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The ninth edition of the MVP Sports Girls Under-11 School Football Tournament began with a flurry of goals on Saturday, as defending champions Santa Rosa Primary, Marian Academy, and St John the Baptist all delivered emphatic opening victories.

Hosted at the Ministry of Education Ground in Georgetown, the tournament immediately highlighted two potential individual stars who netted blistering hat-tricks.

St John the Baptist wasted no time in making a statement, crushing Smith Memorial Primary 7-0. The phenomenal midfield mastery of Thalia Alert powered the victory.

Alert delivered one of the tournament’s most explosive opening displays, scoring a hat-trick in a blistering five-minute spell (19th, 21st, and 24th minutes) to put the Region Seven side firmly in control. Elianna Grant (32nd, 35th) later added a brace to seal the commanding win.

Matching SJTB’s margin of victory was Santa Rosa Primary, who triumphed 7-0 over Genesis Primary.

Defending champions Santa Rosa were led by Rivens Johnson, who netted a thrilling four goals (9th, 17th, 28th, and 29th minutes).

She was ably supported by Bre Atkinson, who notched a quick double early in the match (4th and 7th minutes).

In other decisive results, Marian Academy opened its campaign in style, defeating Tucville Primary 6-0. Braces came off the boots of Haley Haberkorn (16th, 21st), Ella Fernandes (18th, 24th), and Haley DeNobrega (20th, 22nd) during an eight-minute scoring burst that overwhelmed the opposition.

The day, which began with a vibrant March Past ceremony, also saw two tight encounters ending in draws:

Agatash Primary and Georgetown International Academy battled to a 1–1 draw. Rakeyla Joseph’s opener was cancelled out by Sofia Molina four minutes later.

North Georgetown Primary and St Alouysius Primary also shared the points in a 1–1 stalemate.

The competition, which offers a G$100,000 grand prize (in kind) to the winner, continues next Saturday, November 22.

 

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A two-vehicle collision along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway on Sunday evening resulted in the deaths of two passengers.

Dead are Deron Bobb and 51-year-old Wayne Clarke of Grove, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

Police Headquarters, in a statement, revealed that the accident occurred along the Silver Hill Public Road on the highway at about 18:30hrs.

According to the report, motor car PHH 1632, driven by a 28-year-old man of Grove, EBD was proceeding south along the roadway when he reportedly lost control and veered onto the western lane, colliding with motor car PAG 1280, driven by a 22-year-old woman of Moblissa, Linden Highway. The vehicle driven by the woman had two juvenile passengers, ages 6 and 2.

Following the collision, motor car PHH 1632 overturned, causing its occupants to be pitched from the vehicle.

Emergency Medical Technicians later pronounced Bobb and Clarke dead at the scene. The driver of PHH 1632 sustained serious injuries and remains hospitalised at the Linden Hospital Complex in critical condition.

The driver and occupants of motor car PAG 1280 also received injuries and were transported to the hospital for medical attention.

Investigations continue.

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The Government of Guyana is eyeing tougher penalties to curb reckless driving on the roadways, according to Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond. 

Walrond, while speaking at a Road Safety Awareness Walk on Sunday, said her ministry has been engaging the Guyana Police Force on the need to amend traffic regulations and road laws. New draft amendments, she highlighted, have already been crafted. 

However, Walrond said she is eyeing both penalties for new offences and “stiffer penalties to make it easier to put suspension on licenses.” 

“Right now it’s an arduous process doing that [suspending licenses],” the Home Affairs Minister lamented. 

As of last week, 110 persons died on the country’s roadways due to accidents. The deaths were recorded from a total of 99 fatal accidents so far this year. The figure represents a slight increase compared to 107 deaths from 95 fatal accidents during the same period in 2024.

November has been designated as Road Safety Awareness Month under the theme “Careful Driving Saves Lives.” Local authorities are intensifying efforts to educate the public, improve enforcement, and integrate more technology to monitor and manage road safety.

