tuesday_26_august_2014 - We Love Seychelles – Sesel Sa

Tuesday 26 August, 2014
www.today.sc
Newsline
n News
n Sports
n Business
n Health ministry warns
of dangers
(page 3)
n Life
SR 10/-
n Sri Lanka na-
n The proof of
tional team aim for
win against Sey(page 4)
chelles
good hospitality
(page 8)
Offshore sector
Double-edged success
By JR
The offshore sector incorporated nearly a third more
companies in 2013 than in
2012, but will this growth
be maintained if the system
becomes more transparent?
T
he offshore sector did not
merely endure the knocks of
2013; it experienced a period
of remarkable growth, according to
the latest incorporation statistics released by law firm Appleby. Indeed,
despite entering the year nursing a
stinging slap-mark from a damning
Al Jazeera documentary entitled
“How to rob Africa”, the sector saw
a huge 29 percent year-on-year increase in the number of new companies being registered. This was
the fastest growth out of any offshore jurisdiction in the world, according to the report.
Continued on page 2
New incorporations in Seychelles
25000 20747 20000 15000 13751 14779 16485 16102 2011 2012 12408 10000 5000 0 2008 2009 2010 2013 Law firm Appleby has reported an upsurge in registration activity for 2013.
Death of Harmon Chellen
Yet more questions and still no answers
While Mauritius’ Foreign Affairs Minister says he will discuss Mr Chellen’s death with Minister Jean Paul Adam, a
regional human rights NGO has called for transparency in the police enquiry. In addition, the counter autopsy reveals
that there could have been more to the cause of death than just drowning.
By D.B.
I
ncomplete autopsy. This
is what has come out of
the counter post mortem
practised on the late Harmon
Chellen, found dead in Port
Glaud last Monday. While the
autopsy practised in Seychelles
on Thursday concluded that
the head of Mauritius’ tourism
school died of asphyxia due to
drowning, the counter autopsy
practised on Mr Chellen’s body
on Friday night in Mauritius by
the country’s chief police medical examiner, found that Mr
Chellen had suffered a bruise on
Former Mauritian Forensics chief Satish Boollel helped with
counter autopsy
his left temple prior to death.
This led the medical examiner
to conclude that the autopsy
practised in Seychelles was incomplete and that the Mauritian
counter autopsy leaves room for
foul play in Mr Chellen’s death.
Dr Satish Boolell, former head
of Forensics in Mauritius, who
assisted his successor for the autopsy, said however that because
the body had already been subjected to a first post-mortem,
crucial evidence might have
been lost in the process.
Continued on page 2
12.45
13.20
12.55
13.15
16.60
17.45
16.65
17.50
20.75
21.90
20.85
21.95
p2
Tuesday 26 August, 2014
Regional cooperation
Letter to the Editor
Made in Moroni
Disclaimer
The views and comments expressed are those of the writer and not
necessarily those of this newspaper
Rejoinder to Maryse Berlouis
Dear Editor,
I am writing concerning the points raised by Maryse Berlouis in a
letter to Editor which appeared in your paper on Saturday, August
23, 2014.
I ask for an opportunity to reply as her comments place me in a
negative light, which may affect the public’s perception of my good
character and good reputation in a bad light.
I am attending this meeting with the Planning Authority, and numerous others with the Ministry of Finance, and the Inter TradeGovernment Economic Committee chaired by Vice President Danny
Faure, as a member of the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and
Industry (SCCI).
All these meetings have been made on the heels of President James
Michel’s appeal for more dialogue to seek out a way forward for Seychelles given that it is my understanding that the nation’s economic engine is severely underperforming and we as a nation can do much better.
This is confirmed by the latest productivity report of the National
Statistics Bureau and numerous other economic indicators that show
Seychelles is substantially underperforming year on year month on
month except for two months out of the year. Anyone who cares for
the betterment of Seychelles must take this opportunity Mr. Michel
has presented us seriously because we are all in the same boat, no
matter how we got in it.
Mrs Berlouis makes reference to my speech wherein I stated and
or inferred that, “the Planning Authority needs to sort its service delivery to the public or the public or the leadership of the country may
just hang them when the next civil unrest takes place because the
public will seek out Planning Authority members one by one”.
In English, dear Editor, this is called a “figure of speech”. It is descriptive language used to alert on the urgency of a matter in this case,
and I conveyed this to the chairman of the Planning Authority and he
accepted my reply. The meeting went on without Mrs Berlouis.
The type of speech I use, in Creole it is analogy speech similar to
someone saying: “kabri pe manze salad” or “dife anba talon dalon”.
If I said in English: “the goats are eating salad, no one would understand me.
Frankly I find it odd that Mrs. Berlouis took offense to any such
speech, since it is common in our culture to use figurative and descriptive speech. We are not Arabic in language. We speak English,
Creole and French. All three languages use “figurative language” and
Mrs Berlouis knows that better than me.
The argument that I have posed a threat to the lives of the members of the Planning Authority is a long yarn (another figurative
speech meaning a big lie) in itself, particularly given the fact that
Mrs Berlouis arrived at the National House Hall early, I greeted her,
kissed her when she approached me on both her cheeks, and she had
five minutes of small talk (figurative speech meaning exchange of
polite introductions) with me before we got on to the business of addressing the mess we are in today in so far as it concerns the Planning Authority. Adrian Uzice of the SCCI can confirm this, as he sat
next to me in a chair, when Mrs Berlouis approached me.
