A policeman who was dressed in plain clothes fired a shot during a brawl in the Grandostraat. One person sustained a gunshot wound in one of his arms. The bullet reportedly went clean through. The police seized the weapon of the policeman after the shooting. The policeman who pressed charges against a man explained that he went to a streetparty with his girlfriend and a friend. While they were relaxing, a man approached them and told the policeman not to lean on his car. The policeman told the man that “it should not be a problem to you when others lean on your car.” The man started pushing the policeman’s friend. The policeman wanted to mediate but he also got caught up in the brawl. The policeman’s girlfriend also tried to break up the fight but was also punched by the man. The policeman claimed that he fired a warning shot in a safe direction to end the fight. The man and other people then left the scene. The police referred the policeman, his girlfriend and his friend to a doctor for medical treatment.

After the shooting the police received a call about a man who had been shot at a party and who had been brought to the Emergency Room. After the man had received medical treatment he went to the police to press charges against the policeman who had shot him. He claimed that he was attacked by the man who was with the policeman and his girlfriend. The man also claimed that the policeman pulled out his gun before pointing it at him and pulling the trigger. He recognized the policeman at the police station as the man who had shot him in his left arm. The man gave the police a bullet casing which he had recovered from the scene. The police then disarmed the policeman. The investigation is ongoing…[+]

BEIJING – Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) to play its role as a national strategic sci-tech force and make new contributions to the country’s great self-reliance and strength in science and technology.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a congratulatory letter sent to the CAE on the 30th anniversary of its founding.

Xi extended warm congratulations and sincere greetings to academicians of the CAE and other engineering technology workers on behalf of the CPC Central Committee.

Xi said that over the past 30 years, the CAE, under the strong leadership of the Party, has united academicians and engineering technology workers to promote the development of engineering technology, overcome sci-tech difficulties and build major national projects and equipment, thus making important contributions to promoting China’s innovation and progress in engineering technology as well as high-quality economic and social development.

Xi emphasized that engineering technology is an important engine driving the development of human society. He expressed the hope that the CAE, at a new starting point, will play its role as a national strategic sci-tech force, lead the innovation of engineering technology, accelerate breakthroughs in key and core technologies, and strengthen its function as a high-end national think tank.

Xi also called on the CAE to make more contributions to realizing the country’s great sci-tech self-reliance and strength and building a strong country in science and technology.

The CAE held an academician symposium on Monday in Beijing. At the symposium, Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang read out the congratulatory letter from Xi before delivering a speech.

Ding, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, called on the CAE to firmly grasp the strategic opportunities of the new round of sci-tech revolution and industrial transformation, solve major engineering technology problems, promote the industrial application of sci-tech innovations, and better serve the development of new quality productive forces.

He urged the CAE to strengthen the research on “bottleneck” technologies and strive to make more breakthroughs in key fields in accordance with the country’s urgent needs and long-term requirements.

Ding also called for strengthening forward-looking and targeted strategic research to support the decision-making of the central authorities.

The CAE was founded on June 3, 1994. (Xinhua) …[+]

The multi-million-dollar expenses racked up by American oil major, ExxonMobil between the period 2018 and 2020 are not included in the second audit report, completed by the local consortium, VHE Consulting.

This glaring observation is evident to anyone who has analyzed the document which delved into the company’s US$7.3 billion spending, billed to Guyana. The key data missing from the audit report is however detailed in the first report done by an international firm, IHS Markit. That firm was hired by the Coalition government to audit the company’s 1999-2017 expenses which totaled US$1.6 billion.

Both reports are now available on the Ministry of Natural Resources website.

A comparison between the two documents reveals that contracts awarded for major expenses such as chemicals used in the operations; costs associated with the rental of supply vessels and drill rigs; subsea umbilical, risers and flowlines (SURF); helicopter charges; laboratory costs and waste treatment management among others have not been included in the report completed by the local consortium.

Financial Analyst and Certified Accountant, Floyd Haynes while appearing on Kaieteur Radio was questioned about such costs but said while the team reviewed those numbers, he was not allowed to reveal the information.

He explained: “I haven’t been told by my client to discuss this type of stuff so I want to respect the client. Once they ask me to speak on it, I’d be happy to provide (the information).”

Haynes noted that: “We have detailed schedules of all of those things. What I can tell you is that those were some areas that we looked at keenly – drilling, mud, all those types (expenses), helicopters and we benchmarked them against industry standards.”

