Scores of children yesterday gathered in front of the Capitol Building, the seat of their representatives, to “protest injustice and to demand justice”.The young people are demanding justice for Shaki Kamara, the teenager who was killed by US-trained armed military officers during a standoff involving unarmed protestors in the township of West Point in August of this year.The children, predominantly residents of West Point, under the banner of The Monrovia Children & Youth March (MCYM), chanted anti injustice slogans, saying; “The life of Shaki Kamara can be compared to that of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.”“Our brother Shaki’s life is as important to us as that of Defense Minister Brownie Samukai and other officials in this government. Shaki is our hero! We demand unconditional and uncompromising justice,” the group of children shouted, in the presence of Gender Minister Julian Duncan Cassel.In their petition presented to the Legislature, the children expressed disappointment in the President’s decision to prosecute those culpable of the shooting under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), saying that a fragile state like Liberia neither has military lawyers nor a UCMJ to prosecute those guilty of crimes against humanity.The statement further said: “We demand that the US-trained Liberian Army be exempted from any investigation or prosecution in the West Point shooting because the army does not have the capacity, and as such, we call on you our representatives immediately to seek foreign military experts to implement the UCMJ.“We demand that Minister Samukai be made to apologize to the children of Liberia, especially those of West Point, for misleading the world about what happened in West Point. The Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Daniel Ziankhan must also be made to apologize for intentionally saying that “Liberians should pay [more] attention to building more Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs) than focusing on a single case, that is, Shaki Kamara’s death.“We demand that the 53rd Legislature set up its own investigative committee to probe the West Point quarantine shooting incident,” the group spokesperson Abraham M. Keita VI declared.According to Keita, the children are eagerly awaiting the government and international partners’ response to their demands or else, they said, “we will be left with no alternative but to take legal action against the government of Liberia before the ECOWAS Court or the International Criminal Court (ICC).”Receiving the petition, Senator Clarice Jah and Representative Gabriel Nyenkan commended the children for their peaceful protest.In separate statements, both lawmakers expressed concern about the investigation, but maintained that the children’s case will shortly be placed on the agenda of both chambers for further action in keeping with legislative procedure.It may be recalled that President Sirleaf appointed a panel to probe the shooting incident and to report its findings to her within ten days. It took the panel almost a month to present its report to the President. Thereafter, President Sirleaf instructed the Chief of Staff of the Army to prosecute those culpable under the UCM, something that is yet to take place.Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
What has changed since December 2000 to make 90 days a Sisyphean task?
Dear Editor,The constitutional mandate of 90 days or three months for holding elections was not arrived at arbitrarily, there were numerous studies and consultations with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) before that period was agreed upon and duly inserted into Article 106 (7) in December 2000 (Bill No 4 of 2000).At the time of consideration of this amendment, GECOM itself was only into its seventh month as a permanent constitutional body (Bill No 2 of 2000), continuous registration and the existence of a valid electoral list all year round was not even contemplated. It was envisaged that creation of a valid list as part of the process within the 90-day period was easily achievable. Many extra days and redundancies were added to the process to arrive at 90 days as the maximum needed to deliver credible elections.Editor, this begs the question of what has changed since December 2000 to make 90 days a Sisyphean task. The answer is nothing! Our population has not grown significantly; technology has improved; the GECOM Secretariat is well established and extremely efficient in conducting registration exercises twice a year, the last being May/June 2018; regular elections have led to a large cadre of persons trained in electoral procedures being readily available. We have a list of electors valid until April 30, 2019. In fact, it may well be argued that General and Regional Elections preparations can be done in a much shorter time frame in the age of ultra-modern communications.The Guyana Elections Commission Secretariat, the people who do the actual work of holding elections are ready for an election, the executive has prepared work plans and even declared publicly a timeline that placed holding of elections well within the constitutionally-mandated