barcelona, Spain, module three in London, England, and the final module back in Switzerland October 5-8.

The programme was funded by Olympic Solidarity and the GOA, and Wiltshire would be able to assess programmes submitted by the national associations.

Juman-Yassin also announced that the GOA had appointed a Medical Commission that would carry out the urine tests for the upcoming Central America & Caribbean (CAC) bodybuilding championships here.

The members are Drs Dennis Dookan and Clyde Bourne, and other doctors are invited to offer assistance.

Bourne attended a four-day Sports Medicine course in Brunei in July, through the Islamic Solidarity Sport Federation, which raised his awareness of professionals in doping and its dangers.

“My previous knowledge was limited to conventional medicine.”

Among the several topics, He said he found the sport psychology most important, then nutrition, in order for athletes to perform at a high level.

“There’s need for athletes to be prepared physically and mentally for competition.”

Journalist Claude David spoke about the course he attended through the GOA, chosen because he was the Sport Journalist-of-the-Year. He got an insight into the working of the IOC and how best journalists could serve sport.

While in Athens, Juman-Yassin said he had discussions with Olympic Solidarity, arranging for courses here.

One area is the development of Sports Medicine and Sports Science and the GOA is seeking help from the USA Olympic Committee, along with collaboration with the Ministry of Health here.

The GOA head said that before yearend, there would be referee/judges course in boxing, involving the other Caribbean countries because all was not well in international tournaments due to the lack of officiating personnel from the English-speaking Caribbean.

Juman-Yassin made his announcements after which the various managers of the four athletes, who represented Guyana in the recent Athens Games, reported on their various charges.

Wiltshire was high in praise for the coach of Marian Burnett, Mark Elliott, who fitted into the Guyana delegation, although they had never met before the Games.

“He did everything necessary and more.”

The Chef de Mission said Elliott had doctors to tend to the three athletes and extends public thanks for his professional attitude.







West Indies limited overs cricket
Defending champions Guyana face Windwards first
T JOHN’S, Antigua, (CMC) - Holders Guyana begin their defence of the West Indies domestic limited overs cricket championship against Windward Islands on October 9, at Hampton Court.

Under a new format, this year’s competition is being played between the six traditional teams - Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Trinidad & Tobago and Windward Islands - with the two preliminary phases that will be contested on a round-robin basis.

The first round will be hosted in Guyana and the second will be held in Grenada, whose main ground, Queen’s Park, will not be used, since it is undergoing renovations ahead of the ICC World Cup West Indies 2007.

Barbados, last year’s beaten finalists, play their first match against beaten semifinalists Trinidad & Tobago at Enmore on October 8, the opening day of the competition, while Jamaica, semifinalists last year, tackle Windwards at Bourda.

The new format excludes expansion teams like West Indies-B, University of the West Indies, Bermuda, Canada and United States, all of whom have appeared in the competition during the last five years, when it was sponsored by Red Stripe.

Since 2003 was the final year of Red Stripe sponsorship, the West Indies Cricket Board is seeking a new title sponsor and a leading T&T-headquartered financial institution has been linked with the competition.

The top four teams in this year’s competition move on to the Final Four that will be contested in Barbados, with the semifinals set for October 28 and 29, and the final scheduled for October 31.

Schedule

ROUND 1 - GUYANA

October

8: Jamaica v Windwards - Bourda

8: Trinidad & Tobago v Barbados - Enmore

9: Jamaica v Leewards - Uitvlugt

9: Windward Islands v Guyana - Hampton Court

10: Barbados v Leeward Islands - Enmore

10: Trinidad & Tobago v Guyana - Bourda

11: Barbados v Windward Islands - Uitvlugt

12: Trinidad & Tobago v Jamaica - Enmore

12: Leeward Islands v Guyana - Albion

13: Windward Islands v Leeward Islands - Albion

14: Jamaica v Barbados - Uitvlugt

15: Guyana v Barbados - Bourda

15: Windward Islands v Trinidad & Tobago - Enmore

16: Guyana v Jamaica - Uitvlugt (or Blairmont)