Finally, allow me to say for Seychelles to move forward today, for
all our people and business alike to progress, we must be realistic: we
cannot change the past with talk, but we can shape the future with
more dialogue and positive exchange of ideas. No person should be
left to feel threatened by that.
I am happy to see the Chairman of the Planning Authority and the
rest of his team were not threaten by such dialogue and the meeting
proceeded beyond three hours. The Chairman declared at the termination of the meeting: “It is regrettable that Mrs Berlouis walked out,
the dialogue has been fruitful for us all”.
Sincerely,
Christopher Gill
Anse Takamaka
Praslin
President James Michel met with his counterparts from the region in the Comoros on Saturday. Under the right conditions, meetings of this nature can be constructive for all involved parties.
By N.R.
T
he fourth summit of the
Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), which was
attended by President James
Michel, took place in Moroni,
Comoros. President Michel was
accompanied by the Ministers
of Home affairs and transport
and Foreign affairs, Joel Morgan and Jean Paul Adam, respectively. Several positives
emerged from the conference,
including an air services agreement between Seychelles and
Comoros and a joint declaration
signed by the heads of State and
government in attendance. The
latter in particular provides
several interesting ideas on the
future shape of regional integration and the changing role of
the IOC, the habitual reference
to greater maritime and air
connectivity notwithstanding.
To begin with, the Moroni
declaration “salutes” the IOC’s
contribution to negotiations for
an interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between
its member States and the European Union (EU). According
to the European Commission,
this agreement includes a “market access deal with Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and
Zimbabwe” and “other agreed
chapters such as rules of origin,
development cooperation, fisheries, trade, defense and dispute
settlement mechanisms”. The
document goes so far as to request that the IOC support the
implementation of the EPA in its
member States. As this shows,
the commission has a role to
From left to right: President James Michel, Mauritian Prime minister Navin Ramgoolam,
Malagasy President Hery Rajaonarimampianina, Comorian President Ikililou Dhoinine, French
President Francois Hollande and the secretary general of the IOC, Jean Claude de l’Estrac.
play as a facilitator in the negotiation of bilateral and multilateral agreements. Thus, without
substituting itself for national
governments, it can contribute
to ensuring its member States
speak with one voice on issues
of regional importance.
Another area where the IOC
is playing a preponderant role
is in climate change mitigation and adaptation. As the
declaration notes, the heads of
State and government present
at the summit, “encourage the
secretary general [of the IOC]
to plead in favour of an appropriate consideration for the
specific situation of Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
in the post-2015 international
development agenda and, more
generally, in the United Nations”. The upcoming SIDS
summit in Samoa will provide
the perfect opportunity for the
IOC to heighten its profile and
that of its members on the international stage. In the past,
the task of promoting the “specific situation” of SIDS has befallen organizations like the
Alliance of Small Island States
(AOSIS), but their membership
is usually rather disparate and
therefore easily divided. The
IOC can present an altogether
more resolute front.
Finally, the simple fact of getting the heads of State and government of its member States
together on a regular basis can
go a long way in cementing
partnerships between them.
The air services agreement
signed by Seychelles and Comoros is a case in point. This is
not to say that, in the absence of
IOC-like body, there wouldn’t
be any meaningful interactions
between the region’s countries,
but meetings of this nature un-
This latest episode has fuelled
speculations in Mauritius about
the circumstances that led to
Mr Chellen’s death. Mauritius’
Foreign Affairs Minister Arvin
Boolell has said he will discuss
the matter with his Seychellois
counterpart, Jean Paul Adam.
This has also led to Mauritius-based regional Human
Rights Group DIS-MOI to issue a press release calling for
an in-depth investigation into
the role of the Port Glaud police
in the death of Mr Chellen. The
press release was published yesterday in Le Mauricien, a daily
newspaper in Mauritius.
TODAY has also received a
copy of the communique but
has withheld publication thereof due to its inflammatory tone
and the allegations against Sey-
chelles police that it contains.
Linley Couronne, the director of the NGO says his organisation will alert international
public opinion if the Seychelles
police do not solve Mr Chellen’s
death. “Everything is suspect in
Mr Chellen’s death”, he writes.
Saying he has led an investigation into Mr Chellen’s death
since news of his passing broke
last week, Mr Couronne asks
the following questions: “Who
saw Mr Chellen alive between
the time he supposedly escaped
from the police station and
when his body was found? Did
Mr Chellen who was a strongwilled person suddenly have
the urge to commit suicide the
moment he left the police station on his way back to the
hotel? Finally but most importantly – what was Mr Chellen’s
Last minute
French
government
dissolved
French Prime minister, Manuel Valls, submitted his government’s resignation yesterday
following comments by the
country’s Finance Minister
Arnaud Montebourg criticizing President Francois Hollande. Mr Valls accused Mr
Montebourg of having crossed
a “yellow line”. This dissolution marks a new low for Mr
Hollande’s already shambolic
presidency.
