MOHAMMED, SHIROON formerly of Debe of departed this life on Wednesday 28th June, 2017 at the age of 81. She would be lovingly remembered as the Wife of: The late Shafite Mohammed Mother of: Fize, Nizam, and Zobeida (Lisa) and the late Azaid, Ashmead, Faizal and Razard Sister of: Peter, Ferosha and Nourisha and the late Jaitoon, Khairoon andJohnGrandmother of: Nine (9)

The funeral service for thelate Shiroon Mohammed will be held on Friday 30th June,2017 at House of Mourning #42 Clarkia Drive, NHA Development, Debe followed by aburial at Roodal Cemetery, Broadway, San Fernando. En-quires can be made at Belgroves Funeral Home & Crematorium at 223-2178. To extend condolences to the family of Shiroon Mohammed,please logon to www.belgroves.com

LEIGHTON, JAMES DOUGLAS passed away on Sunday 25th June, 2017. Son of David and Paulene. Brother of Stuart. Beloved boyfriend of Stephanie. Grandson of Alistair (deceased) and Norma Leighton, Paul and Jacqueline Awah. Cherished and loved by his aunts, uncles, cousins and many friends.

Funeral mass for the late James Leighton takes place at St.Finbar's R.C. Church, Diego Martin on Friday 30th June, 2017 at 10:30am followed by private cremation. No flowers by request. Funeral entrusted to C&B. For enquiries, please contact Chancellor Walks Funeral Services, 287-0403/ 04.

WESTON: JOCELYN JENNYANN of #335 Lengua Road, Indian Walk, Moruga passed away on Monday 26th June, 2017 at the age of 55. She was the Wife of Rev. Frederick Weston (President of BUTT & Pastor of Lewis Inness Memorial Baptist Church) Mother of Clevon and Shevon Weston Adopted Mother of Nadine Clarke Hamilton, Erica Chance Cooper, The Hearing Impaired Community and many others Sister of Russel (U.S.A),Joanne, Ronnie Huggins & Ms. Natalie Small and the late Jennifer Huggins Grandmother of JJ, Johnmac, Mark, Jarib and Marcus Weston

The Funeral Service of the late JOCELYN JENNY ANN WESTON will take place on Monday 3rdJuly, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. at the Lewis Inness Memorial Baptist Church, #391 Fifth Company Road Moruga, followed by burial at the church yard cemetery. Enquires can be made to J. E. Guide Funeral Home & Crematorium Ltd.,#120 Coffee Street, San Fernando (652-4261 or 657-5465).

PARIAG- PETER Roy of 101 Cipero Road, Golconda, San Fernando passed away on 25th June 2017 at the age of 70. Son ofthe late Nanan and Roney Pariag. Brother of Lolly, Elsita, Paul, Grace, Joseph, Andrew, Oliver and Reuben. Husband of Yasmin. Father of Earl, Kern, Kerry and Navin. Father-in-Law of Camille, Nikki and Liann. Grand-father of Joshua, Dominic, Zara and Zavier. Uncle and friend of many.

The Funeral Service for the late Peter Roy Pariag takes place at 101 Cipero Road, Golconda, San Fernando at 9 a.m. on 30th June 2017 and then to the Shore of Peace for cremation at Mosquito Creek.

Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has finally gone ahead with a move he telegraphed months ago by returning Port-of-Spain South MP Marlene McDonald to his Cabinet.

Ms McDonald will be officially sworn in today as the new Minister of Public Utilities by President Anthony Carmona, along with the other new appointments Rowley made in a minor reshuffle of his Cabinet announced late Wednesday.

McDonald’s return had been forecast since last year when members within the party suggested that Rowley, seemingly buckling under the pressure of having too many neophytes in his administration, realised he could not keep such a long-standing member out of his inner Cabinet circle for any protracted period of time.

Ms McDonald, after all, has been an MP since 2007 and would have undoubtedly been one of those members who bolstered the current PM as he made his drive to take over leadership of the party from former leader Patrick Manning, now deceased. She also will bring back another strong voice in the House during debate and may even possibly be returned to the Chief Whip she previously held.

The only thing which had kept the PM from moving earlier would have been the reason why Ms McDonald became the first casualty of the Government in the first place—the allegations of wrongdoing in relation to her alleged role in the approval of grants to the Calabar Foundation and in the issuing of a Housing Development Corporation (HDC) home to her close friend.

Under mounting public pressure as the Integrity Commission probed the allegations against Ms McDonald last year, the PM removed her from office saying he could not ignore the “new information” which had come to light at the time. The PM would have taken a calculated risk then, given that Ms McDonald’s character and vigour had endeared her to PNMites and her constituents in particular. Of course, the manner in which she was dismissed, seemingly with no proper hearing and even while no guilt had been proven, also did not go down too well within the party either.

Months after her March sacking, however, PM Rowley had already changed his tone. Expressing frustration at the drawn out Integrity Commission probe, he offered: “I am a great believer in fairness and what is happening right now is not fair to Ms McDonald.”

In noting last year that he “acquiesced” to the calls to remove McDonald pending the new probe, the PM also admitted that he expected “the Integrity Commission would do its job in a timely fashion and if Ms McDonald has a case to answer, she is made to answer it, and if she does not, that this is stated to the national community so that the people who elected her could see her continuing to do the job that they elected her to do.”

Of course, the Integrity Commission is yet to make any public statement on its findings in the case and all that the public has to go on is what has been leaked to and reported by the media—none of which has suggested that the case is either closed or anywhere near completion. Yesterday, however, PM Rowley suggested he had received enough information from the commission of its findings to convince him he could safely return her to office. But this comes even while Integrity Commission sources indicated to this paper that its probe of all the matters involving Ms McDonald is yet incomplete.

So it is likely that the PM will face some political licks from the Opposition for returning McDonald to the Cabinet even while her innocence or guilt is yet to be proven. And Mr Rowley will likely have to explain his reasoning to the public too.

