Roger Tuivasa-Sheck named Warriors player of the year
He becomes the inaugural winner of the Simon Mannering Medal, announced in honour of the retiring club legend who made his 300th NRL appearance on Friday night.Tuivasa-Sheck is just the fourth player to win the supreme accolade more than once following five-times winner Simon Mannering and Steve Price and Ben Matulino, who were two-time winners.The fullback also collected the People’s Choice Award voted on by the public.After being re-signed for four years just before the season started, the Kiwi international has led the Vodafone Warriors to the NRL play-offs for the first time since 2011. They ended their regular season campaign with a 20-16 victory over Canberra on Friday night to finish with a 15-9 win-loss record, the second-equal best record in the club’s history.Throughout the season, Tuivasa-Sheck has been in imperious form, appearing in 22 of the club’s 24 matches.He has made a total of 4058 metres (fourth-best among all players), averaging 184 metres a game including 1093 post-contact metres. In the 23rd-round clash against Newcastle, Tuivasa-Sheck made 338 metres.He is first among all players for most kick return metres (1330) and fifth for most tackle breaks (109).Tuivasa-Sheck is also a top contender for the Dally M Award for the NRL’s player of the year to be named later this month ahead of the grand final.The other nominees for the Player of the Year title were Agnatius Paasi, Issac Luke, Jazz Tevaga and Ken Maumalo.The Warriors NRL Rookie of the Year is Isaiah Papali’i while Blake Green is the Clubman of the Year.
− Marriott International gets 1st binIn a bid to protect the environment, Clear Waters handed over a unique bin to the Marriott International Hotel on Sunday.The bin is designated for the collection of all empty Clear Water branded bottles that will be recycled.Director of Sales and Marketing at the Marriott Hotel, Richard E Kasossky, commended the programme while highlighting what it meant to him and those at the Marriott Hotel.From left: Ricky Lucknauth, Richard E Savossky and Jonathon Morgan“I’m very proud of this initiative, it’s something very dear to our heart. Taking care of the environment and cleaning it up is a great step to the future and for us to live up to our expectations as the green city and a beautiful country.” Kasossky added: “It fits right into the future of Clear Waters, a clear city and recycling is always helpful.”Kasossky noted that Clear Waters has received a spectacular response from its occupants and posited that this was so because the water is of the “highest quality”.Marriott’s Purchasing Manager Jonathon Morgan indicated that statistics show the Marriott Hotel purchases within the range of 200-400 cases of Clear waters branded water every month.Clear Waters’ operations manager Ricky Lucknauth expressed delight in sharing this initiative with the Marriott.“Clear Waters is the exclusive water at the Marriott Hotel, that’s why we have selected there to be the starting ground for this programme and we are committed to making bins available to collect empty bottles” Lucknauth noted.The officials at Marriott noted that the hotel has been a customer of Clear Waters from the inception and is pleased to be part of this collaboration which is on par with international organisations.The project will see customers using the bins to dispose of their empty clear water containers and the company collecting the empty bottles at the end of every week which will then be recycled, with the aim of keeping the environment clean and healthy at all times.
