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Highlighting confidence in the Guyana Defence Force’s (GDF) capability to detect threats and defend Guyana, Chief of Defence Staff, Brigadier Omar Khan said that the army remains vigilant of “constant & unscrupulous” threats to the country’s territory.

“Amidst all the challenges, the constant and unscrupulous claim to our territory from an increasingly unstable neighbour continues to present a clear and present danger too close to home,” Brigadier Khan highlighted during the opening ceremony of the Annual GDF Officers’ Conference held at Camp Base Ayanganna.

Even so, Brigadier Khan noted that he is confident in the GDF’s operational posture to execute the defense mandate.

And he reiterated that the GDF is prepared to defend its people and resources.

“Commander-in-chief, I can assure you that we, the men and women of the Guyana Defence Force, have remained vigilant and will continue to do so and do not contemplate doing anything else,” the army chief said.

Guyana and Venezuela have an ongoing border controversy that is squarely before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Guyana and Venezuela also signed the Argyle Declaration, a joint pronouncement issued by both countries following a meeting of Presidents Ali and Nicolas Maduro in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Significantly, they agreed that Guyana and Venezuela, directly or indirectly, will not threaten or use force against one another in any circumstances, including those consequential to any existing controversies between the two States.

President Irfaan Ali has reiterated that the controversy will only be determined at the ICJ.

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Kevin Evans, a 26-year-old vendor at Staboek Market was arrested after a search at his stall unearthed several parcels of cannabis.

Police Headquarters reported that ranks conducted a raid exercise Wednesday night at the Stabroek Market Tarmac when the drugs were found.

Police found cannabis in and near the stall amounting to 17.8 grams and 458.2 grams, respectively.

Police said Evans reportedly admitted ownership of the cannabis and he was thereafter escorted to the Stabroek Market Police Outpost.

Evans is in custody and is slated to be charged shortly.

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Fast bowler Shamar Joseph‘s breathtaking 7-68 in Brisbane to deliver West Indies a first Test win in Australia in 27 years was the runaway winner in a stacked men’s Test bowling field of the ESPNcricinfo Awards for 2024.

Joseph’s overall display in his breakout year also fetched him the men’s debutant award.

Shamar Joseph

7 for 68, vs Australia, second Test, Brisbane

Joseph ‘s performance for the ages ended West Indies’ 21-year Test drought against Australia.

He made Brian Lara and Carl Hooper break down in tears.

Such was the stirring of emotions, even hard-bitten Australian fans were mostly cheering him on when he tore across the Gabba on an injured toe to celebrate one of the biggest upsets in Test history.

All of that was achieved in just his second Test match.

After a memorable debut in Adelaide, where he dismissed Steven Smith with his first delivery in Test cricket and finished with a five-wicket haul, Joseph became a feel-good story in a relatively low-key series.

But no one could have imagined what was to come next at the Gabba, where Australia had only lost one Test since 1988.

Joseph’s match appeared over after he was struck on the toe by a searing inswinging delivery from Mitchell Starc late on day three that forced him to retire hurt.

But he pushed through the pain on day four, although it appeared in vain as Australia cruised towards the target of 216 at 113-2.

Bowling with the pink ball at speeds close to 150kph, Joseph turned the match on its head with four quick wickets.

Australia inched closer, but an exhausted Joseph removed Starc and Pat Cummins and then clean-bowled Josh Hazlewood to trigger scenes of jubilation for the West Indies players and their legends watching on.

The young man from the remote Guyanese village of Baracara, who bowled 11.5 overs unchanged before and after the dinner break, became a household name.

Key moment

Smith and Cameron Green were doing it comfortably as Australia closed in on an inevitable victory.

But Joseph summoned a ferocious delivery that leapt from a length out of nowhere and whacked Green on the back elbow before falling onto the stumps.

On the next delivery he delivered a thunderous yorker to crash the stumps of Travis Head and set up an unforgettable finish.