16: Leeward Islands v Trinidad & Tobago - Bourda

ROUND 2 - GRENADA
October

18: Windward Islands v Barbados - Tanteen

18: Jamaica v Leeward Islands - La Sagesse

19: Trinidad & Tobago v Barbados - Tanteen

19: Windward Islands v Guyana - Progress Park

20: Jamaica v Guyana - La Sagesse

20: Trinidad & Tobago v Leeward Islands - Progress Park

21: Windward Islands v Leeward Islands - Tanteen

22: Trinidad & Tobago v Guyana - Tanteen

22: Barbados v Jamaica - La Sagesse

23: Windward Islands v Trinidad & Tobago - La Sagesse

23: Leeward Islands v Guyana - Progress Park

24: Jamaica v Windward Islands - Tanteen

24: Barbados v Leeward Islands - Progress Park

25: Barbados v Guyana - Tanteen

25: Jamaica v Trinidad & Tobago - La Sagesse

Final Four Weekend - BARBADOS

October

28: Semi-Final 1

29: Semi-Final 2

31: Final - Kensington Oval

Royals mark return with ominous 100-68 thrashing of Sixers
By Joe Chapman
LED by the superb shooting from forward Troy Jeffrey who poured in six 3-point shots in his game-high 26 points and quarter-backing by point guard Julius ‘J’ Gardner with 18 points, wild card entrants Victory Valley Royals marked their return to competitive basketball after a one-year absence, with a comprehensive 100-68 points win against Seventy-Sixers.

Blueberry Hill Blazers also won, beating Silver Nets 54-50, in the opening match of the 2004 Linden Amateur Basketball Association's open knockout competition, which got under way Friday night at the Mackenzie Sports Club hard court.

Following a week's delay caused by the unavailability of the facility, the unseeded Victory Valley Royals, playing their first game since being suspended for misconduct, started off showing no signs of rust, with a 12-2 jump in the opening minutes before the Sixers settled into a rhythm. But by the end of the first half the Royals had a comfortable 42-31 lead.

It was, however, the accuracy of the perimeter shooting of the former champions of Linden that raised eyebrows as Jeffrey led the way with his outside shooting and Julius Gardner, who played the position of guard, was instrumental in their winning performance.

In the second half Royals had outpaced the Sixers within the first five minutes, with a 23-2 points run then held advantage 65-33 as Jeffrey nailed back-to-back three-point shots, with five minutes gone in the second half. And as Royals turned on the pressure with a further ten points against five by Sixers to lead 75-58 in the ensuing five minutes, the only question was the margin of victory for the Victory Valley Royals side. Rolling down to game time Royals led 87-47 and in the end reached the 100-point plateau before the final whistle was blown.

With the return of Alwyn Wilson to the fold, the Royals now present themselves as a force and their quarterfinal match against third ranked Amelia's Ward Jets next Wednesday should be an interesting affair.

Apart from Jeffrey with 26 and Gardner 18, Seon Harris and Mervin Tyrell each scored 10 and Wilson nine points for the Royals.

Forward Desmond Chin led the scoring for the Sixers with 17 points, Damon Allen netted 15 and Orville McKoy got 12.

In the hard-fought 54-50 win by Blazers over the nets Sando Dickenson had 24 points with Mark Douglas 16, the next best performer. A. Moore was the best player for Nets with 14 points while Keith Moore contributed eight.

The competition continues this evening with another double-header at the MSC hard court.

In the first game Scheme Unit face Amelia's Ward Falcons at 18:00 hrs while the second between Blazers and Alleyne's Retrieve Raiders is at 20:00 hrs.

The two top-ranked teams for this competition are Alleyne's Retriever Raiders and the Kashif and Shanghai Kings.