– for alleged abuse of public fundsOpposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has called for charges to be laid against Director of the Government Information Agency (GINA) Beverly Alert, for (alleged) misappropriation of public monies, following the glaring admissions made in the Public Accounts Committee recently.Alert appeared before the parliamentary body on Monday last and essentially told members that the GINA staff was paid bonuses in 2015 following approval from the Finance Secretary but under cross examination, it was found that a Contingency Fund advance made in 2016 was in fact used to make the payments in 2015.“Beverly Alert, shouldn’t she be charged too from the AFC (Alliance For Change) for misapplication, misuse of funds… she should be before SOCU almost immediately and charged in court,” Jagdeo declared at a news conference he hosted at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition in Queenstown, GeorgetownJagdeo used the scenario to point out that the Administration’s pontification when it comes to fighting corruption as nothing but a farce.He was, however, asked why the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Chairman of the PAC, Irfaan Ali, did not act proactively and perhaps instruct that the Police intervene in the matter.He told reporters the matter will be raised with the PAC Chairman but pointed to a hesitancy on the part of PPP/C given the demonstrated actions of the Guyana Police Force against the PPP/C.According to the Opposition Leader, the Guyana Police Force has continuously demonstrated a double standard in its dealing with PPP/C officials as against members of the ruling coalition.“We have had cases where we have called in the Police on several occasions… the Police have two standards now, standards for going after PPP people and standards for APNU.”Jagdeo used the occasion to draw reference to staunch coalition supporter, Eric Phillips, a senior official at the State Asset Recovery Unit of the Ministry of the Presidency.The PPP/C General Secretary pointed to statements Phillips would have made, interpreted to mean death threats against the Opposition Leader and senior members of the PPP/C.He reminded media operatives the PPP/C lodged an official complaint with the Guyana Police Force and “until today we have seen no action.”He wagered that had the admission to the PAC been made by a member of the PPP/C, “by now that person would have been before the courts charged.”The PPP/C General Secretary and Opposition Leader posited the entire State apparatus would have been brought to bear in such an instance.“The same thing with the Ruel Johnson matter,” Jagdeo recalled.Johnson, the cultural political advisor to the Government, had recently publicly incited the torching of the Sanata Complex which houses among other businesses, the media grouping TVG, Guyana Times and RGI Radio.The former President conceded that the “Public Accounts Committee must call in the Police on these matters… I will talk to the Chairman (Irfaan Ali) of the PAC but I do believe it is time that we get, since that is the standard now that you are charging people for procedural breaches, then the standard must be applied consistently.”GINA Director, Alert this past Monday called for auditors to again take a look at the entity’s finances, since the data she was furnished with contained glaring inaccuracies, which she was unable to explain to the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.The GINA Director, during an intense series of questions from Committee Chairman (ag) Juan Edghill, essentially threw in the towel and said “the auditors probably have to come in back… maybe we have to scrutinise the books again. I can only go to what was provided to me by the staff of GINA.”The GINA Director was at the time being questioned over the use of a Contingency Fund advance to meet payment for staff bonuses at the end of 2015.The cheques issued under the advance from the Contingency Fund were made in January 2016, but the bonus payments were made in December, which led to the back-and-forth exchange, eventually leading to a call for the auditors to take a fresh look at the books.It was pointed out that for the Contingency Fund to be used in such a manner was “going further into a cesspool”.Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of the Presidency, Abena Moore, sought to explain that the money was requested from the Finance Ministry on behalf of GINA – which falls under the Office of the Prime Minister in the Ministry – in order to make payments to the Guyana National Newspapers Limited (GNNL), publisher of the Guyana Chronicle.The debt, according to Alert, was incurred by GINA in the period leading up to May 2015.It was explained that GNNL was paid $9.4 million and the remainder of the money that had been requested was used to reimburse GINA for the bonus payments made.The Contingency Fund advance totalled $11 million.PAC member, People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) parliamentarian and former Permanent Secretary, Nigel Dharamlall at the time took umbrage to this state of affairs.“I don’t think expending public resources can be treated with a slap on the wrist,” Dharamlall said.He added that it was unacceptable that Moore could just say the abuse of the Contingency Fund would not happen again.Dharamlall called on the Auditor General to launch another investigation into the matter. According to the PPP/C member, “I think whatever measures need to be put in place, including disciplinary measures, should be put whether within GINA or the Office of the PS.”