timeframe. “With this no-confidence motion, it means once the date is set, it will be held … it is our constitutional mandate to conduct the General and Regional Elections and Local Government Elections (LGE) whenever they are constitutionally due; so whether it is in the 90 days, then it is GECOM’s responsibility to conduct elections,” said Public Relations Officer (PRO) of GECOM, Yolanda Warde (Guyana Chronicle 27.12.2018).Who or what then derailed the process?The blame ultimately lies on the shoulders of one man, David Granger, the elected President of Guyana who has mistaken party loyalty as support of his circular logic that involves him and partisan GECOM Commissioners, supported by a unilaterally-appointed Chairman playing make-believe ‘hot potato’ with the responsibility for setting a date for elections in compliance with the Constitution of Guyana.Mr Granger came into the highest office in our nation touting law, order, dignity and respect; as a direct result of his inability and failure to function in a leadership role, Granger will leave it with its powers and respect considerably diminished. There is no doubt now that Granger will hold on until the grim end, and with him will be many of the men and women of his Administration, they will leave us with a cautionary tale for many generations to come. “The wheel of the world swings through the same phases again and again” ? Rudyard Kipling, “The Man Who Would Be King”.Respectfully,Robin Singh
Portuguese-speaking bandits rob jewellery store, arrested
Three Portuguese-speaking gunmen reportedly stormed Michael’s Jewellery and Cell Phone Shop, located at Barrack Retreat and Kanuku Drive in Lethem, Region 9, at about 15:00hrs during a recent robbery attempt.This publication understands that the trio, all armed, suddenly entered the establishment and attacked and robbed its owners and customers present, before being promptly apprehended by Police.They tied up Maxine Buckley, wife of the store owner, as they did a 24-year-old customer and a Brazilian businesswoman, before proceeding to ransack the store, packing gold jewellery, cell phones, watches, and other items with an estimated value of over $3.8 million.A gun was then placed to Mrs Buckley’s head and the keys to her husband’s car were demanded. The frightened woman complied with the demand, and the men proceeded to board the car in attempting to escape, but crashed into a wall some distance away.An alarm was raised, and the men — later identified as Brazilians — were all arrested. The bag containing the items was however not found.The trio — Gabriel Fanun Da Pinha, Elton Diego Doarete and Luenderson Mangabeira – were on Friday arraigned at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts and were all remanded to prison.
Carjackers steal parked car from EBD yard
Police are investigating a carjacking at Providence, East Bank Demerara (EBD), during which a motor vehicle was stolen from the owner’s yard late last week.Based on information received, the grey 212 motor car bearing registration numberThe stolen carPPP 7358 went missing overnight from the EBD yard.The owner of the vehicle, Natasha Taylor, told Guyana Times that she parked her car in her yard and retired to bed. However, the following morning, to her surprise, the car was missing.“Thursday morning when I woke up, I didn’t see the car … when I get up, I look through the window, it wasn’t there,” the distressed woman said.She said she rushed into the yard and then made a Police report.“I’m trying all around to get it done. I have to go over to the station because somebody text me anonymous and said they saw it Friday night.”She is urging persons with information to contact her on 691-1419 or the nearest Police Station.
Anna Regina Town Council threatens legal action against GL&SC
The Anna Regina Town Council is contemplating legal action against the Government if it continues to grant leases to business owners who are renting portion of lands in Anna Regina, Essequibo Coast.Mayor Rajendra Prabhulall, in a release to the media, recently stated that two officers of the Lands and Surveys Department in Region Two met with him, Deputy Mayor Rudolph Williams, Town Clerk Dian Chritchlow and Councillors, informing them that the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GL&SC) was instructed by Government to issue leases to businesses operating in the Deep Area in Anna Regina.According to the Mayor, the Deep is owned and managed by the Town of Anna Regina and is being used to generate income for the township by renting spots to persons to operate small businesses.The Mayor related that the persons operating in the Deep owed millions in arrears to the Town Council and while a payment plan was being worked out, a senior Minister of Government visited the area and promised to give those persons leases for the land that they were presently renting.This, he added, is disappointing since the Government has bypassed the township without any consultations on the matter.As such, he has written to the GL&SC to cease the issuing of leases. In addition, letters were dispatched to the Ministry of the Presidency and the related subject Ministries on the matter.
