BLACK EYE PEAS AND RICE; MACARONI PIE
VEGETABLE CHOWMEIN; BAKED POTATOES
GRILLED DOLPHIN; FRIED POT FISH
FRIED FLYING FISH; BAKED PORK
BAKED CHICKEN; FISH GRAVY
CHICKEN STEW; COLE CLAW
TOSSED SALAD
SYDNEY, Australia – John Dyson has charged that he failed to sign his contract with the West Indies Cricket Board because of the ruling body’s inefficiency.
Dyson indicated that he did not sign his contract because it was not suitable, and the WICB failed to respond in a timely manner to a few points he raised.
“It is correct that I didn’t sign a contract, but the question is why,” Dyson told the Cricinfo Web site.
“The first contract I was presented with had written on it (previous coach) Bennett King’s name and address.
“Obviously, I couldn’t sign that. Then there were three points I felt needed clarification. It took more than two months for them to clarify the first point, and they never got back to me on points two and three.
“I was never offered a contract I felt reflected what we had discussed previously. But it would seem the WICB has problems with contracts with quite a few people, and not just me.”
Dyson added: “The only discussion I have had thus far was a phone call from (acting WICB chief executive officer) Steve Camacho.
“He told me the executive of the board had decided to terminate my employment with immediate effect. When I told him that I was a bit shocked and asked him why, he said that he was just the messenger and that he had fulfilled his duty as messenger. I haven’t heard any more since then. If I had been in some drunken fight then and brought disgrace upon myself and the board then perhaps I could understand. When I was working for the (New South Wales) department of education (in Australia), there was a process to follow in these sorts of matters. It has been disappointing.”
Dyson was sacked from his position last month, following the home series defeat to Bangladesh, when West Indies fielded a depleted squad because of a protracted industrial dispute between the WICB and the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA).
“It’s a tragedy that West Indies is playing international cricket without its strongest team on the park,” he said.
“To me, Test cricket is about the best players from your part of the World playing against the best players from another part of the World and that did not happen against Bangladesh.
“That is not to talk down the new team – there are players there who I think have now overtaken one or two of the older team – but the fact is that the best team hasn’t been playing.”
He continued: “I made my Test debut playing for Australia during the World Series Cricket split, but I didn’t really feel like I made my debut until after I was being picked with all the players back. I still feel like that to this day.
“What happened in the series against Bangladesh was extremely sad. Some of the blokes in that series showed that they were ready for the step up – guys like Kemar Roach, Travis Dowlin and Darren Sammy – but any team is going to miss the likes of Gayle, Chanderpaul, Sarwan, Ramdin, Bravo, Taylor, Edwards when fit, and Benn when in form.
“If they could get their best side on the park I think they could give a tournament like the Champions Trophy a real shake. But to survive, West Indies cricket needs its best team on the park.”
Police are on the hunt for a gunman, who robbed an employee of the ABI Bank Ltd. at its Jolly Harbour branch yesterday morning.
This recent incident comes less than 24 hours after masked gunmen robbed the Valley Road Service Station. It has not been ascertained if both robberies were committed by the same people.
Reports are the masked gunman walked up to the bank employee and demanded that he drop a travel case that he was carrying.
The employee complied with the gunman’s request and the perpetrator grabbed the bag and ran to a waiting car. The car reportedly drove from the commercial area and headed in a southerly direction.
But while the robbers’ escape was successful, they left empty handed as, according to reports, there was no money in the bag. Reports are the cash had already been taken into the bank.
The incident reportedly occurred about 8:30 a.m., shortly after the bank opened. While the AntiguaSun understands that shots were fired, the police have denied the allegation. No one was injured during the incident.
An eyewitness, who spoke to the SUN on condition of anonymity, said she was leaving Jolly Harbour on her way to town when she heard what sounded like gunshots and saw a man behind the wheel of a vehicle, which she described as a wagon.