Environment Minister Alan Kelly has pulled out of a scheduled talk at the MacGill Summer School.The Minister was due to take part in a debate at the famous summer school in Glentis later this month.Protest group Donegal Right2Water had said they planned to take part in a peaceful protest of the Minister’s visit. He was due to take part in a debate on Irish Water.A statement from the Right2Water group is expected on the Minister’s decision to pull out of the debate.ENVIRONMENT MINISTER PULLS OUT OF IRISH WATER DEBATE IN DONEGAL was last modified: July 14th, 2015 by StephenShare this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)
Latest Football News Which teams do the best on Boxing Day in the Premier League era? BEST OF Where Ancelotti ranks with every Premier League boss for trophies won no dice Wayne Rooney will make his final England appearance tonight 5 5 5 Rooney tormented the superstars of France RANKED 5. Running Turkey ragged (2003)On his first start for England, a 17-year-old Rooney flourished at the Stadium of Light, with his every touch leaving the crowd on the edge of their seats.The striker was full of confidence, linking superbly with his teammates, before being substituted to a standing ovation after helping his country earn a crucial victory in their bid to qualify for Euro 2004. 2. Record breaker (2015)While this was not Rooney’s best performance in an England shirt, he still managed to steal the headlines when his penalty against Switzerland meant he broke Sir Bobby’s 45-year record to claim a historic 50th goal. ADVICE Son ban confirmed as Tottenham fail with appeal to overturn red card Oxlade-Chamberlain suffers another setback as Klopp confirms serious injury huge blow 
REVEALED Forbes list reveals how much Mayweather, Ronaldo and Messi earned this decade Rooney gets his 50th goal for England 5 4. Stunner in the Maracana (2013)Inside the iconic stadium, England were outclassed for large periods against Brazil, but it was Rooney who dragged his side to a draw in this glamour friendly.First, he laid the ball on for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to equalise, before a driving run and powerful curling shot found the top corner to give England a lead they would eventually surrender.3. Giving France Les Bleus at the Euros (2004)Quite simply, Rooney was magnificent. Against the reigning European champions, with Zinedine Zidane leading a superstar squad, the Croxteth-born teenager was head and shoulders above them all. Skills, composure, he even won a penalty which was missed by David Beckham, Rooney truly came of age in Lisbon. Rooney was excellent against Turkey in 2003 Every time Ally McCoist lost it on air in 2019, including funny XI reactions 5 1. Double against Croatia (2004) This was Rooney at his peak. When England needed him the most, he delivered. Two goals tell only half the story of Rooney’s impact that night as he led England to a quarter-final showdown with host nation Portugal. When he went off injured in that match, England’s chances of progressing left with him. REVEALED Two goals on the night from Rooney helped England beat Croatia When Wayne Rooney steps out at Wembley Stadium tonight, he will do so for the 120th and final time of his England career.Having made his debut against Australia back in 2003, Rooney has since won the most caps for an outfield player while scoring a record 53 goals in the process.From his breakout performances at Euro 2004, to breaking Sir Bobby Charlton’s goal scoring record, talkSPORT.com look at Rooney’s five best moments in a England shirt. Ronaldo warned Lukaku how hard scoring goals in Serie A would be before Inter move MONEY Top nine Premier League free transfers of the decade 
Air Corps and the Irish Defence Forces are being requested to be on stand-by for fires in Donegal this weekend.A warning is in place over a high risk of gorse fires in the next three days. The hot weather, dry conditions and winds have led to the Condition Orange alert.Councillor Michael Cholm Mac Giolla Easpuig said he has made a request for the Air Corps and Defence Forces to be ready to travel to the county to fight fires if necessary. The call was made to the Minister of Defence and Donegal Minister for Education, Joe McHugh. It took seven hours for the Air Corps to arrive in Donegal in April, when extensive fires blazed through the west of the county.Donegal County Council has today appealed to landowners and members of the public to exercise caution and to take all necessary measures to prevent the occurrence of wildfires involving material such as gorse, heather and similar.Land owners and members of the public are urged not to engage in activities that could cause wildfires and to be vigilant and to report any uncontrolled or unattended fires immediately to the Fire Service by dialling 999 or 112.The High Risk Fire alert remains in place until midday Monday. Call for Air Corps to be on stand-by for gorse fires was last modified: June 28th, 2019 by Rachel McLaughlinShare this:Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)