What may, however, be caught up in all the political intrigue that is the come is the lethargy of the Integrity Commission in investigating allegations against key officials serving in public life.

The country is now all too familiar with the inefficiency of the body, given the number of outstanding cases against top politicians of fairly recent vintage. Even the PM himself was a victim of a hasty decision on the commission’s part, a matter which he subsequently won in the High Court and led to the resignation of the commission members responsible for the transgression. Indeed, the PM’s act could be seen as either prompted by the receipt of new information clearing Ms McDonald or a lack of trust in the Integrity Commission to not only conduct a proper probe or to complete any time soon. This certainly is not a position in which one of the bodies charged with bringing politicians to book for wrongdoing should find itself in.

In this paper’s investigations of the matter, the Integrity Commission seems hamstrung in the course of any investigation. Indeed, during their fact-finding missions they are often given the run-around by state bodies they are seeking information from and even the individuals they are probing. This sort of stonewalling no doubt accounts for some of their current protracted probes.

This paper therefore hopes that as the public no doubt focuses on the return of Ms McDonald, they and the Government also look closely at the Integrity Commission. Something seems to be not right within this body and all must be done to correct it given its role in the process of good governance. But this will not be possible if the Government does not give it both the resources and the teeth it needs to accomplish its job through proper legislation which will compel persons under its probing mirror to co-operate with them. In this regard, it is hoped the amendments to the Integrity in Public Life Act currently being are fast-tracked to achieve the desired goals.

It may seem distant and the issues complex, but Jamaica has good reasons to pay attention to the row, led by Saudi Arabia, between Qatar and some of its Gulf neighbours.

Not least of why we should have an interest is that more than a handful of Jamaicans live in Doha, the Qatari capital. They are mostly airline pilots. They started to emigrate in the 1990s when Qatar Airways came poaching, and more followed in the 2000s with the demise of Air Jamaica. Jamaican engineers and other professionals also work in Qatar’s natural-gas sector and other industries.

So, should the security situation in Qatar worsen, the Holness administration, which is yet to publicly signal its awareness of the problem, has a responsibility to, as much as it can, ensure the safety of our citizens in that country.

But there is a larger issue at play in Qatar in which a small country like Jamaica ought to be deeply invested: the matter of sovereignty.

While on purchasing power parity (PPP), Qataris are the richest people in the world, with GDP per head of more than US$141,000, their population—half of whom are migrant—is approximately the size of Jamaica’s. More critically, the number of people living in Qatar is only nine per cent of the population of Saudi Arabia, its powerful Sunni Muslim neighbour that is in competition for regional supremacy with Shi’ite Iran.

Like Saudi Arabia and its partners in the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar is a monarchy, ruled by the Al Thani family. But Qatar has operated a foreign policy independent of its Gulf partners, a difference that erupted a fortnight ago when Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt imposed an economic and political blockade against the Qataris, accusing Doha of supporting and financing terrorist organisations.

The issues, though, are not straightforward. The Qataris, for instance, support Islamist political groups like the Muslim Brotherhood, whose Mohamed Morsi became Egypt’s first democratically elected leader when Hosni Mubarak fell at the height of the Arab Spring, only to be overthrown in 2013 by Egypt’s current leader, the former army general, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Doha, however, insists that though Islamist, these groups are not terror organisations. It also rejects accusations that it funds, or has any relationship with, al-Qaeda or ISIS.

Another twist in these complexities is Doha’s belief that it could be a kind of honest broker in its neighbourhood, hence its recent embrace of Iran and its deepening relations with Turkey, which it allowed to establish a military base on Qatari territory, much to the chagrin of its GCC partners.

Matters are further complicated by the presence of the Qatar-funded Al Jazeera news network, which, while gaining growing international respect for its news reporting, is seen by the autocratic Gulf monarchies and Egypt as a Qatari foreign-policy instrument trained on their regimes, with the aim of inciting another Arab Spring.

It is not surprising that among the demands of the quartet to lift their blockade is the dismantling of Al Jazeera. They also insist that Qatar close the Turkish base, severely pare down its diplomatic relations with Iran, end its alleged support for terrorist organisations, and pay reparations for the loss of life and financial losses because of Qatari policies in recent years.

Doha’s compliance with the demands would be monitored over the next dozen years. This is not quite Russia and Prussia’s 18th-century partitions of Poland, which the Poles were humiliatingly forced to endorse, but it is tantamount to an expropriation of sovereignty, for which no small country can countenance lest it set itself up to be the next victim.

Or as Qatar’s foreign minister, Sheik Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, argued, this appears to have “nothing to do with combating terrorism (but) limiting Qatar’s sovereignty and outsourcing foreign policy.”

It’s hilarious, and so typical. These last years, Ziya was vehemently into pink. Every opportunity to get dressed was declarative. In contrast to my choices, she would insist on locating pink pants, pink tops and pink hairclips, proclaiming that it was her body so she should decide. As I stood in front of the cupboard doors, blue pants and yellow tops dangling ineffectually from my arms, you know which feminist mom was seriously contemplating the pros and cons of teaching empowerment to a contrary four year old.

Avoiding absolute fundamentalism, pink could be matched with purple in her lexicon of outfit possibilities, and Zi would initiate repetitive conversations about which colours were our favourites—mine is green, and hers pink and purple. Such verification was intended solely to confirm which colours she consented to, which she thought went well with pink, and which co-ordinated with various media influences, such as Doc McStuffins or Lego Friends.

My friends laughed at the irony of Ziya’s steadfast commitment to such gender stereotypical representation, for I eventually gave in to my inability to change the mind of a four year old despite the fact that I was pursuing all kinds of efforts to change the public’s mind about the normality of a sexist status quo.

I threw up my hands because I recognised that she was unlikely to escape the dominance of precisely those ideas. Understandably, she was also working out how to fit in with her peers and social norms. Plus, all parents know when and how to choose their battles with children, who will negotiate with the bloody-mindedness of a terrorist or a gladiator to get what they want.