Double-edged success
Continued from page 1
The brief, eleven-page document, which is called “On the Register”, states that “having flat lined
at 16 000 for the last couple of
years”, the jurisdiction reported “a
record number of new incorporations in 2013”, adding over 20 000
companies to its register. It then
goes on to assert that the country is becoming an increasingly
popular investment location, and
places it just behind the British
Virgin Islands (BVI) in terms of its
volume of registration activity.
Speaking to TODAY from Ireland, the director for the Financial
Intelligence Unit (FIU), Declan
Barber, said the news was good
as long as the sector’s growth does
not come at the expense of its commitment to meet compliance standards. “It’s good to see the growth,
because in relation to the Cayman
Islands, for instance, we are still
a very small jurisdiction,” he remarked. As evidence, he pointed to
the fact that the financial services
market contributes roughly 45%
to the national Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) in the Cayman Islands, while in Seychelles he reckons its contribution is below 10%.
Mr Barber believes such growth
is being fuelled by members of
G20, particularly those from
Europe, where jurisdictions are
coming under increasing pressure from the Financial Action
Task Force (FATF) to increase
the transparency of their offshore
structures for tax purposes. “It is
possible that persons, and entities
from there are looking outside of
Europe,” he says.
And when they see Seychelles,
they’re attracted. For one, while
the banking system “does not have
a competitive advantage, it is fine
for their needs,” says Mr Barber.
Secondly, the tax regime for off-
Yet more questions and still no answers
Continued from page 1
deniably help grease the cogs of
diplomacy and cooperation.
state when he left the police
station?”, Mr Couronne asks.
The NGO further alleges that
“surprise, surprise at 2.28pm
on Monday, Harmon Chellen is
reported missing by the police.
At 2.29pm, according to the
police’s occurrence book, police
officers leave the station to go
and look for a person they have
arrested. Finally at 2.50pm, a
Seychellois discovers Mr Chellen’s lifeless body 500 metres
away from the police station
where he supposedly escaped
from – at a place where even the
most unconscious of suicidals
would have a hard time drowning himself ”.
Unfortunately,
Mr
Couronne’s questions remain unanswered as the police persist in
its silence; a press release last
week says that the police would
communicate as and when it
had information to relay and
that it would not comment on
allegations made by people who
are not involved in the enquiry.
Veda Baloomoody, the Chellen family’s lawyer told this
newspaper yesterday that he
was “following the inquiry
closely”.
In the meantime, several versions of what actually took place
between the chambermaid and
the late Mr Chellen are emerging from employees of the Constance Ephelia hotel. The husband of the Malagasy employee,
also from Madagascar and also
an employee of the hotel has still
not been questioned by the police, sources say.
Blog Seychelles reality has
reproduced an article from the
Mauritian media that men-
tions attempts to blackmail Mr
Chellen. It is not known at this
stage if the police are investigating this avenue. The issue of
Mr Chellen’s missing shoes and
shirt has also been raised; these
items of clothing still haven’t
been found. Inexplicably Mr
Chellen was found wearing just
his socks and his trousers.
Furthermore, sources from
Port Glaud have told this newspaper that contrarily to what
has been said so far, Mr Chellen’s lifeless body was not found
in the shallow waters of Port
Glaud but rather in deep waters
on the seaward side of l’Islette.
This newspaper’s attempts to
get a reaction from the ministry
of Health pertaining to the discrepancies in the Seychelles autopsy and the Mauritian counter autopsy were fruitless.
shore structures is set at a juicy
0%. And more crucially, Seychelles
doesn’t have the most transparent
laws when it comes to revealing
beneficiary owners. “It’s certainly
not the worst,” adds Mr Barber, “but
it’s not as tightly regulated as Gibraltar, for instance, which makes
it attractive.”
However, he believes this is
changing and the industry is waking up to the fact that it has to
improve the availability of information about company beneficiaries. Seychelles, he says, is now in
a position where it has to find the
right balance between remaining
competitive, while simultaneously
satisfying international compliance requirements. “We have to
be careful about how we grow, and
make sure that we don’t go down
the wrong road by offering more
opaque ownership laws,” he stresses.
By the looks of it, Seychelles is
mindful of the need to hit these
compliance benchmarks. He says
that draft legislation dealing with
beneficiary ownership is currently
before Cabinet and may be finalised by September. This probably
means that “the rise in International Business Companies (IBCs)
won’t continue”, he says, but that’s
not necessarily a death sentence for
the sector. Far from it.
Indeed, Mr Barber believes the
financial services sector can move
beyond incorporating simple IBC
structures to offering more complicated financial services. “The
sector will probably need to sustain
its current business model for four
or five years until it can make the
transition,” says Mr Barber, but the
change seems unavoidable.
p3
Tuesday 26 August, 2014
Over the counter medicine
Health ministry warns of dangers
Regardless of what the law says, the sale of over the counter medicine seems to obey to the demand and supply rule. While many customers happily buy pills from retail shops, the
Health ministry says not only is the practice not legal but the importation of drugs by shopkeepers is also not allowed.
By A.B.
wo weeks ago, TODAY
published an article
about the regulation of
the sale of over-the-counter
drugs, following an ongoing training at the ministry
of Health. The training will
lead to the accreditation of the
Drug Quality Control Laboratory. It has come to our attention that several people persist
in buying medicinal drugs in
retail shops, contrary to the
law. TODAY investigated this
issue further by speaking to
some local pharmacies, retails
shop owners and several other
individuals.