Texas 4000 riders coming to Fort St. John next week
FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The world’s longest annual charity bike ride will be rolling through Fort St. John next week, 48 days into their trip from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska.The 2017 Texas 4000 team is scheduled to arrive in the Energetic City on Thursday, July 20th. While in Fort St. John, the 2017 Texas 4000 Team will celebrate and share hope, knowledge and charity with friends and family before continuing on their 70-day journey.Seventy-one University of Texas students from at Austin will be braving the elements as they ride more than 4,000 miles over 70 days to raise money for cancer research. Along their journey, riders will visit with cancer survivors, patients, caregivers, and communities to make educational presentations about cancer prevention and early detection. They also use this time to offer hope, encouragement and share their personal stories to cancer fighters of all ages and to those who have been affected by the disease.- Advertisement -Each of this year’s riders will take one of three different routes to Alaska, crossing either the Sierra Nevada, the Rockies, or the Ozark mountain ranges. The Ozark group will be the sole group of riders taking to the Alaska Highway in B.C., as the other two groups will ride to Whitehorse via the Cassiar Highway.
The Texas 4000’s Ozarks route.In Canada, all three groups will reunite and ride the final 10 days together to Anchorage, Alaska, where the journey has ended since the ride’s inception. On each of the three routes, the riders will make stops along the way to present grants to cancer research and treatment centers.More than 615 students have made the trek from Austin to Alaska, collectively raising more than $7 million in the fight against cancer since the ride began in 2003.Advertisement To learn more about the incredible people that make up the 2017 Texas 4000 team, to make a donation or to read the riders’ blogs, visit www.texas4000.org.
Around Whittier
into hall of fame WHITTIER – The Whittier High School Alumni Association and Educational Foundation will hold its eighth annual Hall of Fame dinner and silent auction at 5 p.m. Sunday at the Swiss Park Banquet Center, 1905 Workman Mill Road. The 2007 Hall of Fame honorees are rheumatologist and UCLA professor Robin Dore, class of 1965; lawyer Ed Hookstratten, class of 1948; USC professor Dr. Robert Tranquada, class of 1947; and local businessman Donald E. “Bill” Wood, class of 1941. At the event, scholarships will be awarded and the teacher of the year will be honored. Cost is $75 per person, which includes a 5 p.m. no-host bar and 5:45 p.m. dinner, with the evening program beginning at 7 p.m. The silent auction will begin taking bids at 5 p.m. Proceeds will be used to benefit Whittier High students and faculty for academic, career, professional development, and capital needs not funded by the school budget. For more information, call (562) 698-8121 Ext. 2010. Electronic waste collection slated NORWALK – Residents can dispose of electronic waste, such as old telephones, televisions, computers and cell phones, at a hazardous-waste collection from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at Wal-Mart, 11729 Imperial Highway. For more information, call (866) 218-6103, or visit www.eRecycle.org `Arsenic and Old Lace’ scheduled SANTA FE SPRINGS – The Santa Fe Springs community playhouse will present “Arsenic and Old Lace,” directed by Mark E. Scoggins, at 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. today and at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Heritage Park, 12100 Mora Drive. Tickets are $10 for adults; $6 for children, seniors and students with I.D. For more information, call, (562)868-0511, or visit www.SFSCP.org Pageant auditions held until April 30 WHITTIER – Fantasy Theatre Production will hold auditions for 4-year-old girls for the Miss Whittier Pageant. The auditions will be going on though April 30. The pageant is May 20 at the Whittier Radisson Hotel, 7320 Greenleaf Ave. For audition times, or for more information call, (562)698-3272. – From staff reports 160Want local news?Sign up for the Localist and stay informed Something went wrong. Please try again.subscribeCongratulations! You’re all set! LOS ANGELES – A Norwalk man