Lo and behold, and out of the blue, she is now done with pink. But, of course, guess which colour is suddenly her favourite?

Black.

Whole new conversations must be initiated in contexts with no apparent relevance, and old positions must be explicitly revised, to make the point about these new terms of level cool.

Now we are pulling my black shalwar dupattas from the cupboard to joyously create black robes like, of all characters, Voldemort. Dolls are being marker-made up with black “lipstick.” Apparently, we must go looking for black flowers. Black starry pyjamas are being donned after afternoon baths. Black and red tutus are being fashioned, and worn over self-same pyjamas, all entirely explained by the trending status of black.

Dizzied by this unpredicted turn of events, all I could do is sit in front of the cupboard and dreamily wish for a minty mohito. It’s humbling to know that, however capable you consider yourself in the public world of work, you will hardly be able to keep with a six year old’s changes of mind and personality.

The change is surprising as the hearts and glitter girl power of Sophia Grace and other Disney children stars still provide the soundtrack for Zi’s home-based “dance shows.” Maybe it came from playing new characters, like zombies, with her neighbourhood friend, whose interests are also changing. Or, because we finished the first three Harry Potter audio books over Santa Cruz’s morning traffic, and she’s intrigued by the beckoning power of dark forces and Hogwarts uniforms. Maybe she’s decided to identify with my sister, who herself had a long Goth phase, and who Ziya associates with snakes, bats and dangerous wildlife.

Our children have multifaceted psychological shifts in their little lives as part of their growth. For parents surviving storms, and the stress of school tests, it’s a good reminder that they also excel in evoking so much laughter and love.

motheringworker@gmail.com

T&T scored 64 out of 100 points in the 2017 Resource Governance Index and ranked 14th out of the 89 assessments undertaken in the 81 countries surveyed.

Sherwin Long, head of the T&T Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (TTEITI), said T&T was one of the better performing countries in terms of score.

“We scored 64 out of 100. Out of the Enabling Environment we scored 71 out of 100, Revenue Management was our weakest performance and we scored 57 out of 100. We fell short in Revenue Management because of national budgeting fiscal rules and open data restrictions ,” he said yesterday at the launch of the 2017 Governance Report at the Ministry of Energy’s offices at the International Waterfront in Port-of-Spain.

The Index assesses the quality of governance in 81 countries which produce 82 per cent of the world’s oil and 17 per cent of its gas. T&T ranked fourth in Latin American and Caribbean behind Chile, Brazil and Colombia.

Long said T&T’s state enterprise reporting rules appear to be sound. Sound rules also govern the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF) which helped this country’s high position. He added that the Index also looked at state enterprises.

“Petrotrin was assessed against 74 other state energy enterprises globally and Petrotrin ranked ninth out of these state run enterprises with a score of 75. The company was deemed to have good rules related to the reporting on finances and operations as well as transfers from the company to Central Government,” he said.

Long said the index is important as it determines how other agencies evaluate T&T and it improves the country’s governance.

“Credit agencies look at governance indices to rank the country such as the Corruption Perception Index and the Global Competitiveness Index. These are indicators which show what we face as a country in terms of corruption and competitiveness,” he said.

Long said Brazil was ranked higher than T&T on the Index although there are allegations of corruption surrounding acting President Michel Temer and state owned oil company Petrobas because more than one factor determines the ranking.

“What the Index looked at is the laws as well as well as the practice. How well are these laws actually used? In terms of the laws and the practice in T&T there was a ten point difference between the law and how it is actually practiced and governs the energy sector. In T&T, there is a large gap between the law and how it is practised,” he explained.

Regional rating agency Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services Limited (CariCRIS), has reaffirmed a corporate credit ratings of CariBBB- on its regional rating scale and ttBBB- on the T&T national rating scale for Rhand Credit Union, with a negative outlook.

This indicate that the credit union’s level of creditworthiness, adjudged in relation to others in the Caribbean and within T&T is adequate. The negative outlook is based expectations that T&T’s fiscal position will continue to be constrained over the next 12 months on account of low oil and gas prices, which, coupled with the likelihood of rising unemployment levels, could possibly lead to a further deterioration of the credit union’s asset quality and weaken the profitability of Rhand, CariCRIS said.

“The ratings reflect Rhand’s continued asset growth, supported by an increasing and moderately diversified loan portfolio, despite some deterioration in asset quality. The ratings are also supported by Rhand’s good financial performance characterized by continued growth in income and profitability.

These rating strengths are tempered by Rhand’s small tangible net worth when compared to its local peers and the need for further improvement in risk management. The tepid membership growth that is insufficient to offset the Company’s increasingly ageing membership also temper the ratings,” the agency said.

I had a cursory look at part of the Anthony Bourdain documentary two days ago. I did see the part which triggered the latest verbal attacks on the Syrian/Lebanese communities in our nation. There was nothing in that part which offended me.

After seeing some stir on my Facebook page, I went searching for that part. I again looked at it. I saw a family happy to show off its food. Happy to say how much they had achieved. Happy to show how far they had come. Happy to show that they had brought some Middle Eastern magic and cultural richness to these tropical islands.

There was some socio-economic analysis, but nothing injurious; for me this episode, perhaps too innocently, exuded pride in roots, in accomplishment, in civic and economic importance.

Why did such a family moment, a Syrian/Lebanese moment in the sun, go wrong? The pathology is in the public response. The response paints an unflattering portrait of some responders. Something disturbed them, and it cannot just be that video.

If, as some say, that Syrians are responsible for drugs and gunrunning, why have not the alleged guilty parties been arrested? Must a Syrian daughter arrest a Syrian father and haul him into the police precinct? I myself have been hauled, not less than six or seven times, into police precincts, jail cells, brought to court, roughed up, for the horrible crimes of right action, right advocacy in our economic history. Okay, no problem. But why have not these alleged criminals been brought to court? Who is responsible for this? The Syrians?