The referees for the first game each day are Ronald Grogan, Norris King and Lloyd Ross.

Carl Thomas and Sherwin Henry will carry the second match with Joe Chapman as standby.

Symonds, Kasprowicz take Aussies to victory
ANDREW Symonds hit an unbeaten 104 as Australia warmed up for the Champions Trophy with an exciting 10-run victory over Pakistan in the NatWest International at Lord's, yesterday. (Scores: Australia 269-6 (50 overs) beat Pakistan 259 (48.2 overs)

Symonds hit a huge six off Shoaib Akhtar and nine fours in his 103-ball knock as they posted a total of 269-6.

Yousuf Youhana (88) and captain Inzamam-ul-Haq (72) put on 162 to revive Pakistan after a poor start.

But the pressure told in the closing overs and they were all out for 259, with Michael Kasprowicz taking 5-47.

The one-off challenge match provided an ideal curtain raiser for the Champions Trophy, with Australia showing their determination to prove they are still the game's top one-day side.

The result could have been different, however, had Pakistan held chances offered by Symonds on 24 and 82.

He capitalised on his good fortune by reaching three figures for the first time since making a brilliant 143 not out against the same opponents at last year's World Cup.

Australia were put in to bat after Inzamam won the toss and lost two early wickets in an excellent new-ball spell by Mohammad Sami.

Matthew Hayden steadied the innings with 52, adding 69 with Damien Martyn (26), but Symonds and Michael Clarke had plenty of work to do when they came together in the 34th over with the score 148-5.

They added 88 before Clarke was well caught for 31 when he top-edged an attempted pull.

It was paceman Shoaib Akhtar's sole success but he bore the brunt of Symonds' final assault as Pakistan were set a challenging target.

Yasir Hameed made a stylish 47 in reply but they lost three wickets before the total had reached 50 and he followed in the 18th over as Hayden dived to take a good catch at slip.

Inzamam and Youhana did not panic, however, as befits players making their 320th and 172nd one-day appearances.

They picked up the tempo once Ponting turned to his support bowlers and whittled the rate down to under eight an over with 10 to go.

Brett Lee was magnificently hooked for six by Youhana, but Symonds made another important contribution when Inzamam was caught at cover.

Kasprowicz returned for the 47th over and struck immediately as Youhana lofted the first ball to long-off and Shane Watson took the catch to end his 98-ball innings.

From 228-4, Pakistan slumped to 250-9 but Sami gave their supporters renewed hope by thumping a huge six off Kasprowicz to leave them needing only 11 off 11 balls.

Those hopes were dashed as he was bowled by a slower delivery next ball as Kasprowicz held his nerve. (BBC Sport)

Windies net sponsorship deal for ICC Champions Trophy
By Naz Yacoob
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, (CMC) - Caribbean Ispat and the LNM Group on Friday entered into an agreement with the West Indies Cricket Board to sponsor the West Indies team in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy tournament later this month in Britain.

The signing took place on Friday with Teddy Griffith, president of the WICB, and John Kuriyan, managing director of Caribbean Ispat, being the main signatories.

No financial details of the sponsorship were revealed.

In delivering a short address to mark the occasion, Griffith stated that Caribbean Ispat and LNM have been associated with the sponsorship of West Indies cricket since 1994, when they were official sponsors of the tour to India.

He added that more recently they had been the official sponsor of the West Indies team to the ICC World Cup held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya last year.

Griffith said that apart from fees earned directly from the WICB, the generosity of LNM, as sponsor, is one of three streams of earnings available to the West Indies team for this competition.

“These streams provide a challenge and incentive to the team to lift the standard of their cricketing performance, so that they will be able to maximise the financial rewards that are available for consistently good and competitive performances during the tournament,” he said.

Griffith added that the LNM sponsorship, apart from providing the team with a guaranteed base fee in recognition of associated sponsors’ rights and obligations, provides further monetary incentives that are directly related, progressively, to the actual performance of the team at successive stages of the competition.