A nanosatellite built in South Africa will be sent to space early next year to collect data for atmospheric research as part of the European Commission’s QB50 project.It took a team of South Africans six months to build the nanosatellite, nSight1. It launches with 49 other satellites from the International Space Station in early 2017 as part of the European Space Agency’s QB50 project to study the Earth’s upper atmosphere. (Image: SCS Aerospace Group)Brand South Africa reporterWeighing some 2.5kg, a nanosatellite designed and made in South Africa will be launched in early 2017 from the International Space Station. It will be used for research.Named nSight1, it forms part of the European Commission’s QB50 project; in total, 50 satellites from various countries will be launched into space.The devices will collect data for atmospheric research in the lower thermosphere between 200km to 380km altitude. The data will be used to complement current atmospheric models used by operators in the space industry.Watch:The building of nSight1 was managed by an umbrella company, SCS Aerospace Group, in Cape Town, which has eight subsidiary companies. It provides commercial satellite solutions such as advanced engineering services, decision making and operational solutions.Working togetherThe core team that built SCS Aerospace Group’s nSight1 nanosatellite are: (front from left to right): Dr Louis Muller, Dr Francois Malan, Kannas Wiid, Rikus Cronje, Hendrik Burger; (middle) David Brill; and (back row) Heinrich Fuchs, Premie Pillay, Philip Bellsted, Dr Lourens Visagie, Kevin Gema and Marcello Bartolini. (Image: SCS Aerospace Group)Dr Sias Mostert, chairman of the SCS Aerospace Group, said the group was proud to be a part of QB50 project. “It presents the opportunity to showcase South Africa’s ability in the space industry.“Almost all the systems and components on this satellite were manufactured and assembled within six months with South African partners.”Those who contributed to the building of the nanosatellite included the Space Advisory Company, Stellenbosch University, CubeSpace, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Pinkmatter Solutions, the Amateur Radio Society and NewSpace Systems.Launching the satellite will also provide a chance to test newly developed technologies such as SCS Gecko Imager as well as Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s patented Radiation Mitigation VHDL Coding Technique.“It forms part of a line of satellites to establish space heritage for a new generation of high performance remote sensing cameras,” said Mostert. “The camera technology being tested on the nSight1 nanosatellite was developed with initial support from the South African Department of Trade and Industry’s AISI programme.”Software company Pinkmatter Solutions said it usually provided its services to the international space market. But CEO Chris Böhme welcomed this local venture. “As a South African company, we are stronger by working together to provide more value to continue our success story in the international market.”Source: SCS Aerospace GroupWould you like to use this article in your publication or on your website? See Using Brand South Africa material
One person making threat calls to a local Congress leader by posing as a Maoist was arrested by the Daringbadi police in Odisha’s Kandhamal district over the weekend. The police suspect the episode stemmed from infighting among the party activists. The accused, Biswanath Hawda Singh, a resident of Rahakia village, is said to be a supporter of Congress MLA of G.Udaygiri, Jacob Pradhan. The threat calls were allegedly made by Singh to the party president of zone no. 10 of Daringbadi block, Kaliprasad Mallik. The block president had started receiving threat calls purportedly from a Maoist leader named Sunil in the first week of February. As the caller threatened to kill him, Mr. Mallik filed a complaint at the Daringbadi police station on February 7. The police had managed to identify and arrest the caller, said Daringbadi police station inspector in-charge Alekh Garadia.