Or, as I have been told, the Syrians are oppressing “we.” Really? Big man like you, and the Syrians oppressing you? No Syrian can oppress you brother, unless you share in, consent to, this alleged oppression. You, who have come from a history of colonial oppression, are allowing a minority ethnic group oppress you? Why such lack of robustness? Are you yet a mewling and puking indenture? Catch yourself!

Or, the Syrians “control” all the big business. Really? Is this true? Every immigrant group which has come to these shores have brought their own economic habits, terms, skills, types of trade. Without exception. Taino, Arahuacan, Spanish, African, French, Dutch, Irish, British, East Indian, Chinese, Venezuelan, Syrian, Grenadian, St Vincentian and Chinese again. If you fail to use your historical economic bootstrings to pull yourself up, must you blame another group in the cosmos for this?

Or, that the Syrians don’t mix with we. Really? Let us assume that this is so. In this cosmic dance, everyone must be free to decide if or not to attend, when to dance or not dance, what tune to dance to or what not. This is the essence of cosmopolitanism. Freedom to engage, participate, on one’s own terms. No one should be forced, or ransomed, or induced to conform to some vague idea of “we” or “mixing”. In any event, geography, economics, and the marketplace demands engagement, the cosmopolitan canvas is never fully painted.

Ours is a cosmopolitan Republic. And let us wave the flag of cosmopolitanism which history has so honorifically bestowed on us. It is vile, oppressive and shameful to be loading off on a minority national or ethnic group, this group, like all other groups, should be cherished, loved, protected, celebrated like we celebrate the achievements of our young brothers or sisters.

We should be happy to see the obvious pride exuded in the video, a family so eager to show off their accomplishments, with harmless pomp and exuberance.

Any attack that is based on race or ethnicity is bound to be inaccurate and deceptive, since race and ethnicity are superficial categorising markers. It is only natural that minority groups, universally, practice vibrant forms of self-affirmation, stake out their roles, as it were. Perhaps the family was so eager and happy to show off to the American because they feel under-appreciated or scorned by its own compatriots.

Our own majority ethnic groups have failed to bring us to a sustainable, affordable, non-violent and rational post-colonial future, this is the real problem, so let us each deal with that cocoa in the sun!

Wayne Kublalsingh

We really don’t need helicopters to fight crime in T&T. This is just again a waste of public money. This island is 60 miles by 40 miles with a large area that is sparsely populated. Gangsters, crooks and serious criminals inhabit the well known areas. What we need are dedicated and honest policemen with good management and leadership to hunt down and catch the criminals.

We need more honest and conscientious policemen, not helicopters. What have we gained by using helicopters here? Nothing. We still have a crime scenario as we had decades ago. Nothing has really changed where crime is concerned.

At the end of this year we can expect another high figure of around 500 of our citizens slaughtered, and yet we have responsible citizens in positions of authority who keep singing the same old tune that crime has fallen.

Politicians are taken for a ride and succumb to the wrong advice given to them by our so-called security “experts.” In my opinion this careless and wasteful spending is associated with “kick backs” which have formed part and parcel of the local art of corruption fed by personal greed. Now that things are beginning to unravel, luxuries such as helicopters will of course have to be mothballed.

...don’t need CSIs either

We don’t need more crime scene investigators either. This is just a waste of money and won’t make one iota of difference. This is just another ploy to quell the anxiety of our citizens. What we need is a new, foreign commissioner of police and a brigade of outside policemen to catch and bring our roaming random killers to justice. We can no longer rely on local policemen to protect the citizens. This has been proven over the past decades.

We also need the restoration of the death penalty and the recommencement of hangings. What has gone wrong with our politicians? They appear either to be brainless or lacking in foresight, and love to waste public funds.

GA Marques

Opting to bowl first at the Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium, they managed to restrict India to 251 for four off their 50 overs, with former skipper MS Dhoni top-scoring with a Man-of-the-Match 78 not out.

Opener Ajinkya Rahane carved out 72 while Kedar Jadhav struck an attacking unbeaten 40 and Yuvraj Singh, 39.

Fast bowler Miguel Cummins was the best bowler with two for 56.

In reply, West Indies never looked the part and slumped to a dreadful 158 all out off 38.1 overs – their second lowest total against India in the Caribbean.

Jason Mohammed led with 40 and Rovman Powell chipped in with a breezy 30 but no other batsman displayed the type of enterprise required to put the Windies over the line.

Off-spinner Ravi Ashwin (3-28) and left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav (3-41) claimed three wickets apiece to lead India’s attack.

The defeat was also the hosts 10th in 12 ODIs at the venue, leaving them without form or confidence heading into Sunday’s fourth match here.

With the victory, India took a 2-0 lead and will now target their seventh series win over the Windies in 10 years.

Needing a solid start to their run chase, West Indies got anything but as left-handed Evin Lewis was bowled for two in just the second over of the innings with nine runs on the board, playing back to a quick one from seamer Umesh Yadav which kept a touch low.

The Hope brothers, Kyle and Shai, then came together to add 45 for the second wicket and stabilise the innings. Kyle, on debut, looked at ease in his 19 which included three fours while Shai made 24 off 50 balls with two fours, to be one of only three batsmen to pass 20.

However, Kyle top-edged a hook at pacer Hardik Pandya and was caught at deep backward square in the 13th over, triggering a collapse that saw four wickets tumble for 33 runs in the space of 41 deliveries.

Roston Chase was completely flummoxed by the third ball he received and bowled by Kuldeep for two in the 14th over while Shai Hope got himself in a tangle against a short ball from Pandya and top-edged a return catch in the 17th over.

When captain Jason Holder was smartly stumped down the leg-side off Ashwin for six, the Windies were reeling at 87 for five in the 20th but Mohammed and Powell came together in a 54-run sixth wicket partnership to resist India.

Without being entirely fluent, Mohammed struck four fours in his 61-ball knock while Powell freed his arms to strike five boundaries off 43 deliveries.