According to the latest statistics, Seychelles boasted of six
public hospitals, two mental
hospitals and 16 public health
centres as at April this year.
These statistics from ministry
of Health goes further to say
that in the private sector, there
are currently 19 private clinics,
nine private dental clinics, 11
pharmacies and four optometrists. Yet, some shops are also
functioning as pharmacies.
Our investigation shows that
the shops that actually sold
medicinal drugs over the counter were mostly Indian-owned
and that the medicines were
imported directly from India.
It is unclear however whether
these medicines fit the official
standards but the shopkeepers
we spoke to, say they have nev-
T
er encountered any problems
with clients or the authorities
before.
TODAY spoke to two shopkeepers who sold medicine but
who asked for the cover of anonymity. The first one is based
in the Anse Etoile District and
sells panadols and plasters.
“The paracetamol packets are
imported straight from India,”
he said adding that “in emergency situations, people walk
into the shop and we can provide them with these items
along with their shopping.”
He claimed that the panadols
were as effective as those disbursed at hospitals. The other
shopkeeper, based in English
River District says he also sold
panadols, plasters as well as
rub medicines. “Our shop stays
open up to 9pm while pharmacies close at 5pm,” he pointed
out adding that “people have
the choice to buy or not to buy
the medicines but I have never
received any complaints about
the quality of the tablets.”
“It is cheaper to buy medicine
in a retail shop,” a woman TODAY interviewed on the streets,
said. She added that an added
benefit of buying the medicines
in retail shows is that “I don’t
have to queue up for hours at
the clinic.” She pointed out
however that she bought only
pills such as panadols from
the shops and that she went to
the doctor for more serious illnesses and symptoms”. Another woman told this newspaper
that “the medicines I bought
were from an Indian shop, and
Indians are good doctors, so it
must be safe.”
On the other hand, several people felt safer when
the medicines were bought in
pharmacies only. “I buy every
single one of my medicine from
a licensed pharmacist,” said a
Medix Pharmacy customer. “I
cannot trust shopkeepers because they are not qualified
while pharmacies give the right
customer care by advising their
clients on the right medicines,”
said another woman adding
that “I buy all my medicines
from pharmacies and my pharmacist is very good.”
Meanwhile,
pharmacists
have told this newspaper about
their concerns with regards to
the issue of medicines being
sold by shopkeepers. “This is
surely bad for business,” said
a sales assistant adding “but
most importantly, it is the
lives of people we are putting
at risk.” She told TODAY that
people should be more careful where health products are
concerned as there are many
important specifications and
contraindications and that
only qualified personnel can
advise them on the right treatment.
Be aware, ministry of Health says
Demand follows supply is
how the Health ministry’s
Chief pharmacist, Lucille De
Commarmond qualifies the
situation. Ms. De Commarmond says she is particularly
concerned about the trend
of purchasing medicine over
the counters of retail shops.
“Members of the public must
be aware of the consequences,” she says.
Ms. De Commarmond told
this newspaper that as far
as the importation of pharmaceutical products is concerned, they are considered
as restricted items. “The
medicines that the public
is seeing in retail shops are
those which have gone past
customs, perhaps hidden in
luggage,” she said adding
that “on our side, we do not
have sufficient resources to
inspect every single shop to
detect illegal activities.” The
ministry of Health, in this
regard relies on the public to
take responsibility over their
health through their various
awareness programmes.
The ministry says it has
made several attempts to
warn the public about suspicious goods, including items
that are not in their origi-
Stephanie Felix thanked the
STC’s customers for their understanding during the works.
nal packaging or items with
labels in foreign languages
through communication and
media campaigns. “Such items
are confiscated by customs according to law,” said Ms. De
Commarmond adding that
“even the Food Drug Authority
(FDA) has banned several of
those items.”
Ms.
De
Commarmond
stressed on the importance of
knowing the right procedures
to pharmaceutical products.
“Pharmacies are not only
equipped with good conditions for storing medicines
but they also provide professional advice to clients on
any medicine,” she said adding that “pharmacists train
for five years, technicians
for three years and ordinary
shopkeepers are not capable
of providing guidance on
medicines.”
Furthermore,
she adds, medicines should
be stored at 23 degrees requiring
air-conditioning,
which is not necessarily the
case in many retail shops.
“Humidity affects medicinal
products, even plasters,” said
Ms De Commarmond.
Ms. De Commarmond took
this opportunity to warn the
public about herbal products advertised to have miraculous effects, as well as
products such as sex pills for
impotency, diabetes or slimming teas. “If these products were indeed miraculous
cures then they would have
been available in hospitals,”
she said “the fact of the matter is that they contain other
things that may be harmful
to the health of the client.”
How does Value Added Tax (VAT) works at the point of sale?
The Value Added Tax (VAT) has come into force on the 1 January 2013 and it is important that consumers
are aware of what is happening as VAT kicks in. They need to know who can charge them VAT, on what
goods and services they have to pay VAT and what to expect at the point of sale when they pay for their
goods and services.
Who can charge VAT to consumers?
Consumers must be aware that under the Value Added Tax only VAT registered businesses are allowed to
charge VAT on the sales of their goods and services. Non-VAT registered businesses cannot charge VAT to
anyone. It is important therefore that consumers are able to identify who those VAT registered businesses
are.