“I was driving from the area and I saw a large group of people gathered in front of the bank (ABI). I also heard a loud popping noise that sounded like a gunshot.
“I stopped to enquire and was informed it was indeed a gunshot. I had actually seen one man behind the wheel of a wagon and he sped out of the area.
“Since I wasn’t aware of what was happening at the time when I saw them, I cannot quite give a full description of the incident, but he was wearing dark clothing.
“I do remember him looking stocky and on average, I would say, he was about five feet seven inches or five feet eight inches,” the eyewitness said.
Asked if she was frightened after witnessing the daring daylight robbery, the eyewitness said, “Honestly no, because at the time, I was not fully aware of what was happening, it happened so fast.”
Police officers reportedly cordoned off certain sections of the southern side of the island as they conducted checks on vehicles.
The SUN was informed that the police have recovered the vehicle, which was discovered burnt out. Up to the time of going to press, this paper was unable to confirm where the vehicle was found.
Meanwhile, the police are yet to make an arrest in the Valley Service Station robbery which occurred on Monday night (7 Sept).
Reports are two masked gunmen entered the service station located at the corner of Sir Vivian Richards and lower Market Streets about 6:10 p.m. and held the attendants at gunpoint.
Allegations are the men drove on to the service station compound in a heavily tinted beige coloured Toyota Corolla and made their way into the office, while a third person waited in the get away vehicle.
The men demanded money from the supervisor and grabbed the cash pan and ran from of office. They got into their vehicle and drove off in a southerly direction.
The police continue to appeal to the public for information on both robberies.
Anyone with information is asked to call 462-3913/14, Crime Stoppers at 800 TIPS (8477) or the nearest police station.”
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Property owners will face stiff taxes from January 1 next year. The 2010 national budget measure proposed by Government seeks to implement a new Property Tax Information System to assess properties and collect taxes. But several experts have suggested that the system will force homeowners and commercial customers to pay thousands of dollars in new taxes and will also affect mortgage activity. Economist Dr Patrick Watson said yesterday the property tax regime will “increase the burden of an already overburdened middle class” in the country. He was speaking at a post-budget forum held at the Chamber of Commerce, Westmoorings. Watson calculated that people who current paid less than $300 a year in land and building taxes might have to pay more than $3,000 per annum. The new system assesses properties on a rental value appraisal method and charges three per cent for residential properties and five per cent for commercial customers. Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira told the forum yesterday that property taxes dated back to as early as 1948 and the system needed revamping. The Valuation Division will now assess properties based on how much money could be collected if they were rented and a percentage of this amount will constitute the new tax. She said the tax would be implemented on a base rate of three per cent for residential properties. “It is not a tax on you, it is tax on your property,” she said, causing the audience to laugh. But Jean de Meillac, general manager of Terra Caribbean, told the Express yesterday that what this meant was that a Woodbrook home worth $1.2 million and which could be rented for about $9,000 a month would now incur $3,000 a year in residential tax instead of current rates of about $120 a year. He said property owners were likely to get upset because they were asked to pay for something that did not benefit them. He said the increased taxes could also keep real estate prices distressed and prices could soften further. Ingrid Lashley, general manager of the Trinidad and Tobago Mortgage Finance Company, told the Express by phone yesterday that taxes could impact on household income and would have an impact on the market. |
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Trinidad and Tobago has become a more competitive location. The country rose in the rankings of the Global Competitiveness Report which analysed the performance of 134 nations and ranked them in terms of competitiveness. Trinidad and Tobago moved up in the rankings from 92nd last year to 86th this year. The report was a collaboration between the World Economic Forum, the Competitiveness Company and the Arthur Lok Jack Graduate School of Business. Trinidad and Tobago’s competitive advantages included strength of audit and reporting standards, quality of primary education, quality of management schools, quality of electricity supply and air transport infrastructure, the Competitiveness Company said in a statement yesterday. The country also ranked well in terms of tax rates, ease of access to loans and soundness of banks. In terms of problems doing business, crime and theft, poor work ethic in the labour force and government bureaucracy ranked highest. The overall performance of the country placed it as an innovation-driven country, a stark change from its performance five years ago when it was largely efficiency-driven, the statement added. -CR |