“The WICB, itself, has, in addition, agreed with the West Indies Players Association payment to the team of an incentive bonus, over and above contractual fees to the players, but again, this is directly linked to the actual winning performance of the team progressively through the competition,” he said.

Griffith outlined that the team has the opportunity to gain from the prize money that the ICC is offering in the Champions Trophy - US$50 000 for each victory in a group match, US$125 000 for winning a semifinal, and US$300 000 for winning the ICC Champions Trophy.

Griffith added that the WICB is, therefore, satisfied that the team has been afforded every financial incentive to perform at the top of its obvious capability.

He is looking forward with great interest to a greatly enhanced performance and consistency during the upcoming competition, as they plan for the nucleus of the team for limited-overs international commitments in Australia next January, and the ICC World Cup West Indies 2007.

Kuriyan said the LNM Group was giving the West Indies cricket team a boost of confidence ahead of the Champions Trophy with their sponsorship.

“We are aware of the rich and colourful history of the West Indies, and we have every confidence that the team will make us proud and entertain cricket fans throughout the world with their scintillating skills,” he said.

Conquerors pluck Flamingo 3-0
FRUTA Conquerors continued their winning ways on Friday afternoon when they beat the English/Kashif and Shanghai Indoor Futsal champions Flamingo 3-0 in the Fruta Conquerors senior league football tournament at Tucville ground.

Conquerors quickly made their intentions known when they began to pressure the Flamingo defence.

In the third minute Leon Yaw of Flamingo was given a yellow card for careless playing and the young and talented Walter Moore made him pay dearly for it when he sent a goal home in the 10th minute.

Play continued with both teams gunning at each other’s defence until the 16th minute when Devon Forde plummeted his team to a 2-nil advantage.

The third goal again was on target in the 25th minute as it completed a double for Forde, and gave Conquerors the halftime advantage.

Flamingo received a second yellow card through O. Small in the 25th minute, and when play resumed after the half, Conquerors picked up two yellow cards of their own.

Gerald Gittens received one in the 47th minute for what is suspected to be kick in the rib of a Flamingo player while Adrian Briggs, two minutes later, received the second.

Play in this half was no less competitive with both teams trying hard to score goals.

Conquerors had more scoring chances but wasted them, sending two balls into the alley at the southern end of the ground, then passing one in front of the face of the goal but again wasted the chance as it was blasted into the fence.

Flamingo came close to scoring twice but could not convert; seemingly intimidated by the fast-charging Conquerors players, who were at home on their training ground.

Play in the competition continues today with a double header at the same venue from 14:00 hrs.

Santos tackle Uprising in the opening encounter while Beacon and Pele clash in the feature game at 16:00 hrs. (Leron Brumell)

Five juniors named for South American championship
THE Amateur Athletics Association (AAA) on Thursday night selected a five-member team to represent Guyana at the South American Youth Championship scheduled for Guayaquil, Ecuador, from September 25-26.

The athletes were selected based on their performances at the national youth trials last Sunday at the Police Sports Club ground, Eve Leary.

The team comprises three males and two females all under the age of 18.

The boys are Christopher Hall - 200m, 400m; Ryan DePaizer - 800m, 1500m and Selwyn McPherson - shot put, javelin and discus throwing events.

The distaff side comprises Dianne Munroe for the 100m, 200m and Leanna Doris the1500m, 3 000m.

Wendy Doris is the manager/coach.

Hall won the 200m in 22.5 and the 400m in 51.1, while DePaizer won the 800 and 1500m races and McPherson dominated all three throwing events.

He won discus with a throw of 29.65m, the shot put with 12.25m and the javelin with a throw of 40.80m.

Munroe dominated the female sprint races, first claiming the 100m title in a time of 11.8 seconds, and cruised to victory in 25.6 in the 200m.

Doris claimed victories in the Girls’ 1500m in a time of 5:07.3 and the 3 000m.