The following are the various ways a consumer can identify which businesses/shops are registered for
VAT:
1. SRC has issued all VAT registered businesses with
a VAT certificate (see the sample on the right) that
they should place in a prominent area of the business. In other words a consumer must be able to easily see the VAT certificate.
2. In addition, all VAT registered retailers should
display a VAT sticker visibly outside their shop denoting that the shop is VAT registered.
3. Moreover, the list of VAT registered businesses
will be made available on the SRC website (www.src.
gov.sc) for those who want to verify the list of registered businesses.
4. For those still in doubt they can always contact
SRC to verify if a business is registered for VAT or
not.
How to identify if business/retailers have charge
VAT on their sale?
It is illegal for non-VAT registered businesses to
charge VAT on their sales. This is why it is a requirement under the VAT Act that all VAT registered businesses issue consumers with a receipt for each sale
(See sample on the right). This way consumers can
verify whether they have been charged the 15% VAT
or not on their purchase.
It is the responsibility of each consumer to make sure
that they first of all get a receipt when they make a
purchase and secondly that they check their receipt to see whether they have been charged the 15% VAT.
The receipt, as shown in the sample below, should show the following information:
• The date of the sale/transaction • The sub-total
without VAT;
• The description, quantity and price/unit of the items
XYZ SUPERMARKET VAT Receipt • The total amount of VAT charged;
VAT Registration 2005/12/123456 • The price without VAT; • The total amount to be
1 x Vanilla Cookie 25.25 paid including VAT.
*1 x Basmati Rice (5kg) 75.00 N:B: No VAT should be charged on exempted goods
and services even if the business is registered for VAT.
Therefore, consumers need to make themselves acquainted with the exempted list of goods and supplies.
The list has been published in the newspaper, aired on
TV, posted on our website, listed in leaflets found at
our offices and other outlets.
In the case of business to business transactions and in
accordance with the VAT Act 2010, a VAT registered
business must provide another VAT registered business with a VAT invoice at the point of sale.
A VAT invoice (see sample on the right) must display
the following specific information:
a) The words “VAT INVOICE” displayed in a prominent place;
b) The name, address, and taxpayer Identification
Number (TIN) of the supplier;
c) The description of the goods (including quantity or
volume) or services supplied and the date on which the
supply was made;
d) The consideration for the supply and the amount of
VAT charged; and
e) The name of the recipient of the supply.
For more information
You can contact Seychelles Revenue Commission on
hotline number 4293745 or email us at vat@src.gov.
sc for more information about VAT. The Value Added
Tax Act, 2010 and all VAT related information is also
available on the Seychelles Revenue Commission web-
1 x J P Cheney wine 119.00 *1 x Powdered Milk 149.50 VAT exclusive 347.11 VAT @ 15% 21.64 VAT inclusive 368.75 Subtotal 368.75 Cash 400.00 Change 31.25 (* Exempted goods) THANK YOU! PLEASE COME AGAIN! Tuesday 26 August, 2014
p4
Football: Sri Lanka national team
Sri Lanka national team aim for win against Seychelles
The Sri Lankan national team is aiming to win their two friendly matches against the Seychelles national selection this week.
By RR
S
peaking to TODAY Sports
at Maison de Football where
they will be staying, soon after their arrival on Saturday, the
Sri Lankan coach Serbian Nikola
Kavazovic said that they will be
aiming for victory today in their
first of two friendly encounters
against the Seychelles side.
“We respect all teams but at
the same time we are not afraid
of anyone and we have come here
with the potential to win because
our philosophy is play to win in
all games,” coach Kavazovic told
TODAY Sports.
Coach Kavazovic did admit
however that he does not know
anything about our national team
and also that it is his first test with
the Sri Lankan national team
since he took over the job two
months ago.
“My team is a totally new team
with young players who all play
in the Sri Lankan league and it
is probably one of the youngest
national team but they have a lot
of potential and I expect them to
show progress for me personally
and for Sri Lanka,” the Serbian
coach who has eighteen years
of coaching experience and has
worked in several other countries,
said.
Coach Kavazovic added that
the team’s target is to qualify for
the Asian cup in 2018 and also
to work towards having a go at
The Sri Lankan team.
world cup qualification.
“We are expecting good results
here and we come to attack the
Seychelles team as we want to
improve our world ranking which
is 178th at the moment,” coach
Kavazovic said as he rushed his
players to get ready for their first
training session soon after the St
Michel – Dynamo match.
As a result of these two friendly
matches, the St Michel – St Louis
Suns Airtel’s clash next Saturday
has been postponed as St Louis
Suns have six players who are involved in the two matches with the
National team.
Today’s match against Sri Lanka
will be another test for interim national team coach Ulric Mathiot
whose team is yet to win under his
guidance.
The national team was left disappointed after their return home
match against Sierra Leone was
called off for health reason which
meant the Western African nation
have progressed to the group stage
though they will not have to play
all their home games in a neutral
ground due to the threat of the
Ebola virus ravaging Sierra Leone.
The Seychelles team will comprise mainly of the same squad
that participated in the training
camp in Uganda as they continue
their preparation for the Island
Games next year as they attempt
to defend the gold medal won in
2011.
Swimming
Young swimmers receive certificates
Young swimmers who participated in the holiday swimming programme received their certificates last week after completing their course.