‘Speeding will never be the answer’- Traffic Chief says as 110 died in accidents so far this year

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(Jamaica Gleaner) A team of Caribbean leaders, joined by officials from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), is expected to arrive in the island on Monday morning to tour hurricane-ravaged communities in western Jamaica, alongside Jamaican Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, chairman of CARICOM.

The delegation, which includes Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Guyana President Dr Irfaan Ali, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, CARICOM Secretary-General Carla Barnett, and IDB President Ilan Goldfajn, is scheduled to visit heavily impacted areas in St James, Westmoreland and St Elizabeth. Stops are expected in Westgreen and Catherine Hall, two Montego Bay communities still reeling from the devastation unleashed by Hurricane Melissa.

The Category 5 storm, which slammed into Jamaica on October 28, left a trail of destruction across the island, with western parishes absorbing the worst of its fury. Entire communities were submerged as the Barnett, Pye and Montego rivers overflowed, inundating parts of Montego Bay and crippling businesses, homes and public infrastructure.

In Westmoreland and St Elizabeth, widespread flooding and landslides destroyed roofs, swept away livelihoods and left thousands displaced, with many still without reliable electricity or potable water.

Monday’s tour is expected to give regional leaders a first-hand look at the scale of the humanitarian crisis, as well as the urgent need for coordinated recovery and climate-resilience support. The visit follows strong statements of solidarity from CARICOM governments, many of whom have already mobilised relief supplies, technical teams and financial assistance in the wake of Melissa’s passage.

Barbados has dispatched humanitarian aid and has established a field hospital at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, while other countries have pledged support to Jamaica’s rebuilding efforts.

The IDB, a critical financing partner in the region, is expected to use the tour to help shape discussions around reconstruction funding and long-term climate adaptation, particularly as small island states confront the accelerating threat of extreme weather events.

Holness, in his role as chairman of CARICOM, has emphasised the importance of regional unity and international partnerships in the aftermath of the storm.

Monday’s high-level engagement is likely to inform a broader recovery framework, including housing, infrastructure rehabilitation, and community support for the parishes hardest hit.

Further details of the itinerary are expected from the Office of the Prime Minister.

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Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will fight YouTube star Jake Paul in a professional bout on December 19.

Britain’s Joshua, the 36-year-old former two-time unified heavyweight champion, will take on the YouTuber-turned-boxer at Kaseya Center in Miami.

The fight, which will be streamed live on Netflix, will consist of eight three-minute rounds.

The bout is a replacement fight for Paul, who was scheduled to take on Gervonta Davis in an exhibition earlier this month before it was cancelled because of a lawsuit filed against Davis by his ex-girlfriend.

“This isn’t an AI simulation. This is Judgment Day,” said 28-year-old Paul.

“When I beat Anthony Joshua, every doubt disappears, and no-one can deny me the opportunity to fight for a world title. To all my haters, this is what you wanted.”

Speculation that Joshua would fight Paul was initially denied, but he will return to the ring against the American for the first time since being knocked out by then-IBF champion Daniel Dubois in September 2024.

“I took some time out and I’m coming back with a mega show. It’s a big opportunity for me,” said the 2012 Olympic gold medallist.

“Whether you like it or not, I’m here to do massive numbers, have big fights and break every record whilst keeping cool, calm and collected.

“Mark my words, you’ll see a lot more fighters take these opportunities in the future. I’m about to break the internet over Jake Paul’s face.”

Paul became famous via a YouTube account that now has close to 21m subscribers.

However, in recent years he has switched his attention to boxing and has primarily fought as a cruiserweight at around 200lbs.

He weighed in at the heavyweight weight of 227.5lbs when he beat former world champion Mike Tyson in an exhibition fight in 2024 that attracted 108m viewers.

Paul then beat former world middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, 39, via a unanimous points decision, a victory that earned him the number 14 spot in the WBA cruiserweight rankings.

But Paul – who has a 12-1 win-loss record, with seven knockouts – has only boxed a total of 70 rounds since turning professional in 2020.

Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) by contrast, has 12 years of experience as a professional and has boxed more than 160 rounds.

“It’s an incredible day,” Nakisa Bidarian, CEO of Most Valuable Promotions, told Sky Sports.

“Jake thought of this in March of this year and said, ‘I want to fight Anthony Joshua’.

“People laughed then. In July the question was asked, ‘do you see this happening?’ – and the plan was to do this in March or April of 2026. Plans changed and Jake stood up and said, ‘I want to face Joshua now’.” (BBC)

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Dr Estherine Adams, Head of the Department of History and Caribbean Studies in the Faculty of Education and Humanities at the University of Guyana, has been awarded the ASSLH Edna Ryan Prize for Best Article on Women’s History (2023–2024) for her paper, “‘At Work, in Hospital, or in Gaol’: Women in British Guiana’s Jails, 1838–1917,” published in the Journal of Labour History.

The award, presented by the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History (ASSLH), recognises outstanding scholarship on women’s experiences and contributions within labour history. Dr Adams’s paper offers a powerful and original argument that the prison systems in colonial British Guiana served not only to punish but also to extract and control labour, particularly from African and Indian indentured women.

The judges commended the article for being “original, clearly positioned in relevant recent literature and beautifully written to imagine and illuminate the lives of female indentured labourers in British Guiana.” They added that it advanced “an important argument about the centrality of prison labour to the colony, illustrating the intersections of coerced labour, capitalism, and colonialism.”

Dr Adams said she was “genuinely stunned” to learn that her paper had won the prize, especially since she had not known it had been submitted. “I had no idea the journal had entered my article, so the email arrived completely unexpectedly. There was a moment of disbelief followed by deep gratitude. As researchers, we often work in solitude — in archives, writing late at night — wondering if the nuance and humanity we try to convey will reach anyone. To learn that the article resonated that strongly was both affirming and humbling,” she said.

The judges’ comments held special meaning for her, as they recognised not only the academic strength of her research but also its human depth. “They recognised not just the academic contribution, but the humanity of the women whose stories I reconstructed from archival silences. When they noted that the article was beautifully written to illuminate these lives, I felt seen as a scholar, not simply for producing research, but for recovering lives erased from the historical record,” she reflected.

Her motivation for exploring this subject was guided by a central question: Where were the women in the carceral histories of slavery and indentureship? According to Dr Adams, “The prison was one of the earliest colonial institutions designed to regulate and exploit labour, yet women — particularly African and later Indian indentured women — were almost invisible in the archive. I wanted to centre them not as footnotes to male histories, but as labouring subjects whose experiences reveal how power operated through gender, race, and the prison system.”

She shared that one of her main challenges was the lack of detailed records on incarcerated women. To address this, she employed what she calls a “fragmentary methodology.” “In many cases, women appeared only as numbers or anonymous references buried in disciplinary reports. To overcome this, I read against the grain, analysing what the record left out as much as what it included, and pieced together details across inventories, health reports, punishment books, and plantation records. If the archive whispered, I tried to listen as closely as possible,” she explained.

Dr Adams hopes that this international recognition will inspire more researchers in Guyana and across the Caribbean to interrogate history courageously. “My hope is that this award signals the value of work that confronts historical silences, especially in colonial archives. Guyana and the Caribbean are full of stories that remain unwritten. If this recognition encourages emerging researchers to take risks, ask uncomfortable questions, and challenge dominant narratives, then it has already done more than I could have imagined,” she said.

She also reflected on what the award means for the University of Guyana. “At UG, we teach, research, advise, and carry heavy administrative responsibilities, often simultaneously. This award is a reminder that world-class scholarship can be produced from Guyana, by Guyanese scholars, for global audiences. It also models for our students that their stories — the stories of this land and this history — are worthy of study and will be heard. The award is not just mine; it belongs to the Department, to the students who sit in our classrooms, and to the women whose lives I tried to honour in the research.”