Juniors from the Police Sports Club, Royal Youth Movement, Road Runners and New Amsterdam clubs and areas participated. (Leeron Brumell)

Mayorga arrested then freed over rape allegation
MANAGUA, (Reuters) - Nicaraguan former world champion boxer Ricardo Mayorga was arrested then freed despite pending charges on Friday after a young woman accused him of raping her in a Managua hotel.

The boxer, who is scheduled to fight fellow former champion Felix ‘Tito’ Trinidad in New York on October 2, was set free after a judge ruled that his arrest earlier in the day was illegal.

"He was arrested today without a warrant," judge Ricardo Gomez told reporters.

The boxer's lawyers said he could leave the country in the next few hours, despite the fact that a prosecuting judge has scheduled a meeting with Mayorga for Saturday after rape charges were filed with a Managua court.

Mayorga was arrested in Managua's international airport two days after a 22-year-old woman went to the authorities to complain that the boxer had forced himself on her in a hotel after she refused his advances.

Rape can be punished with sentences of between 15 and 20 years in Nicaragua.

The 31-year-old former welterweight and middleweight champion with a large fan base in Latin America, has been plagued by legal wrangles and has been trying to rebuild his career after losing his welterweight championship in December to American Corey Spinks.

Eva Seniors Classic tennis to start Friday
THE Eva Seniors’ Classic tennis tournament is set to serve off on Le Meridien Tennis Courts from Friday September 10 to Sunday September 19 with matches being played daily from 17:00 hrs.

The tournament, being sponsored by Patsan Trading Services, will be for men 35, 45 and 55 years and over in the singles and doubles, and women 30 and over singles and doubles and the mixed doubles category and entrants will pay $500 for the first category and $300 for every additional category.

A release from the Guyana Lawn Tennis Association (GLTA) stated that players are not allowed to enter the tournament in more than two categories with ITF rules being employed where games will be played in sets of threes and a 6-6 tiebreak.

All players are expected to be present for the opening ceremony and a grace period of 15 minutes will be allowed before a walkover victory is awarded.

Deadline for entries is set for Wednesday, September 8 at 16:00 hrs while additional information can be acquired from Graeme Gaskin on 226-3539, Shelly Daly on 225-1423 or secretary Grace McCalman on 626-7987.

England, Austria draw 2-2 in World Cup qualifier
DAVID James was England's villain as they squandered a two-goal lead.

Frank Lampard put England ahead in the World Cup qualifier yesterday following a clever free-kick after Austria goalkeeper Alex Manninger handled a back-pass.

Steven Gerrard added a second with a stunning strike after 63 minutes, before Roland Kollmann's free-kick gave Austria hope seven minutes later.

Austria's unlikely comeback was complete inside two minutes when James let Andreas Ivanschitz's shot slip in.

Gerrard passed a late fitness test on his groin injury and played a part in a dominant England first 45 minutes.

They took the lead after 23 minutes in bizarre fashion.

England were awarded a free-kick 10 yards out after Manninger picked up a pass from Martin Stranzl in his area.

Stranzl claimed he only played the ball towards Manninger after hearing a whistle, but it did not come from Slovakian official Michel Lubos.

Beckham passed up the chance to shoot on goal, cleverly finding the unmarked Lampard to score from close range.

Manninger's eventful evening continued as he was fortunate to escape a red card five minutes before the interval.

Lampard's pass sent Owen clear, and Manninger was clearly outside his area when he handled his goal-bound effort.

The officials were not up with play, leaving Manninger's offence unpunished.

England's advantage could have doubled after 51 minutes when Owen set up the Manchester United striker eight yards out, but Manninger produced a magnificent one-handed reflex save.

Austria were finally sparked into action by the mistake, and John Terry needed to scramble a goal-line clearance after James' reckless dash left Mario Haas with a clear sight of goal.

But England survived the scare to add a second, courtesy of a stunning goal by Gerrard after 63 minutes.