With the partnership threatening, India resorted once again to spin and the move paid dividends. The runs had dried up and pressure was mounting when Powell holed out to backward square off Kuldeep in the 33rd over at 141 for six and in the following over Ashley Nurse (6) squirted Ashwin to a diving Umesh Yadav at square leg with seven runs added.

All hopes then rested on Mohammed but he missed a sweep at Kuldeep and was lbw in the 37th over and the end came swiftly with Miguel Cummins (1) and debutant Kesrick Williams (1) offering no resistance.

Dhoni had earlier rescued India after they stumbled to 100 for three in the 27th over in difficult conditions, following a 45-minute delayed start because of rain.

With Shikhar Dhawan (2) and captain Virat Kohli (11) having fallen cheaply to leave India 34 for two in the 10th over, Rahane put on 66 for the third wicket with Yuvraj before adding a further 70 for the fourth with Dhoni.

Rahane faced 112 balls and counted four fours and a six before falling to a brilliant diving catch in the deep by Devendra Bishoo off fast bowler Cummins in the 43rd over.

But Dhoni belted four fours and two sixes off 79 balls and Jadhav struck four fours and a six in his 26-ball cameo, as they put on 81 in an unbroken fifth wicket stand that saw exactly 100 runs gush from the last 10 overs. (CMC)

SCOREBOARD

West Indies vs India – 3rd ODI

INDIA

A Rahane c Bishoo b Cummins 72

S Dhawan c Chase b Cummins 2

V Kohli c K Hope b Holder 11

Yuvraj Singh lbw b Bishoo 39

MS Dhoni not out 78

K Jadhav not out 40

Extras (lb1, w8) 9

TOTAL (4 wkts, 50 overs) 251

Did not bat: H Pandya, R Ashwin, K Yadav, B Kumar, U Yadav

Fall of wickets: 1-11, 2-34, 3-100, 4-170

Bowling: Cummins 10-0-56-2 (w2), Holder 10-1-53-1 (w2), Williams 10-0-69-0 (w1), Nurse 10-0-34-0 (w1), Bishoo 10-0-38-1 (w2)

WEST INDIES

E Lewis b Yadav 2

K Hope c Jadhav b Pandya 19

S Hope c & b Pandya 24

R Chase b Kuldeep Yadav 2

J Mohammed lbw b Yadav 40

J Holder st Dhoni b Ashwin 6

R Powell c Pandya b Yadav 30

A Nurse c Yadav b Ashwin 6

D Bishoo not out 4

M Cummins lbw b Ashwin 1

K Williams b Jadhav 1

Extras (lb6, w17) 23

TOTAL (all out; 38.1 overs) 158

Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-54, 3-58, 4-69, 5-87, 6-141, 7-148, 8-156, 9-157, 10-158

Bowling: Kumar 5-0-19-0, Umesh Yadav 7-0-32-1 (w5), Pandya 6-0-32-2 (w3), Kuldeep Yadav 10-1-41-3, Ashwin 10-1-28-3 (w3), Jadhav 0.1-0-0-1.

Result: India won by 93 runs.

Series: India lead five-match series 2-0.

Man-of-the-Match: MS Dhoni.

Toss: West Indies.

Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena, Nigel Duguid;

TV – Chris Gaffaney.

With T&T Volleyball Federation set to host the Senior Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (CAZOVA) Championship from Tuesday until next Sunday July 9, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) headed by Dion Hutchinson has admitted to being $175,000 short of meeting its demands.

Hutchinson, also a T&TVF Executive Director was speaking at the Cascadia Hotel & Conference Centre, Cascade, St Ann’s at the launch of the eight-team tournament which comes off at the National Cycling Centre, in Balmain, Couva.

During his brief address, Hutchinson said the T&TVF was 80 percent ready for the event, which is being held in T&T for the second time in three years, with the help of CAZOVA president and former T&TVF boss Mushtaque Mohammed as well as the Ministry of Sports, which have so far assisted with transportation for two teams via two maxi-taxis.

He added, “We have managed to put together 25 percent of the budget which we are very grateful for but we are still out by $175,000 and the tournament is a few days away, and immediately after this launch I will be heading back to the Ministry of Sports to seek their assistance.”

“We have already secured two maxis, but we are still short of money to cover for transport for the six other teams and tournament officials as well as payment for referees, staff members and scorers for the duration of the tournament.

With regards to the tournament itself, Hutchinson said the CAZOVA Championship being staged at Couva will be a big one in itself, and he

hopes the general public come out and show their support to the athletes and mainly the home team.

“Some of our players were recently in Suriname for a tournament which would have no doubt helot to get them match ready and the team is a very balanced one with a lot of experience players and youth at the same time and we at the T&TVF expect the team to do well.”

Mohammed echoed the views of Hutchinson stating being a national of T&T its always pleasing to him for we host these types of events as its normally of a very high standard.

“We at CAZOVA are always ready to assist the LOC’s of the host country in making sure a well run tournament is hosted and we are very confident that this will take place over the next week-and-a-half at Couva.”

Looking ahead to the tournament, Mohammed pointed out that this edition of the CAZOVA Championship is using a new qualification format for the NORCECA Continental Grand Prix as well as the FIVB World Championship.

Defending champions and two-time winners, T&T will come up against 2008 winner Martinique, Curacao and Jamaica in Pool E while former winners, Bahamas and Barbados, debutants Haiti and Suriname are in Pool D.

At the end of the round-robin series, the top two teams from each group will advance straight to the semifinals, while the second and third placed team will meet in cross-over semifinals.

When the competition concludes on July 9, the top two teams overall will qualify to the Third Round of FIVB World Championship qualification while the winner also be crowned champions of CAZOVA.

Both finalists at CAZOVA will also book tickets to the NORCECA Continental where they will join USA, Cuba, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Guatemala, along with two from the Eastern Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association (ECVA) in the top-12 qualification process to determine the eventual five qualifiers to the FIVA World Championships.

In addition to T&T, and Martinique, Bahamas (2012), perennial kings and record nine-time winner Barbados (1992-1996, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006) and Netherlands Antilles (1991) are the other past winners.