The University of Guyana congratulates Dr Estherine Adams on this outstanding achievement. Her work continues to advance the institution’s mission to contribute meaningfully to national and global scholarship, while inspiring future generations of researchers to uncover and honour the untold stories of our region.

Please click this link to read Dr Adams’ article: https://doi.org/10.3828/labourhistory.2023.21 

(University of Guyana press release)

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Police in Region One are investigating the recovery of a suspected illegal .22 pistol following an incident in Mabaruma, North West District.

In a statement, Police Headquarters stated that on Saturday, a 50-year-old taxi driver of Mabaruma was allegedly assaulted and threatened by a male who allegedly brandished a firearm during a fare dispute.

The matter was subsequently reported and acting on information received, ranks conducted a follow-up operation in the early hours of Sunday at Mabaruma, where two male suspects- a 21-year-old and a 23-year-old, both construction workers of Parika, East Bank Essequibo- were located and detained.

During further inquiries, one of the suspects led investigators to a bushy area in Mabaruma, where a suspected .22 pistol believed to have been used in the incident was recovered.

The firearm has been lodged and both suspects remain in custody as investigations continue.

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Guyana’s President Dr Irfaan Ali wants to transform Georgetown and the Tiger Bay/ Kingston area is first up in his plans for the capital city.

On Sunday morning, the President went to Tiger Bay with a team of government officials and business owners from the community to engage residents. In between ‘gyaffs’, domino games, and preparing Cook-Up, the President highlighted forthcoming plans to transform the community.

“Mr Mattai [owner of the Mattai’s Supermarket] has given us the use of three plots of land…. Next week, we will start converting that to a Futsal and Basketball facility with night lights,” President Ali told the residents.

President Dr Irfaan Ali (center) and business owners from the community prepare cook-up for residents (Photo: James Bond/ Facebook/ November 16, 2025)

The President said Calvin Ming, another businessman in the area, will be leading a pilot project to vastly improve the community’s drainage network. School of the Nations, which is also located in the Tiger Bay/ Kingston area, will be working alongside the government to roll out a new training programme for residents.

President Ali said he wants these efforts to uplift the community and its residents.

“We have to remove a big stigma from the area, and we are going to remove it,” Dr. Ali said.

Beyond these initiatives, the President said wider beautification efforts will unfold as the government aims to make this north Georgetown area a tourism hotspot. He said from the seawalls at Kingston to Avenue of the Republic and the Botanical Gardens, a “walking tourism lane” will be developed. There will also be at least one new restaurant, bars and craft shops.

The success of that venture, he acknowledged, depends on the residents here. He urged them to become wardens of the community, ensuring that it is safe for all.

 

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Several quantities of cannabis were in Better Hope and Plaisance, East Coast Demerara, after Police operations were conducted in these communities on Saturday.

During the operation at a property in Better Hope South ranks recovered:

a). 247 grams of leaves, seeds and stems suspected to be cannabis found on the person of a 26-year-old Gold Miner of Britton Street, Plaisance, and

b). 63.5 grams of suspected cannabis found inside a wardrobe belonging to a 48-year-old construction worker of Better Hope South.

Both individuals were arrested and taken to the Sparendaam Police Station. The suspected narcotics were weighed in their presence and lodged as evidence.

Later, at Britton Street, Plaisance, Police found suspected cannabis

a). Concealed in a black plastic barrel in one yard and

b). Inside a black plastic bag hidden among vegetation in another yard.

The suspected narcotics weighed 1,411 grams. They were taken to the Sparendaam Police Station, marked, sealed and lodged.

No arrests were made in relation to this discovery. Investigations are ongoing.

Police Headquarters also reported that two other men were arrested during the operation for separate matters.

a). A 32-year-old Taxi Driver of North Sparendaam for alleged Larceny of Cattle and

b). A 33-year-old Construction Worker of Vryheid’s Lust for alleged Discharging a Loaded Firearm.

Investigations continue.

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