has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison for receiving child pornography over the Internet and possessing multiple images of child pornography. Tyrone A. Ganoe, 42, a former firefighter with the Orange County Authority, was sentenced Thursday, following his conviction earlier this year on two counts of receiving child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He was arrested in January 2006, after a law enforcement agent monitoring the Internet used peer-to-peer software to download five videos depicting child pornography from Ganoe’s computer. Agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement discovered more than 70 images and movie files containing explicit images of child pornography in his computer, officials said. Earth Jam event canceled after rain WHITTIER – Earth Jam IV, an Earth Day event that had been scheduled from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at California High School, has been canceled because of rain, school officials said Friday. For more information, call Don Kline at (562) 699-7171. Alumni to go 
Watch Barcelona’s rather confusing Clement Lenglet welcome video
targets moving on Arsenal transfer news LIVE: Ndidi bid, targets named, Ozil is ‘skiving little git’ Where every Premier League club needs to strengthen in January LATEST Cavani ‘agrees’ to join new club and will complete free transfer next summer Tony Cascarino backs Everton to sign two strikers for Carlo Ancelotti Top nine Premier League free transfers of the decade Latest Transfer News Man United joined by three other clubs in race for Erling Haaland The biggest market value losers in 2019, including Bale and ex-Liverpool star LIVING THE DREAM 
👋 Bienvenue @clement_lenglet!🔵🔴 Welcome to Barça!⚽️ #EnjoyLenglet😃 #EnjoyBarça pic.twitter.com/NS0IFa7KwJ— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 12, 2018 Lenglet in action against Barca last season targets RANKED REVEALED 1 It begins with a football in the home dressing room at the Nou Camp talking – yes, the football was talking – about how if Barca legend Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick that ball would end up in the Argentine’s private museum.Any mention of Lenglet came during the last few seconds of the video. The football signed off by referring to Lenglet as “a great baller”.Below you can see one of the more strange announcement videos of this transfer window… Kevin De Bruyne ‘loves Man City and wants to keep winning’, reveals father IN DEMAND Barcelona have completed the signing of French defender Clement Lenglet for £32million in a deal which sees the ex-Sevilla man have a £265million release clause attached to him.However, if that clause wasn’t crazy enough for you, wait till you get to see the welcome video for their latest signing.
THE HISTORY BOYS AS AWESOME DARACH FIRES COLÁISTÍ INIS EOGHAIN INTO FIRST EVER FINAL
UP and coming Gaelic football star Darach O’Connor was man of the match as he fired Inishowen Colleges into their first ever colleges provincial final today.O’Connor hit a personal tally of 3-06 as Coláistí Inis Eoghain saw off Patrician College Carrickmacross in today’s McLarnon Cup semi-final in Garvaghey, Tyrone.The teams were level – 1-05 apiece – at the break, with O’Connor’s first goal keeping the Donegal teenagers in touch. The Monaghan side had the lion’s share of the play in the opening half and led by 1-5 to 0-3 after 23 minutes, the goal coming from Ronan McDonald.However Inis Eoghain’s county senior panellist Darach conjured up a goal and 2 points so that the teams turned over level at 1-5 each.The real damage was done right after the break when Kevin McLaughlin scored a goal for the north Donegal boys. O’Connor picked up the resultant short kick-out and ran through for his second goal.And in the 36th minute O’Connor smashed a great shot in off the left post to complete his hat-trick and leave Carrick trailing by 4-5 to 0-6. To their credit, Patrician came back with 5 points in a row, 3 from Donal Meegan. O’Connor responded with a point, but Aaron Jones fired in a 48th minute goal to put his side right back in contention at 4-7 to 2-11.However they could not close the gap any further as O’Connor dropped back to steady the Inis Eoghain ship and still added his fifth point.There could well be an all-Donegal final with St Eunan’s Letterkenny facing St Malachy’s Belfast also at