The T&T 12-man squad will be led by former France-based Glamorgan-spiker in their quest for a third crown and he will have as his vice-captain, former Finland-based Akim Bushe while the second vice-captain Russell Pena was forced to withdraw from the team earlier this week due to injury and was replaced by Nathaniel Noreiga.

T&T senior men’s volleyball team

Ryan Stewart (captain), Akim Bushe (vice-captain), Mikheil Hoyte, Kameron Donald, Nathaniel Noreiga, Marlon Phillip, Brandon Legall, Adriel Roberts Joshua Mohammed, Daneil Williams, Enrique Harry, Kwesi Daniel.

Venue: National Cycling Centre, Balmain, Couva:

July 2 - 9, 2017:

Pool D: Martinique, Suriname, T&T, Curacao

Pool E: Jamaica, Haiti, Barbados, Bahamas

Tournament Schedule

Tuesday

Martinique vs Suriname, 2pm

Jamaica vs Haiti, 4pm

Opening Ceremony, 6pm

Barbados vs Bahamas, 7pm

T&T vs Curacao, 9pm

Wednesday

Curacao vs Martinique, 2pm

Bahamas vs Jamaica, 4pm

Barbados vs Haiti, 7pm

T&T vs Suriname, 9pm

Thursday

Suriname vs Curacao, 2pm

Bahamas vs Haiti, 4pm

Barbados vs Jamaica, 7pm

T&T vs Martinique, 9pm

Friday

Playoffs

Seventh spot: 4D vs 4E, 2pm

Quarterfinal 1: 2E vs 3D, 5pm

Quarterfinal 2: 2D vs 3E, 7pm

Saturday

Fifth spot: Loser Quarterfinal 1 vs Loser Quarterfinal 2, 2pm

Semifinal 1: E1 vs Quarterfinal winner 1 or 2, 5pm

Semifinal 2: D1 vs Quarterfinal winner 1 or 2, 7pm

Sunday

Third place: Loser Semifinal 1 vs Loser Semifinal 2, 2pm

Final: Winner Semifinal 1 vs Winner Semifinal 2, 4pm

Awards ceremony, 6pm

Professional netballers Samantha Wallace and Kalifa MCollin will lend their expertise to the University of T&T (UTT) when the team compete in the Super Club netball tournament which begins in Nelson, New Zealand tomorrow.

The local netball powerhouse was first to arrive for the event, which runs until July 7 with 20 matches to be played across the five competition days.

UTT is due to compete against other seven teams including Southern Steel, Central Pulse, Northern Mystics, Australia’s New South Wales Institute of Sport (NSWIS), Gauteng Jaguars (South Africa), Celtic Flames (Wales), and Marama Vou (Fiji), hoping to take top honours.

Wallace and McCollin, who recently completed their seasons in Australia and England, will fortify UTT”s shooting circle having excelled for their respective teams. Wallace competed with the New South Wales Swifts in the Suncorp Super Netball League while McCollin of Celtic Dragons emerged “Player of the Season” in the Vitality Netball Superleague.

The UTT team is also boosted by national senior players Onella Jack, Kielle Connelly, Jellene Richardson, Jameela McCarthy, Amanda Cameron and Crystal-Ann George, who recently returned to the senior fold. Also part of the team are former national Under-21 captain Shaquanda Greene and Monica Peters, who is a former member of the national U-21 and U-16 teams. She is also currently training with the senior unit.

Eight teams will compete over six days at Nelson’s Trafalgar Centre, with a community day planned for Tuesday. The teams will be split into two groups of four, with pool games taking place on Sunday, Monday and Wednesday before two days of playoffs.

UTT is in Pool A along with Steel, Gauteng Jaguars and the NSWIS while Pool B includes Kiwi teams the Central Pulse and Northern Mystics, along with the Celtic Flames and Marama Vou.

Nelson hosted the Silver Ferns last year at a sellout game against Jamaica - the first international netball match to played at the recently redeveloped 1662-seat capacity Trafalgar Centre.

Speaking in the wake of their latest defeat at the ongoing ICC Women’s World Cup – a seven-wicket loss to India Women at County Ground here – Mohammed said while the side comprised of world class players, self-confidence was currently lacking.

“We just need to relax and keep believing in ourselves. We need to find a way somehow to relax and recuperate, and keep believing that we are great players,” said the 28-year-old who has played in 103 ODIs.

“I keep saying to the team: people say we are a great T20 team but this is the same team that helped us qualify automatically for this World Cup so we can win 50-over games as well.

“We just need to keep believing in ourselves and go back to what worked for us in the past three, four years and come out in this World Cup. It’s time we pull everything together.”

West Indies are winless since arriving in England a month ago with losses to England Women, Southern Vipers and India Women in unofficial warm-up matches, and further defeats to Pakistan Women and South Africa Women in official warm-ups last week.

Last Monday, they were steamrolled by reigning champions Australia in their opening match of the tournament before going under to India Women on Thursday.

Arguing that the side was a quality One-Day International unit, the Trinidadian Mohammed said the batsmen needed to up their game if the Windies were to improve their form.

“I think we need to rotate the strike a bit more in the middle,” she contended.

“I think we fell short by about 80, 90 runs but I thought that the opener (Smriti Mandhana) played really well. But we need to score some more runs if we want to win games in this tournament.

“We have some of the greatest players in the world. I think players just need to believe in themselves and believe they can do out and do the job, and just go out and express themselves. As West Indians, we love to express ourselves and we just need to go out there and express ourselves.”

Sent in, the West Indies batting collapsed yet again as they struggled to gather a modest 183 for eight off their 50 overs.

In reply, India were reduced to 33 for two at one stage but recovered to easily reached their target thanks to Mandhana’s unbeaten 106.

Mohammed said the Windies batsmen were good enough that once they got in, they could post big totals. “We still believed we could still score over 250 plus.

As you can see from today, we have batters all the way down so it’s just a matter of players getting in and staying in and valuing their wickets,” she stressed.