He received Owen's pass 25 yards out and swept a magnificent strike into the top corner past the helpless Manninger.

Austria gave themselves hope seven minutes later when substitute Kollmann curled home a brilliant free-kick.

And the unlikeliest of comebacks was complete when James had one of his nightmare moments two minutes later.

Ivanschitz's drive from well outside the area appeared to pose no danger until James inexplicably dived over the ball, sparking joyous scenes in the Austrian camp.

England sent on Jermain Defoe in a desperate bid to repair the damage, and the in-form Spurs striker almost snatched victory with a snap-shot that struck the outside of the post. (BBC Sport).

Swiss and Estonia strike form in World Cup games
By Mike Collett
LONDON, England (Reuters) - Switzerland scored an emphatic 6-0 win over the Faroe Islands and Estonia thumped Luxembourg 4-0 on a day of 21 European World Cup qualifiers yesterday.

There were also impressive wins for Ireland, who beat Cyprus 3-0 and Poland, who beat Northern Ireland 3-0 in Belfast as most of the European countries bidding for a place in the World Cup finals in Germany in 2006 began their campaigns.

Other World Cup qualifiers were being played in Africa, South America and the Caribbean but Europe was the centre of attention with the likes of European champions Greece, France, Italy, England and Spain all involved later.

Switzerland showed the Faroese no mercy in Basel with Jonathan Vonlanthen and Alexander Rey both scoring hat-tricks.

Estonia, one of a handful of teams who started their World Cup qualifiers last month with a 2-1 win over Liechtenstein, maintained their 100 per cent start with a 4-0 win over Luxembourg who finished with 10 men after Daniel Huss was sent off in the first half.

Estonia have far tougher matches to play against Portugal, Slovakia, Russia and Latvia, but for now they lead Group Three with a maximum haul of six points.

Russia and Slovakia drew 1-1 in the same group in Moscow, in a match marked by a minute's silence to commemorate the victims of the school massacre in Beslan on Friday.

Russia missed a penalty and dropped points with Slovakia equalising three minutes from the end.

CONTRASTING STARTS

Northern Ireland face an uphill battle to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986 in a group that includes England and Austria as well as Wales and Azerbaijan who drew 1-1 in Baku.

The Northern Irish got off to the worst start possible against Poland who had their second goalscorer Piotr Wlodarczyk sent off for elbowing 11 minutes from the end.

Maciej Zurawski opened the scoring in the Group Six match after only four minutes with a goal direct from a corner, followed by further goals from Wlodarczyk (37th) and Jacek Krzynowek (57th).

Wlodarczyk will miss Poland's match with England on Wednesday.

There were no such problems for Ireland in their Group Four match in Dublin where Cyprus were comfortably beaten 3-0 with Robbie Keane scoring his 21st international goal to equal Niall Quinn's record for the side.

He swept home a 55th-minute penalty to seal the win after a Clinton Morrison header on 33 minutes and a soaring, swinging 25-metre left-footed drive from Andy Reid put Ireland in the driving seat.

In Africa Zambia beat Liberia in Lusaka with an 89th-minute goal from Kalusha Bwala while Kenya raced into a 3-0 lead against Malawi in their opening qualifier in Nairobi before winning 3-2.

Wharf earns Champions Trophy call-up
GLAMORGAN'S Alex Wharf has replaced Kabir Ali in England's squad for the ICC Champions Trophy.

Kabir has failed to recover from a side strain and the International Cricket Council's technical committee has approved the change.

Wharf made a sparkling debut against India on Wednesday, taking a wicket in each of his first three overs.

England play their opening Champions Trophy match against Zimbabwe at Edgbaston next Friday.

An application to include Wharf in the squad was made after Kabir was examined by Dr Peter Gregory, the England and Wales Cricket Board's chief medical adviser.

"Kabir is likely to be out of action for a further three weeks," an ECB spokesman told BBC Sport.