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“TRINIDADIANS does only talk.” This was the viewpoint of most bar owners in downtown Port of Spain when asked about the increase in prices of tobacco products and alcoholic drinks and the effects it may have on their businesses. Most agreed that for the next few days, the sales of these products may decrease, but within a week or less “all will be well and back to normal”. Yesterday the Express visited several bars in and around Port of Spain to get the point of view of some bar owners and patrons alike. None of the bars visited had as yet increased their prices, but everyone had their prediction to make. Marcus Garvin, an employee at the Goldgate Pub on Independence Square, said he did not expect to see any changes in the drinking and smoking habits of Goldgate’s customers. “Trinidadians does only yap, yap, yap as soon as prices go up but in no time at all everything does go back to the way that it used to be,” he said. One patron at the pub said the price hike was in no way going to defer him from his “vice”. “I still have to drink my rum and I still have to smoke my cigarette. It’s a vice I have. I mean I will complain about the increase but it’s either I support it or I drop it,” he said. At Ryan’s Recreation Club on Prince Street, Nehru Rampersad said he too would not be affected by the increase. “I is a working man and I does need my little drink. I not going and stop because of that,” said Rampersad. But he also said that he saw the decision to increase the prices as being unfair. “That’s too much. They raising it too much and too fast. What are we with our habits to do?” he asked. Ricardo “Smokey” McKenzie, the co-owner of Smokey and Bunty in St James, said he was not sure if his business would be affected. “Well it is a bit too soon to say. It’s only yesterday they spoke of the increase so we will have to wait and see. Maybe by the weekend,” McKenzie said. He did say, however, that he was not in agreement with the increase. “It is unfair to the customers,” he said. In her 2009/2010 budget presentation Finance Minister Karen Nunez-Tesheira disclosed that there was going to be a 15 per cent increase in excise duty on locally manufactured and Common Market origin beer, rum and other alcoholic products and a 30 per cent increase in import duties on alcoholic products from extra regional sources, while tobacco products will be increased by ten per cent. |
 Cuba’s Resident Ambassador to St Kitts and Nevis Ana Gonzalez (second from left); St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Denzil Douglas (fifth from left) and Earl Clarke(second from right) with members of the resident medical team from Cuba. (Photo by Erasmus Williams) BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM) — Cuba’s Resident Ambassador to St Kitts and Nevis, Ana María González informed Prime Minister Denzil Douglas and Minister of Health, Rupert Herbert, during an informal dinner where they met with the resident Cuban medical team, that more than 15,000 patients were screened by Cuban ophthalmologists during the Miracle Eye Care Mission between August 2005 and April 2007. The Cuban diplomat said 800 nationals went to Cuba with 715 of them undergoing surgery. Information presented showed 9,992 consultations in 2007, 12,067 in 2008 and 8,685 up to August 2009. Medical cooperation between Cuba and St Kitts and Nevis began in 1996 with the arrival of the first group of Cuban doctors, who along with health technicians have been working at the Joseph N France General Hospital. There are currently 12 Cubans including seven specialist doctors working in the health sector. There is one ophthalmologist, one orthopedic surgeon, two physiotherapists, one anatomic pathologist, one anesthesiologist, one dentist, one biomedical engineer, one gynecologist and one pediatrician. There are also two physiotherapists, one X-ray technician and a cytologist. Douglas and Herbert received informal reports from senior medical specialists and engaged them in areas of concern. The government officials thanked Ambassador González and the medical team for touching the lives and improving the healthcare of the people of St Kitts and Nevis. Douglas noted that St Kitts and Nevis and Cuba have developed sound bonds of friendship and expressed confidence that the relationship will continue to grow from strength to strength and redound to the mutual benefit of both peoples. |
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| By Kim Ramsay-Moore
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (BGIS) — The Barbados government is exploring the option of providing funding for students who have to travel overseas to pursue degrees that are not offered in Barbados.