(EDS: Adds detail)New Delhi, Apr 20 (PTI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh today appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here in connection with a money laundering case registered against him and others.Singh arrived at the agencys office here in his official car, with a covered beacon, at about 12:00 noon.Sporting his trademark Himachali topi, the CM did not interact with media persons on the spot and was seen raising his fist in the air and heard reciting some lines of a patriotic poem: “Sarfaroshi ki tamanna ab hamare dil mein hain, dekhna hai zor kitna baju e qaatil mein hai.”The agency has summoned Singh in order to record his statement in this case and also to confront him with some documents it has seized and recovered in this case of disproportionate assets.The CM, last week, had also sent a communication to the agency stating his reasons for not being able to appear before it all this while and had sought a new date from it, after which the new summons were issued for today.The ED had yesterday refused to give any assurance in the Delhi High Court that it will not arrest Singh when he appears before it.The submission was made before Justice R K Gauba by the ED during the hearing of Singhs plea for quashing of the money laundering proceedings against him.The ED summons have come close on the heels of filing of a charge sheet by the CBI against Singh, his wife and others for allegedly amassing assets worth around Rs 10 crore disproportionate to their known sources of income.advertisementThe agency had summoned Singh earlier also, but then he had excused himself stating he had official commitments.The ED has already questioned his wife Pratibha and son Vikramaditya in connection with the case.It had filed a case under the anti-money laundering law against the Himachal Pradesh chief minister, his family members and others after taking cognisance of a complaint filed by the CBI in this regard in September 2015.The agency is probing allegations against Singh and his family members of amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income between 2009 and 2011 when he was the Union Minister of Steel. It has also attached assets worth about Rs 14 crore in the case.The CBI charge sheet alleged that Singh had amassed assets worth around Rs 10 crore which were disproportionate by 192 per cent of his total income during his tenure as a Union minister.The final report was filed against nine persons for alleged offences punishable under section 109 (abetment) and 465 (punishment for forgery) of the IPC and relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, arrayed around 225 witnesses and 442 documents.Besides the 82-year-old Congress leader and his wife Pratibha Singh, the report also arraigned Chunni Lal Chauhan, Joginder Singh Ghalta, Prem Raj, Vakamulla Chandrasekhar, Lawan Kumar Roach and Ram Prakash Bhatia as accused.It also named as accused LIC agent Anand Chauhan, who is currently in judicial custody.Chauhan was arrested by the ED on July 9 last year in this money laundering case. PTI NES DV
If the two high profile teams live up to their billing, we could have India playing Pakistan three times in the Asia Cup, this September in UAE. Apart from their Group A fixture on September 19th, the two teams can meet again in Super Four if they finish among top two teams in their group. They can also meet in the final if both teams qualify for the summit clash.While cricket fans would be thrilled at the prospect of a high-octane battle between the two arch-rivals, their first after the 2017 Champions trophy final, not everyone in BCCI is amused.The India-Pakistan matches in the Asia Cup will be held not only amid strained relations between Delhi and Islamabad but also at a time when relations bewteen the two cricket boards, BCCI and PCB, remain hostile.The PCB has sent a legal notice of US$ 70 million to BCCI over their refusal to honour a bilateral cricket memorandum of understanding (MoU). The matter is now before International Cricket Council (ICC)’s Dispute Redressal Committee, which will meet in October.In this light, a section of BCCI thinks the Committee of Administrators (COA) should have refused to play ball with PCB.”Knowing fully well that the PCB wants to extract money from you and take you to Dispute Redressal Committee, can’t you play a hard bargain? After all the PCB will get part of the proceeds as a participant,” a top BCCI official told India Today.The dispute dates back to a MoU signed between the PCB and BCCI to play six bilateral series between December 2015 to December 2022. N Srinivasan was then still calling the shots in BCCI and the MoU was signed to win the PCB vote to pull off the ‘big three’ revenue sharing formula at ICC. The BCCI’s view at the time was that the MoU was only an expression of interest and not a legally binding document.advertisementThe COA, currently in decision making, however contend there was no room for strong-arm tactics with PCB.”The external affairs ministry has no problem with India’s participation in the Asia Cup, if it is at a neutral venue. After that, one can’t object to India-Pakistan contests in a multination tournament,” said a source close to COA.Some in the BCCI are also critical of Asia Cup scheduling with back to back group matches for India. Virat Kohli and co will take on a qualifier side on 18th September before the Pakistan game on 19th. But with the Kohli-led side finishing their last Test against England in UK on 11th September, the options to slot India’s matches differently were limited.