Garvaghey this Wednesday evening (7.30pm).Coláistí Inis Eoghain: Jordan McLaughlin; Danny Monagle, Jack O’Loughlin, Stephen O’Donnell; Gary Doherty, Tony McClenaghan, Sam Doherty; Caolan McGonagle, Fergal Doherty; Mark Coyle, Darach O’Connor (3-5, 0-5f), Sean McHugh (0-1); John Campbell (0-4, 2f), Kevin McLaughlin (1-0), Shane McLaughlin. Subs: James Jackson for M Coyle (half time); Ultan Doherty for S McLaughlin (52 mins).Patrician College Carrickmacross: Shane Garland; Cathal McKeown, Paul McArdle, Conor Duffy; David Wilson, Aaron Birdy, Mikey Murnaghan; Michael Metzger, Stephen Cunningham (0-1); Ronan McDonald (1-0), Paudie Kirk, Donal Meegan (0-6, 2f); Alan McCaughey, Dara Rowe (0-3), Aaron Jones (1-3, 2f). Subs: Conor Russell for C McKeown (half time); Corey Sullivan for R McDonald (51 mins); Daniel McDonald for M Murnaghan (55 mins). THE HISTORY BOYS AS AWESOME DARACH FIRES COLÁISTÍ INIS EOGHAIN INTO FIRST EVER FINAL was last modified: February 23rd, 2014 by John2Share this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Tags:carrickmacrossCOLAISTI INIS EOGHAINDarach O’Connor
Corn crop struggling in Brazil
Share Facebook Twitter Google + LinkedIn Pinterest Brazil plants two corn crops. The second crop, also known as “safrinha” (“little crop” in Portuguese), has gained more importance over the last few years, according to Daniele Siqueira from AgRural Commodities Agrícolas in Brazil. And, this year, the safrinha is struggling.Safrinha corn is planted from January to March, right after soybean harvest, and harvested from June to August, during winter in the Southern Hemisphere. It is possible to do that because many areas in Brazil do not have a real winter. In northern Mato Grosso, the top safrinha corn state, the average temperature in June (equivalent to December in the Northern Hemisphere) is 74 degrees F, Siqueira said.The safrinha corn is a risky crop. In central Brazil, and especially in Mato Grosso, the risk is not due the temperature, but the moisture. In that region, fall and winter are hot and dry. From mid-May to mid-September there is often virtually no rain in Mato Grosso. Because of this, farmers in Brazil are always in a hurry to plant their corn as early as possible so the crop will pollinate in early May.A fair portion of this safrinha corn got off to a late start this season.“We had a wide window of planting. There were farmers planting corn starting in late December into January and even mid-March,” Siqueira said. “Everybody knows that the second crop is risky, but in the last four years we had almost perfect weather. It seems that farmers have forgotten that this second crop is risky. Quite a bit of the crop was planted after the ideal window. When farmers plant after February they will probably have their corn pollinating under very dry conditions. Last year they did get rain because the weather was abnormal. In normal years we do not have rains in May or June.”The concern with the late planting has been magnified due to unusually hot and dry March and April conditions.“Our corn has been damaged by the weather. It was hot and dry in late March in several corn producing areas. Some of those areas haven’t gotten a single drop of rain in the last three or four weeks while temperatures were very high. There is a chance of rain later this week but the corn is in trouble right now in many areas,” she said. “I can’t say yet that we will have a huge crop failure though. It is too early to say that. Mato Grosso is our top producing state and has gotten more rain. In some areas we could see a crop failure but our top producing corn state is still OK. We might have 10% loss at this point. It all depends on if we have more rain in the next month. Some corn is pollinating and filling grain now in very high temperatures and low moisture. April has been much drier than normal and May and June are usually much drier than April.”It also looks like La Niña may be settling in sooner rather than later, which could set up more problems for South America.“La Niña years are normally not good for our crop,” Siqueira said. “It has been a very interesting year for sure.”With all of this in mind, the weather in the next few weeks in Brazil (and Mato Grosso in particular) could have a significant impact on corn exports from Brazil and prices moving forward.
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