Minister of Education and Human Resource Development, Ronald Jones, made this disclosure recently, during talks with President of the University of the Southern Caribbean (USC), Professor Trevor Gardner, at the Ministry’s Constitution Road headquarters. Noting that “nothing was definite at this time”, Jones said that the matter was however being given serious consideration in areas that were critical to the development of this nation. “Government is looking into providing funding for students who have to go places like UTech to access education,” he said. The Minister also said that Government needed to expand its vision in the local education sector in order to meet increasing demands. “We have to expand our vision. The Barbados Community College is still at a three year level in its nursing programme and there is some pressure to add the fourth and what would be the final year. Erdiston is now doing a Bachelor of Education from next year, which will include necessary elements like elementary education,” he pointed out. Discussions also centered on the USC, formerly the Caribbean Union College’s, academic programme. Professor Gardner noted that the Trinidad-based university catered mainly to the needs of Governments in the region and offered a number of programmes in a variety of disciplines. He also highlighted a number of programmes which the USC was working on to assist with social ills. To this end, he stated that they were proposing the implementation of a programme entitled “BRAIN”, which was designed to equip youth who passed through the court system, with the necessary skills to re-enter society. “There is also the Male Academy for Teachers and Educators which is expected to train both male and female teachers in ways to deal with boys at school. This is expected to address concerns that there are not enough good male influences in the school,” he added. Professor Gardner also explained that the University was expanding its capacity and was partnering with the Loma Linda University in Southern California, to assist in the development of a number of subjects, including Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy. Former Education Director of the Eastern Conference of Seventh Day Adventists, Dr Norma Niles; Acting Permanent Secretary, Bruce Alleyne and President of USC Alumni, Victor Roach, also attended the meeting. |
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 Tropical Storm Fred: Three-day forecast track. NOAA graphic MIAMI, USA (Reuters) — Tropical Storm Fred neared hurricane strength as it spun through the open waters of the eastern Atlantic on Tuesday but its path should keep it clear of any land for several days and perhaps until it dies. Located southwest of the Cape Verde Islands off the west coast of Africa, Fred was expected to take a track thousands of miles east of the populous US East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico oil patch. The sixth tropical storm of the 2009 Atlantic season had sustained winds of 70 miles per hour (110 km per hour), shy of the 74 mph needed for a Category 1 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson intensity scale. It was expected to reach hurricane status by late Tuesday or early Wednesday. The five-day forecast track issued by the US National Hurricane Center would keep it in the eastern Atlantic for all of that time, far from any land. By 5 p.m. EDT Tuesday, the storm was located about 410 miles west-southwest of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands and was moving to the west at about 14 mph, forecasters said. Fred’s sustained winds were expected to reach about 90 mph, making it a strong Category 1, before it starts to weaken in two days, the NHC said. “Cooler waters, stronger (wind) shear and drier air should significantly weaken Fred, and it would not be surprising if Fred was only a remnant low by day 5,” the hurricane center said in a statement. Hurricanes draw energy from warm water, so cooler sea surface temperatures can weaken them, while wind shear — a difference in wind speeds at different altitudes — can inhibit their growth or tear them apart. With the peak of the hurricane season two days away, the Atlantic-Caribbean basin has seen five tropical storms and one hurricane with little damage. Hurricane Bill, which reached Category 4 in the open ocean, hit Canada’s Atlantic provinces as a Category 1 storm. Tropical storms Ana and Erika sloshed through the northern Caribbean islands, Claudette went ashore in north Florida and Danny fizzled off the Carolinas. |
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