By RR
T
he swimming programme
was held from 11 to 22
August under the instruction of coaches Robert Suzette,
Randy Landrie, Allen Labrosse
and Barnsley Albert. It was Irene
Aglae who coordinated this programme and she was assisted by
Hilda Khan and Solange Monnac as well as lifeguard Peter
Dorlin.
It was Prisheila Kinlock, a
swimming instructor who had
initiated this programme which
takes place during the first and
second term of each school cal-
endar year.
Coach Kinlock told TODAY
Sports that they were quite
pleased with the level of participation as they were 80 participants and they showed a good
interest in the sports.
Kinlock added that there are
The certificate winners.
some swimmers who took part
in the four star category who
showed good potential and will
be catered for in the stroke improvement training with the
other swimmers training with
the national team.
In all, there were 20 certifi-
cates of participation issued and
16 participants received certificate in the level one water confidence level.
14 participants were given certificates in the level two water
confidence and there were eight
in the one star category and sev-
en in the two stars category.
Eight swimmers received the
level three stars and seven in the
four stars category.
The organizers say they are
well satisfied with the level
of participation of the swimmers.
Coach Albert poses with Naomi Suzette.
Tuesday 26 August, 2014
p5
Belgian F1 Grand Prix 2014
Rosberg drama overshadows Ricciardo’s Spa show
Championship leader collides with teammate Hamilton
N
ico Rosberg rode his luck to
open up a clear 29 points
championship advantage
over Mercedes teammate Lewis
Hamilton on Sunday when he finished second behind triumphant
Australian Daniel Ricciardo in the
Belgian Grand Prix.
Ricciardo, of Red Bull, won with a
bold and well-judged drive in a dramatic race that saw Hamilton lead
from the start, but suffer a secondlap puncture following a collision
with Rosberg.
It was Red Bull’s 50th win in
Formula One and a beaming Ricciardo was hailed with cheers, while
Rosberg was booed by the crowd
at the end of the race. It appeared
that Hamilton was the victim of a
misjudged passing move by the German.
The damage wrecked his race and
may have ruined his title bid with
seven of this year’s 19 races remaining.
“I have apologised to Lewis... A
bad result for Lewis and a bad result
for the Mercedes team,” said Mercedes team chief Niki Lauda.
After struggling to regain his momentum, the 29-year-old Briton
retired with four of the 44 laps remaining leaving Rosberg content
to take his first podium finish in
Belgium at the eighth attempt. He
came 3.3 seconds behind the beaming Ricciardo.
It was Ricciardo’s third win in six
races in his first season with Red
Bull since succeeding fellow Aus-
Jubilant: Daniel Ricciardo celebrates after winning the Belgian
Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon
Football
Object thrown from crowd
kills footballer
Cameroon striker dies in hospital after an Algeria league game
where he was hit in the head by an object from the crowd.
C
ameroonian striker Albert
Ebossé has died after being
hit in the head by an object
thrown from the stands during an
Algerian league game.
The 24-year-old was fatally
struck by a projectile at the end of
his club JS Kabylie’s meeting with
USM Alger in Tizi Ouzou.
Kabylie said in a statement:
“The Ministry of Interior and Local Government, through minister
Tayeb Belaiz, has given the instruction to open an investigation into
the circumstances surrounding the
death of Albert Ebossé.
“The JSK player succumbed
to a head injury after being hit in
the head at the end of the meeting
with USM Alger.”
Ebossé had scored Kabylie’s goal
in a match that finished as a 2-1
home defeat to USM Alger.
Reacting to the news of Ebossé’s
death, USM Alger said in a statement: “JS Kabylie’s Cameroonian
striker has lost his life after being hit in the head by something
launched from the stands.
“This terrible news is saddening
for football in our nation and in
Cameroon and arrives like a bombshell just hours after the meeting
with USM Alger which was played
in Tizi Ouzou.
“In these painful circumstances,
USM Alger and its members send
their deepest condolences to the
family of the deceased and to JS
Kabylie. May Albert Ebossé rest in
peace.”
Ebossé played for Coton Sport
FC, Unisport Bafang and Douala
AC in his homeland before moving
to the Malaysian club Perak FA in
2012. He signed for JS Kabylie in
July 2013.
Albert Ebossé was killed by a projectile thrown from the crowd in
an Algerian league match on Saturday
tralian Mark Webber as teammate
to four-time champion German Sebastian Vettel, who came home fifth.
Finns Valtteri Bottas of Williams
and Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari
came home third and fourth ahead
of Vettel, Danish rookie Kevin Magnussen and his McLaren teammate
Briton Jenson Button, who were all
engaged in a furious final tussle for
positions.
On a welcome dry, if cool, afternoon in the Ardennes, Rosberg
made a poor start from his 11th career pole position and Hamilton,
from second on the grid, pulled
alongside and outside to lead as
they surged round the hairpin at La
Source.
The 2008 world champion pulled
clear on the entry to Eau Rouge and
up the hill towards Radillon where a
charging Vettel, who had taken second place, attacked without success
and ran off track, falling back into
third behind Fernando Alonso.
The Spaniard, who had struggled
to leave the grid for the formation
lap and required assistance to start,
was handed a five seconds penalty
— to be added to a pit stop — for the
misdemeanour, but raced with great
elan and determination.