It must be noted that the first audit report provides readers with a clear understanding of the company’s operations during the review period. For instance, the auditors explained that during the audit period, there were 10 exploration/appraisal wells spudded and drilled in the Stabroek Area. Drilling related costs recorded against these 10 wells account for US$903 million. A table is also included with details of the rigs used for the drilling operations at the exact wells- (see page 34 of report). No such information is included in the second report.

Notably, the IHS audit also presents the list of contracts reviewed by the audit team; again, the second report does not contain such details.

With regards to SURF plans, the first audit report provided an overview of an analysis done for the Liza Development Plan (see page 43 of report) and details the cost of the infrastructure and related services; again, such information is not reflected in the second report.

As it relates to drillship costs, ExxonMobil was flagged by the British audit firm (see page 49 of report) for single-sourcing the Deep-Water Champion drillship which was contracted from Triton / Transocean at a day rate of $707,620/day; with total contract spend amounting to $87 million. Meanwhile, there is no indication of rates, which Guyana was charged for the rental of drillships for the period 2018-2020.

In light of the blackout of information in the second audit report, Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo was asked during his Thursday press conference to clarify whether the full report has been made public.

The Chief Policymaker for the petroleum sector however informed that he has not reviewed the document for himself and could not say. He explained: “I asked them to publish the audit report. It should be the audit report as received from the auditors, that’s the report so that would be the report they would publish, as received from the auditors. I have not checked it personally but I asked them to post it and they have posted it so that should be the report.”

The lack of such information in the report raises serious doubts about the government’s commitment to transparency in the management of the oil sector and further underscores the need for an independent petroleum commission to be appointed. Moreover, it leaves the Guyanese public in the dark regarding the use of the country’s oil resources at a time when the nation continues to protest for a fairer share of its profits. (Kaieteur News)

Photo: President, ExxonMobil Guyana, Alistair Routledge. (Photo: Kaieteur News) …[+]

DELHI  –  Extreme heat in India has killed at least 77 people over the past 10 days, including dozens of poll workers, as voting wrapped up in the world’s largest general election.

India has endured a scorching summer – with a part of the capital of Delhi recording the country’s highest-ever temperature of 49.9 degrees Celsius (121.8 degrees Fahrenheit) on Tuesday last week – as voters have hit the polls over a six-week election.

At least 33 poll workers died in a single day in India’s most populous state of Uttar Pradesh, the state’s chief election officer, Navdeep Rinwa, told reporters Sunday. Their families will receive $18,000 each in compensation, he said.

Before voting began, the commission announced several measures to account for high temperatures during voting, such as making water available at polling booths and setting up tents for shade.

Home to more than 1.4 billion people, about 969 million Indians were eligible to cast their vote in the election – more than the populations of North America and the European Union combined. Around 642 million showed up, the most ever to participate, Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told a press conference yesterday.

Voters and election workers have endured an extended period of extreme heat since polls opened on April 19, in a mammoth democratic exercise that ended Sunday. Polls suggest Prime Minister Narenda Modi will secure a rare third consecutive term in office, with results expected Tuesday.

To carry out such a huge election, India relies on a network of some 15 million polling officials and security staff, with some of these election workers traveling via road, boat, camel, train and helicopter to reach citizens across the vast nation.

But the event has been marred by the deaths of dozens of poll workers and voters. Some 20 people were reported dead due to “sun stroke” between May 31 and June 2 in the eastern state of Odisha, according to the state’s disaster management agency.

“In Odisha we have been experiencing severe temperatures the last few days, the heat here isn’t as high as northern India but here high humidity is also a factor,” Satyabrata Sahu, Odisha’s special relief commissioner told CNN yesterday.

Sahu said rainfall over the weekend could reduce the heat in the coming days.

Another 24 people died across the capital territory of Delhi, the eastern Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand and the western Indian state of Rajasthan since May 24, local officials said.

Election duty is compulsory in India for public sector employees, who are assigned by the election commission before polling begins.

“Heat wave conditions over Northwest, Central & East India are likely to continue with reduced intensity during next 3 days,” the Indian Meteorological Department said.

India is among the countries expected to be worst affected by the climate crisis, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), threatening its development while risking reversing its progress on poverty alleviation, health and economic growth.

The country often experiences heat waves during the summer months of May and June, but in recent years they have arrived earlier and become more prolonged. Experts say the climate crisis is only going to cause more frequent and longer heat waves in the future, testing India’s ability to adapt. (CNN)

Photo: A woman stands beside her family member who is suffering from heatstroke in Varanasi. (Indranil Aditya/NurPhoto/Getty Images) …[+]