“It was important for us to get early wickets but defending 186 on a pitch like this we needed a lot more wickets. Unfortunately, the bowlers couldn’t pull it off today.”

CMC

A tale of chocolate and terminal illness clinched this year’s Commonwealth Short Story Prize, which was won by Ingrid Persaud from T&T for her story The Sweet Sop. The story was chosen from the five regional winning stories in this year’s competition, which received a record 6,000 entries from Africa, Asia, Canada and Europe, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

The Sweet Sop is Persaud’s first short story. Terminal illness and the recent deaths of close family members fed into the work as did the true story of an assassination engineered by regularly feeding the victim poisoned Belgian chocolates. Death, terminal illness, chocolate—it all melted into The Sweet Sop.

The Chair of the judging panel, novelist Kamila Shamsie, said that “the judges were very impressed by The Sweet Sop’s originality, the strength of its characterisation, the control of voice, and its humour and emotional punch. It loses none of its effectiveness on a second or third or fourth re-reading, always the mark of a rich and layered story.”

Jacob Ross said: “Ultimately, the story that stood out for us, for its daring—in terms of narrative style, execution of subject matter—and above all its nuanced capturing of the relationship between a negligent father and his son, is The Sweet Sop. Not only does the writer succeed in making the reader accept the humanity of an act that one would instinctively object to, but she does so with an impressive lightness of touch and humour.”

Sharon Millar, who won the 2013 Commonwealth Short Story prize for The Whale House, was delighted to hear about Persaud’s award. In an online interview with the Guardian, she said:

“I am thrilled about Ingrid’s win because it means that there is something very exciting going on in the region. We struggle with publishing and marketing issues on these small islands and often it is almost impossible to get a publisher to look at us. Most people have to leave their homes to attain any sort of literary success.

“I was very impressed with Ingrid’s The Sweet Sop because of the layering and subtle management of difficult material which is often the most challenging to get on the page. She covered great emotional terrain with economy and skill and that is no easy feat in a short story. It’s an honour to be in her company.”

Millar also commented on how winning the award affected her in 2013: “It changed my life in many ways. To be given that type of validation makes you take yourself much more seriously as a writer. Other people suddenly take your work more seriously as well. The Commonwealth Writers have remained in my life and I continue to work with them so it’s not as if you win a prize, move on, and that’s the end of it. They still provide a support system for me.”

Born in Trinidad, Ingrid Persaud has also had lives as a legal academic, a trained visual artist and a project manager. Although she came to fiction later in life, she has always been preoccupied with the power of words, both in her academic work and then as a fine artist where she explored text as art. Through fiction writing she has finally settled into her intellectual home. If I Never Went Home, published in 2014, was Persaud’s first novel and she is currently working on her second. Her physical homes are Barbados and London which she shares with “the husband, teenaged twin boys, a feral chicken and two rescue dogs.”

Persaud commented, “I am humbled to be this year’s winner. Thanks to the Commonwealth Foundation for promoting and encouraging contemporary writing. The Sweet Sop is an intimate story that attempts to ask universal questions. I hope you enjoy it.”

The award was presented on June 30 at The Arts House by Singapore’s most prolific writer of English fiction, Catherine Lim.

Also present were the other four regional winners: Akwaeke Emezi for Who is Like God, Anushka Jasraj for Drawing Lessons, Tracy Fells for The Naming of Moths, and Nat Newman for The Death of Margaret Roe.

In its sixth year, the Commonwealth Prize is for the best piece of unpublished short fiction in English. It is judged by an international panel of writers, representing each of the five regions of the Commonwealth. Joining Kamila Shamsie on the judging panel were Zukiswa Wanner (Africa), Mahesh Rao (Asia), Jacqueline Baker (Canada and Europe), Jacob Ross (Caribbean) and Vilsoni Hereniko (Pacific).

Janet Steel, Programme Manager of Commonwealth Writers, said:

“Ingrid Persaud’s winning story, The Sweet Sop, has a fresh and unique voice that immerses the reader into the complexities of father and son relationships. A fine balance between humour, poignancy and sticky negotiations, we are delighted that this talented writer has received the recognition she so rightly deserves for this, her first short story.”

• The Sweet Sop can be read on Granta online at www.granta.com/the-sweet-sop.

This morning the Green Market in Santa Cruz hosts its very first annual mango day, and everyone is invited.

From 8 am to 1 pm, the Green Market vendors are inviting people to come get their fill of the best local mango-inspired treats our island has to offer: smoothies, juice, kombucha, sorbet, wine, chow, chutney, waffles, wraps, cupcakes, tarts, soaps, creams, dried, seedlings and lots more varieties.

The market asks that patrons please walk with reusable bags, mugs, eating containers and utensils.

The Green Market Community Supported Agriculture programme produces basket subscriptions of produce for people interested, and a morning at the market can be fun for children too, as there is face painting with Chanika Crystalon-Cupid, and tie-dying with Rae Russell-Hosein. Other services, in the treehouse, you can get while at the market include a massage by Joanna Romany, and reflexology by Peter Dickson.

There will be “Story Telling with Talliba” on stage at 9 am, while from 9.30 am to 10 am, there will be a Market Mango Chow Contest as well as a Kids Mango Eating Contest. Expect Live Music with Kemi Ible & The Band from 10 am.

For directions to the Green Market: http://www.greenmarketsantacruz.com/contact.

• For more info: email greenmarketbookings@gmail.com or call 221-9116.

Nonchalant about the dangers of crime, taxi driver Vishnu Roopnarine worked the graveyard shift for five years hoping to earn enough money to complete his new home and to give his only daughter, Chelsea, a sound education.

But his efforts came to nought when he was robbed of his car, killed and dumped on a riverbank off Ramlal Trace, Cunupia.

The body, which bore gunshot wounds, was discovered around 4 pm on Friday, but police believe that Roopnarine, 47, was killed sometime between 1 am to 5 am. His Nissan Almera has not been recovered.