That persistence put him in the
box seat when, on lap two, Rosberg
attempted a slipstreaming pass on
leader Hamilton at Les Combes
where the Briton defended his line
and, in another of his catalogue of
misfortunes this year, suffered a
puncture as the German’s front wing
slashed into his left rear tyre.
“Nico hit me, Nico hit me!” said
an incredulous Hamilton.
Hamilton was forced to limp back
to the pits with a puncture and, after
his stop, rejoined in 19th position
while Rosberg battled on with half
his front wing missing until he pitted from the lead after eight laps.
“Nico, we advise you to hang it
out,” he was told, a decision that
cost him several laps at reduced
potential. He also had a struggle
to remove a strand of debris from
Hamilton’s punctured tyre that was
flicking into his cockpit.
It was clear he was struggling
for outright pace and, following his
stop, the aggressive Ricciardo took
control at the front before he pitted
after 12 laps and handed the lead to
Bottas.
The Finn came in just a lap later
passing the lead to Button, briefly,
before he pitted and Ricciardo regained the ascendancy in a flurry
of positional changes and pit stops
before the race began to settle down,
albeit with the drivers on contrasting tyre strategies.
By lap 20, Ricciardo led Raikkonen, Vettel and Bottas with Magnussen fifth, Alonso sixth and Button seventh. Perez was eighth ahead
of Rosberg and a luckless Hamilton
down in 17th after making two pit
stops.
Raikkonen pitted again and Bottas climbed back to second.
Rosberg was content to work his
way back up to second behind Ricciardo, knowing his teammate and
only serious title-rival Hamilton had
little chance of scoring any points.
The Australian pitted, rejoined behind Bottas and led again when
Bottas stopped again for fresh tyres,
rejoining fifth.
All this left the young Australian
out in front with 15 laps remaining,
having driven flawlessly to head the
field and leave Red Bull teammate
Vettel struggling in his wake and unable to resist Bottas on lap 30. Rosberg stayed second ahead of Raikkonen, a four-time winner at Spa.
Rosberg pitted for a final charge
on soft tyres after 34 laps, immediately losing two places when Bottas
passed him, but in a thrilling pass
at Blanchimont he regained third
and, seconds later, surged past Raikkonen to set up a final pursuit of
Ricciardo.
Coming together: Mercedes drivers Hamilton and Nico Rosberg clash during the Belgian Grand Prix
Pan Pacific Championships
Ledecky breaks 1500m world record
G
old Coast, Australia American teen wonder Katie
Ledecky claimed her second world record of the meet and
Olympic titan Michael Phelps lost
a thrilling medley final on a dramatic closing night for the Pan Pacific Championships on Sunday.
Ledecky, 17, set her second world
record in two days by smashing
her own 1500-metre freestyle record on the way to claiming a fifth
gold at the Gold Coast meet.
But her celebrated American
teammate Phelps went down by
two-hundredths of a second to
Japanese Kosuke Hagino in the
200-metre individual medley final, denying him his second individual gold medal of the event.
Phelps, the all-time greatest
Olympian with 18 gold medals,
was pipped by Hagino in a desperate finish to the event he has won
three times at the Olympics.
Ledecky finished the swimmer
of the meet with an astonishing
world record swim of 15 minutes
28.36 seconds, carving almost six
seconds off the old mark she set in
June.
Ledecky won the 200, 400, 800
and 1500 metres freestyle golds at
the Pan PACs and was also part of
the American women’s winning
4x200-metre freestyle relay team.
“I knew it was my last race of
the meet and the last race of the
season and I wanted to finish a really good season on a good note,”
she said.
“It was probably one of my most
painful races. It was painful, but it
pays off in the end, so I’m happy.”
Ledecky, the dominant freestyler in world swimming, now holds
the world records in the 400, 800
and 1500 metres freestyle, making her the first woman since US
Phelps beaten in thriller as Pan Pacific Games closes
distance great Janet Evans to hold
all three records at the same time.
“I am really enjoying the journey and just enjoying each step,
so hopefully there are a few steps
left,” she said.
Phelps was overhauling Hagino
in the final lap of the 200-metre
medley after trailing the Japanese
by 0.66 secs at the final turn, but
Hagino managed to hang on for
a prestige win over the greatest
Olympian.
“My goal was to do my best.
However, I believe Michael Phelps
is not in his best condition, so I am
pleased that I did my best and won
the race,” Hagino said through a
translator.
Phelps said he should have
gone faster in the first half of the
race, but he had accomplished all
his goals at his first international
meeting since a 20-month break
following the London Olympics.
“Today my body was hurting. I
woke this morning and my body
was in pain,” he said.
“But after this morning’s race
and a nap I felt pretty fresh, I felt
good.
“During the warm-up I felt a
little poppy [edgy] and the one
thing if I look back at tonight’s
200IM [individual medley] and
say if I would change anything, it
would probably be to step on the
first 100 metres.
“I think for my first real international meet back we accomplished
everything we wanted to.
“We were able to find out some
of the things that I need to improve on over the next year and
things I want to improve on.”
The victory crowned an outstanding Pan PACs for the 20year Hagino, who was a bronze
medallist behind Ryan Lochte in
the 400-metre individual medley
at the 2012 London Olympics.