The numbers

4- Where Joseph’s performance sits on the list of best bowling figures by a West Indian against Australia in Test cricket. Only Curtly Ambrose, Andy Roberts and Gerry Gomez have better returns.

5- The position of Joseph’s performance on the list of best Test bowling performances at the Gabba, behind Richard Hadlee, Shane Warne (twice) and Keith Miller.

What they said

“This is my dream, to play cricket for the West Indies. I will always be available to play for the West Indies, no matter how much money comes towards me.”
– Shamar Joseph

“He told me he’s going to do it. I had to back him. He’s a superstar and I know he’ll do great things for West Indies in the future.”
– Kraigg Brathwaite, West Indies captain

The closest contender

Mitchell Santner
7-53 vs India, second Test, Pune

New Zealand’s series whitewash of India will go down as one of Test cricket’s most staggering results.

Left-arm spinner Santner, who had never more than three wickets in an innings or six in a match, sealed the triumph in the second Test.

He set up the victory in India’s first innings with an unbroken spell of 19.3 overs, taking seven wickets, and New Zealand eventually went on to stun the cricket world. (ESPNcricinfo)

Read more about the other winners here 

ESPNcricinfo is a website that exclusively covers cricket content, including stats, live matches and historical data on the game.

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Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R) Aubrey Norton on Thursday said the party is “resilient” as it marks 70 years since its founding and would join with other parties to contest the upcoming general elections.

Norton spoke at a flag-raising event, commemorating the party’s 70th anniversary at its headquarters, Congress Place, Sophia, Georgetown. Members of the media were invited, via an advisory from the party, to cover the event. But upon arrival Thursday morning, Mr. Norton asked the News Room team to leave, stating it was a private, party event and that it was “unfortunate” that a media advisory was sent out.

When the event started sometime later, it was carried live on Facebook.

As he addressed party members and supporters, Mr. Norton spoke glowingly of the party’s formation in 1955 after its founder Forbes Burnham split from the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).

According to him, party members and supporters must be proud of the party’s history and proud to support an entity that has endured decades. The PNC’s time in government from 1964-1992 was marked by economic hardships and rigged elections. It lost government in 1992 to the PPP after local and international pressure for free and fair elections.

After 23 years in the opposition, the PNC joined with a group of small parties and the AFC to contest the polls and won the 2015 elections. The government collapsed after just three and a half years in government when the PPP moved a no-confidence motion in December 2018. But the APNU+AFC government defied the constitution and through a series of overtures stayed in power for 13 months, instead of the constitutional deadline of three months. When it lost the March 2, 2020 polls, it stayed in office for another 5 months as its leaders and key functionaries of the elections body tried to rig the elections.

“As a party, we have shown that we are a resilient political party,” Norton declared.

“I do believe this party in collaboration with others (is) well placed to win the next General Elections and we must all commit to working assiduously to ensure that victory.”

Mr. Norton is the current leader of the PNC and Guyana’s Opposition Leader.

THE PNCR, the broader faction in the APNU coalition, and the AFC are still deciding whether they will contest the 2025 elections.

The PNC inked a coalition pact with the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), another party that was under the APNU umbrella.

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See below the full release from the CJIA: 

The CTX 5800 scanner at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport has been temporarily taken out of service, due to damage to the rotating gantry caused by an oversized bag. We are awaiting the arrival of a replacement part from the manufacturer.

In the interim, passenger luggage is being screened using our backup scanner. CJIA maintains adequate redundancy in its scanning equipment to ensure that security and safety are not compromised during this period.

The local agent for the CTX 5800 manufacturer is working diligently to expedite the delivery of the replacement part and have the scanner returned to service as quickly as possible.

We appreciate the public’s understanding and patience as we work to resolve this issue.

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An ExxonMobil-led consortium is still locked in discussions with the Government of Guyana for a shallow water block offshore the country where there have been prolific oil finds over the past decade.

The consortium comprising ExxonMobil, Hess, and CNOOC won shallow block S8 in Guyana’s first auction which was launched in 2022.