While his family wait for the results of an autopsy scheduled for tomorrow, police are doing ballistic testing on the spent shells discovered at the scene of the crime.

During an interview at the family’s Calcutta No 1 home in Freeport, Roopnarine’s wife, Nandrani, said she was finding it difficult to believe that Roopnarine had died.

“This doesn’t feel real. We were watching Ian Alleyne’s show and we saw the body,” she recalled.

Reminiscing about her last moments with her husband, Nandrani said he left home around 1 am on Friday to collect pies from a bakery in Port-of-Spain, which he usually sold in Carapichaima to supplement his taxi driver’s income.

“He’s been doing this for five years. Every morning, he would leave home at 1 am, pick up pies in Port-of-Spain, run a few trips before returning to Carapichaima and I would help him sell the pies,” Nandrani said. However, when Roopnarine failed to return home around 6 am, she grew worried.

“I called one of his regular customers whom he picks up at 3 am, but the person said he didn’t show up and it was then I realized something was wrong,” Nandrani said. Around 10 am, she went to the police and reported him missing.

“I tried calling his phone but it rang out. I went to family and friends. I checked the hospital to see if he was there and we never found him,” Nandrani said.

The couple has two children—Vijay, 20, and Chelsea, five. Nandrani said they were working towards completing construction of their home and Chelsea was expected to start primary school in September.

Nandrani said this was what motivated Roopnarine to work hard despite the dangers of crime.

‘I used to tell him it dangerous but he was brave and fearless,” Nandrani said. Describing her husband as a man without faults, Nandrani said she did not know how to come to terms with his death.

Police said they believe robbery was the motive behind the murder. Officers of the Cunupia CID, Homicide Region III and Central Division Task Force are continuing investigations.

We must come together as a nation and do everything we can to stop the “beasts and monsters” roaming our land, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar has said.

Persad-Bissessar said we are all responsible for the “murder and mayhem” currently taking place in this country.

She made the statements at the funeral of 13-year-old Videsh Subar whose throat was slit during a break-in at his 56-year-old neighbour Rose Mohammed’s Ajim Baksh Road, Malabar, home on Wednesday.

Mohammed, who was also killed in the incident, had her final rites observed on Friday.

Subar’s funeral took place at his family’s home yesterday.

It was conducted by Pundit Prakash Samsundar Tiwari.

Persad-Bissessar cried as she spoke at Subar’s funeral.

“What I do know is that we as a country as a people we have to stop this, we have to stop the slaughter, we have to come together, we have to work together I mean how can this be?” Persad-Bissessar said.

“How can this happen and it is our fault every one of us it is our fault because we have failed to protect the young and the innocent,” she said.

Persad-Bissessar said she had the funeral of two murdered victims to attend yesterday.

The final rites for Margaret Mills, 67, who died at hospital from stab wounds to the heart and lung sustained during a home invasion were also observed yesterday. Mills is the sister of councillor for Caparo/Mamoral John Lezama.

“In our country now it is murder and mayhem and what are we doing? What as a people are we doing? We come and we cry and we hug up but what are we doing?” Persad-Bissessar asked.

Persad-Bissessar called on attendees at the funeral to not just leave and remain unchanged.

“What happens tomorrow? Tomorrow will be another one, so let us join hands, let us stop this let us stop this brutality let us stop these monsters, what kind of monsters would do this?” she said.

“So all of you please do not wash your hands when you leave here, let us be our brother’s keeper, our sister’s keeper and the keeper of all our children let us work together please let us do that,” Persad-Bissessar said.

Speaking to the media following the funeral Persad-Bissessar said:

“We have to do everything to cut down these beasts and these monsters, every step should be pulled out before they go and slaughter more children”.

Emotional send-off for Videsh

It was an emotional send-off for Subar yesterday.

Around 9 am, his body was brought to the house of mourning by a Dass hearse.

When the coffin with Subar’s body dressed in East Indian garb was taken into the house a scream shattered the silence on Ajim Baksh Road.

When the funeral began, hundreds of mourners were already gathered at Ajim Baksh Road to pay their final respects to the teenager.

Among those in attendance were pupils of Ward’s Learning Living Centre, the school that Videsh attended.

Subar sat the Secondary Entrance Assessment Examination (SEA) in May and was awaiting results.

Education Minister Anthony Garcia disclosed on Friday that the teen had been placed in a secondary school in Arima.

Subar’s mother, Dhanraji Veena’s blood-curdling scream of “what they did my baby that for?” rang out throughout the funeral at various intervals as she tried to come to terms with her only child’s death.

Garcia called on the attendees to be their “brother’s keeper”.

“It is really a sad day for all of us here. In Trinidad and Tobago I don’t know what has become of our country. Crime seems to have taken a hold of us but it is the responsibility of all of us to be our brother’s keeper and while we share sorrow with the bereaved family let us not forget, let us remember always that we are our brother’s keeper and if it is one thing we can do in memory of this lost soul is that we must bind together and ensure that we stamp out this scourge of crime,” Garcia said.

Subar’s best friend, Devanand, described him as “the coolest guy”.

MP for D’Abadie/O’Meara Ancil Antoine said the Government and police “will not leave any stone unturned until we find and bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice”.

Arima Mayor Lisa Morris-Julian said she was a distant relative of the bereaved family.

“As devastated as we are I take comfort in knowing that all unfair games must play over whether in this life or the next,” Morris-Julian said.

Opposition Senator Gerald Ramdeen and Port-of-Spain Mayor Joel Martinez were also in attendance.

Dhanraji Veena was distraught during yesterday’s service and was unable to walk and had to be assisted by her husband, Lennon Martin, and other relatives.

She collapsed several times and an ambulance was called.

As Subar’s coffin was being removed from the family’s home and taken to the Caroni Cremation Site, Dhanraji Veena screamed for him to come back.

“Why did they take my baby? Why? Why? Why? I want my baby,” Dhanraji Veena screamed.

As the hearse drove off the rain came down.