Black Immigrant Daily News

(CPL) A captain’s knock from Deandra Dottin and bowling brilliance from Anisa Mohammed steered the Trinbago Knight Riders to a 10-run victory over Barbados Royals to see them crowned champions of the inaugural Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL).

With her team put into bat, it was the Knight Riders’ captain Dottin who shone, scoring the maiden half-century in WCPL history and helping her team to a defendable first innings score of 100/7.

Hayley Matthews was the pick of the Royals’ bowlers taking three wickets in the 19th over to finish with 3/22 including the key wicket of Dottin.

In response, Aaliyah Alleyne and Britney Cooper went early in the chase, while Matthews dug in and looked to be the key to leading her team home. But wickets fell around her and, when she went for 46, the run-chase was all but done.

Barbados Royals Captain Hayley Matthews hits 4 during today’s Final (Photo by Randy Brooks – CPL T20/CPL T20 via Getty Images)

With just the tail to clean up, Knight Riders had the momentum and it was only fitting that Anisa Mohammed should take the final wicket and finish the game with 3/16 as her side cleaned up the Royals for 90.

With their male counterparts watching on and the eyes of the world on the game, it was a massive moment for the Trinbago Knight Riders and for women’s cricket after a ground-breaking tournament.

When the Knight Riders were put into bat, it wasn’t the explosive start they might have hoped and just as the boundaries began to flow, Kirby was dismissed cheaply.

Dottin and Sune Luus began to accelerate before Luus’ South African team-mate Chloe Tryon, who hadn’t yet bowled in the tournament, dismissed her national captain to put the Royals in the driver’s seat with the Knight Riders 43/2.

Snigdha Paul of Barbados Royals celebrates taking the catch to dismiss Trinbago Knight Riders’ Captain Deandra Dottin (Photo by Randy Brooks – CPL T20/CPL T20 via Getty Images)

In true Deandra Dottin style, the World Boss was the lynchpin of the innings, playing shots to all parts and bringing up her half-century from just 54 balls.

Bragging rights went to her counterpart, Matthews who removed her for 59 off 62 in an over that also claimed the wickets of Kyshona Knight and Jannillea Glasgow.

The Royals’ openers came out of the traps flying, reaching 14 from the first two overs but when Alleyne fell for 7 and Cooper soon after without scoring and the chase looked more tricky.

When Tryon was stumped just as the rebuild was on, the game was in the balance and all hopes rode on Matthews with the Royals 36/3.

Wickets continued to tumble and the key moment came with 13 needed off 12 as Matthews couldn’t clear Glasgow at mid-wicket. She went for 46 leaving her team needing 12 from 10.

Anisa Mohammed (2L) and her Trinbago Knight Riders teammates celebrate winning the Women’s 2022 Hero Caribbean Premier League Final against Barbados Royals (Photo by Randy Brooks – CPL T20/CPL T20 via Getty Images)

It was too much for the tail-enders facing the bowling of Anisa Mohammed, who cleaned up the tail sending Mandy Mangru’s bails flying.

The Knight Riders, who lost the final of the inaugural SKYEXCH 6IXTY against the Barbados Royals, now have their payback. It was a phenomenal team performance led brilliantly by the power-hitting and elite display of batting from Deandra Dottin and a fitting finale for an incredible inaugural Massy Women’s CPL.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. ambassador to Russia, John Sullivan, ended his tenure as America’s top diplomat in Moscow on Sunday after nearly three years, spanning the Trump and Biden administrations, and will retire from a lengthy career in government service.

His departure, which comes in the midst of an increasingly serious crisis over Russia’s war in Ukraine as well as disputes over detained Americans in Russia, had been expected this fall as he reached the usual length of time for U.S. ambassadors. But it was sped up due to family medical issue, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the situation.

“Ambassador Sullivan’s departure is planned and part of a normal diplomatic rotation,” the State Department said. “He has served a full tenure as U.S. ambassador to Russia, managing one of the most critical bilateral relationships in the world during unprecedented times.”

The department added: “The U.S. will continue to condemn unequivocally the Kremlin’s aggressive war against Ukraine and remain steadfast in our commitment to supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the war has slowed to a grind with both sides trading combat strikes and small advances in the east and south. Both Russian and Ukraine have seen thousands of troops killed and injured, and Russia’s bombardment of cities has killed countless innocent civilians.

Elizabeth Rood, the deputy chief of mission to Russia, will be the top U.S. diplomat in Moscow until a successor nominated by President Joe Biden replaces Sullivan.

A Boston native and big ice hockey fan who brought his skates and equipment when he left for Russia, Sullivan had returned to Moscow from a summer break just last week and had attended former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev’s memorial service on Saturday.

Sullivan took the helm of the Moscow embassy at a particularly difficult time in U.S.-Russia relations, which have only grown worse. He struggled to hold together a diplomatic mission dramatically reduced in staff as Washington and Moscow carried out an increasingly severe series of tit-for-tat expulsions.