The fiscal terms in the new Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) are not up for discussion but the consortium has been engaging the government on other terms. ExxonMobil Guyana President Alistair Routledge said there is interest in oil production at the block; the company also wants to explore whether S8 is a good location for a carbon capture and storage project.

Oil Blocks Auction: Gov’t expects to sign at least four agreements this year

He did not disclose how well the discussions are going, however.

“… We continue to work diligently with the government to try and conclude an agreement,” Routledge said at a press conference held at the company’s Kingston, Georgetown office.

He later added, “The important thing is that we continue to have that discussion in a collaborative way to try to find an agreement that works for all parties

“It has to be an agreement that incentivises the investment which is what the country wants but also then returns a reasonably sharing of any profits that may flow in the future should there be economic discoveries.”

The consortium was among the six firms that were awarded eight different blocks in 2023; a total of 14 blocks (11 shallow and three deepwater blocks) were up for grabs. The companies all went into negotiations with the government.

Guyana’s Natural Resources Ministry, in a statement issued earlier this month, close and sign agreements for at least four oil blocks this year. The S8 block awarded to ExxonMobil-led consortium was not among the four blocks listed.

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ExxonMobil Guyana and its co-venturers in the prolific Stabroek Block are seeking environmental authorisation for another project, Longtail, from the Government of Guyana.

Longtail will be the eighth project the company forges ahead with in the giant Block, located approximately 120 miles offshore Guyana.

“The Longtail project is still a little bit early in the process of being finalised but we anticipate it could be as high as 250,000 barrels per day for production capacity for the liquids,” ExxonMobil Guyana Limited President Alistair Routledge said at a press conference on Wednesday.

The ExxonMobil-led consortium is already producing about 650,000 barrels of oil daily at three projects in the Stablock Block; oil production at a fourth project, Yellowtail, should start later this year and hike Guyana’s daily oil production to about 900,000 barrels per day.

Other projects, Uaru and Whiptail, have been approved. Production should commence before the end of this decade. The consortium also hopes to submit the Field Development Plan for Hammerhead, the seventh project, to the Guyana Government by March 2025.

GAS DEVELOPMENT

Routledge, however, noted there is also much optimism about the natural gas reserves at Longtail. It is estimated that the development could produce about one billion cubic feet per day of natural gas.

“This is more of a gas development,” he said.

There has been a keen interest in understanding Guyana’s natural gas reserves. Already, about 50 million standard cubic feet of gas per day will be brought onshore from the Liza I and II project in the Stabroek Block.

That gas will be used to fire a power plant at the Wales gas-to-energy project; this highly-touted project, the government said, should halve the cost of electricity across Guyana.

US company working with gov’t, ExxonMobil to monetise Guyana’s gas

The Guyana Government and ExxonMobil have been working to determine what other gas monetisation opportunities exist. Routledge told reporters at the conference that a gas appraisal programme was recently completed and now, the company will be analysing the data obtained to determine how to develop gas reserves.

For its part, the Government of Guyana selected a United States company, Fulcrum LNG, to work alongside the administration and an ExxonMobil-led consortium to figure out how best to monetise natural gas resources.

Routledge, on Wednesday, said the company has no active engagement with Fulcrum however.

“What we’re focused on is understanding the resources and in parallel, doing our own work on developing a market for Guyana,” he said.

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A 91-year-old man was rescued Wednesday morning after a fire broke out at his Durban Street, Worthmanville, Georgetown residence.

Herbert Gaskin, who lived alone, was rescued from the blazing house by public-spirited citizens and rushed by EMTs to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he is being evaluated.

Due to the speedy response by the Guyana Fire Service, the fire was put out.

Naudia Gravesande, who lives next door, told the News Room that her kitchen and water tanks were destroyed by the fire but the rest of her home was not affected. She was also assisted by residents and other public-spirited citizens.

An investigation into how the fire started is ongoing.

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