Sullivan spoke frequently of his frustrations about deteriorating conditions for U.S. diplomats in Moscow, especially after Russian restrictions on American and local personnel forced major reductions in staffing.

His four-decade public service career included postings in Republican administrations as deputy secretary of state and senior positions in the departments of Justice, Defense and Commerce.

Sullivan was deputy secretary of state when he was nominated by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the Senate with unusually strong bipartisan support to be ambassador to Russia in December 2019. Biden asked him to remain in the post when Biden took office last year.

He had been the lead U.S. official in talks with Russia on counterterrorism and strategic security and testified in his Senate confirmation hearing that Russian efforts to undermine democracies must be combated.

Sullivan told senators that he would be “relentless” in confronting Russia over election interference, hostile moves against neighbors such as Georgia and Ukraine, human rights abuses and violations of arms control agreements.

His time as the State Department’s No. 2 official was not without controversy.

Sullivan was the one who delivered the news to Marie Yovanovitch, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, that Trump had lost confidence in her and that she was being recalled early from the post.

Sullivan told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he was given no other explanation for Yovanovitch’s removal and told her that he did not believe she had done anything to warrant her recall.

Asked why he did not oppose Yovanovitch’s ouster or speak out publicly on her behalf at the time, Sullivan said ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the president and can be removed with or without cause. He noted that his uncle, a former U.S. ambassador to Iran, had been recalled early from Tehran by the Carter administration for what the family believed to be unfair political reasons.

“When the president loses confidence in the ambassador, right or wrong, the ambassador goes,” Sullivan said.

By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press

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By Alva Soloman

In his teenage years, Jonathan Henry was fascinated with music. He was so enthusiastic about the instruments that at age 13, he decided to challenge himself to learn how to play the keyboard. Today, the young man is able to play any type of keyboard which comes his way.

Henry, who lives in Bartica, said that as time went by, he decided to explore another talent – photography; and his photographic skills have caught the attention of many in the public domain, including the organising committee for the recent Moruca Expo in Region One.

Henry was born in Moruca, and is the fourth of five siblings. He attended school in that sub-region of Region One area and it was while in school that he became involved in music.

He said that he attended a Full Gospel church at Kamwatta in Moruca and he first learnt to play the keyboard while at church. He said that over time, he learnt to play other instruments and they include the guitar, the drums and also the bass instruments. “Well for me it is anything music, I see myself as an all-rounder when it comes to music,” he said.

Henry noted that while attending Santa Rosa Secondary, he played the keyboard for the school whenever the institution took part in or hosted music competitions including choir events.

“I use to go out with the school to play the keyboard for the Mashramani events,” he added.

“I can play any keyboard, I know it have the advance models and the lower end models but I can play any of them,” he said.

Henry noted too that he always “see myself as being more big in music,” adding that he is working towards producing music. He mentioned that his experience details his love for playing music live at events such as concerts and shows.

“I played at the National Cultural Centre and for me that like the biggest stage of my career,” he related.

He said he moved to Bartica as part of his involvement in the church as well as music. There, he is a part of the team of musicians called “Team Mission Possible” and the group would play at venues across the country. The group includes famed Guyanese gospel artiste Solid Youth as well as singer Lyrical.

As regards photography, Henry said he decided to embark on learning more about that field of the arts some 2 years ago. “Everything that I do, I learnt on my own and also YouTube helps me a lot,” he added, noting that it is a self-taught skill.

Several weeks ago, the organisers of the Moruca Expo contracted Henry to undertake photoshoots for the annual Miss Moruca pageant. “That was like the biggest thing for me,” he added.

In terms of his future, he plans to further develop his talents, both as a musician and as a photographer. He added that he wants to teach persons who want to play music, the skillset involved in playing the keyboard.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The driver of the motor car, who drove away after fatally hitting a male pedestrian on Saturday night along the West Coast Demerara road and severing his foot, has been arrested.

Commander for Regional Police Division #3 (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara), Assistant Commissioner Mahendra Siwnarine, this afternoon confirmed that the vehicle involved in Saturday night’s hit-and-run fatal accident has been found and the driver is presently in custody.

According to the police, the driver, 28-year-old Vickey Balgobin of De Willem, WCD, has since admitted that he was in fact the driver of the vehicle at the time of the accident.

Balgobin told investigators that the reason he fled the scene was because he “panicked”.

It was reported that 42-year-old Azaad Khan, of Lot ‘S’ Blankenburg, WCD, was crossing the Public Road in the vicinity of the Blankenburg Nursery School when he was struck by a car sometime around 19:45h on Saturday.

Dead Azaad Khan

As a result of the collision, Khan fell on the southern side of the road and his left leg, which was severed, landed in a yard four houses away.

The motionless body of the pedestrian was picked up by CPG (Community Policing Group) members along with the Police and taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where he was seen, examined and pronounced dead by the doctor on duty.

Khan was positively identified by his relatives, subsequently. The body was then escorted to Ezekiel Mortuary for storage, awaiting a Post Mortem Examination.

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