Hagino completed the medley
double at the Pan PACs after winning the 400-metre event from
another American Tyler Clary on
Friday.
Japan capped a successful night
with other gold medals in both
200-metre breaststroke finals
with Kanako Watanabe (2:21.41)
in the women’s event and Yasuhiro
Koseki (2:08.57) in the men’s.
Other winners were America’s
Maya Dirado (women’s 200-metre medley), Australia’s Cate
Campbell (50-metre freestyle),
Canada’s Ryan Cochrane (men’s
800-metre freestyle) and Brazilian Bruno Fratus (men’s 50-metre
freestyle).
Phelps won his third gold
medal of the meet as part of the
American men’s winning 4x100metre medley relay over Japan,
while Australia took the women’s
4x100-metre medley relay.
The United States finished top
nation with 14 golds from hosts
Australia with ten, Japan with
seven and South Korea, Canada
and Brazil with one each.
Katie Ledecky of the U.S. smiles after she set a new world record in her women's 1500m freestyle final
at the Pan Pacific swimming championships in Gold Coast, Australia
p6
Tuesday 26 August, 2014
Football - European roundup
Bayern and Barcelona start with wins
Bayern Munich and Barcelona began their domestic league seasons with victories but beleaguered Manchester United are still seeking a first win under
new manager Louis van Gaal and Paris St Germain continue to stutter.
SPAIN
New Barcelona coach Luis Enrique enjoyed a winning start in
his La Liga opener but it was a familiar face which did the damage,
Lionel Messi scoring twice as the
hosts shrugged off a first-half red
card for Javier Mascherano to beat
Elche 3-0.
Champions Atletico Madrid begin their title defence on Monday
at Rayo Vallecano having lifted the
Super Cup on Friday with a 2-1 aggregate win over Real Madrid, who
host Cordoba in their La Liga bow
on Monday.
vals Arsenal again flattered to deceive in grabbing a late 2-2 draw at
Everton.
New Manchester United boss
Louis van Gaal slammed his players for a second straight game after
a patchy 1-1 draw at Sunderland.
Champions Manchester City host
Liverpool on Monday.
GERMANY
Champions Bayern Munich got
off to a winning Bundesliga start,
beating ambitious VfL Wolfsburg
2-1 at home to pick up where they
left off last season, with Thomas
Mueller and Arjen Robben on target.
Last season's runners-up Borussia Dortmund suffered a shock 2-0
home loss to Bayer Leverkusen with
Karim Bellarabi netting the league's
fastest goal ever after only nine seconds.
Fellow Champions League competitors Schalke 04 also failed to
impress after seeing Hanover 96
come from a goal down to beat
them 2-1.
FRANCE
Paris st Germain continued their
faltering start to the defence of
their Ligue 1 title with a 0-0 draw at
Evian after playing the last half an
hour with 10 men following Yohan
Cabaye's dismissal.
AS Monaco finally recorded their
first points of the campaign when
Radamel Falcao's header just before the break sealed a 1-0 win at
Nantes, who missed a first-half
penalty.
Serie A does not start for another
week but there was Italian Cup
third round action this weekend,
Palermo and Chievo the top flight
casualties as they lost to second tier
Modena and Pescara.
GREECE
PAOK Salonika's Super League
season began on a sour note with
owner Ivan Savvidis needing a
police escort to leave the stadium
after he was involved in a confrontation with a supporter following a
dour 1-1 home draw with AEL Kallonis.
Panathinaikos also failed to
sparkle in their season opener, only
managing a 1-1 draw at Levadiakos.
ENGLAND
Chelsea made it two wins out of
two with Diego Costa again on the
scoresheet in a slightly laboured
2-0 home win over promoted
Leicester City.
Tottenham Hotspur are also on
six points after a 4-0 home thrashing of new boys Queens Park Rangers, managed by former Spurs boss
Harry Redknapp, but London ri-
ITALY
SCOTLAND
Tottenham enjoyed a memorable day, scoring four without reply
against QPR
Devastating duo: Munir El Hadaddi, left, and Lionel Messi, right, put Elche to the sword as Barcelona
strolled to a 3-0 victory at the Nou Camp on Sunday evening
The Colombian forward headed in just before the break
Inverness Caledonian Thistle
stayed top after an own goal secured a 1-0 home win over giants
Celtic, who lost in the league for
the first time this term.
Mobbed: Rodwell celebrates in front of the home fans as he's congratulated by team-mates John O'Shea
(left) and Wes Brown (right)
Tuesday 26 August, 2014
p7
Seychelles Fishing Authority
Inauguration of the fish processing plants in Providence
On the eve of its 30th Anniversary, the SFA officially handed over the keys for eight new processing plants to local promoters, a move which marks the completion of the second
phase of the Providence post-harvest project initiated in 2009.
By A. de Giorgio
A
ceremony was held yesterday morning at the
Providence Fishing Port
to launch the new processing
plants which are part and parcel of the post-harvest project
development with the objective to promote ownership and
increase the involvement of
Seychellois entrepreneurs in
the fish processing sector and
introduce new fish products on
the market, as well as to reduce
fish wastage.
The President of Seychelles,
James Michel, attended the inauguration along with the Vice
President, Danny Faure, the
Minister of Natural resources,
Peter Sinon, the Minister of
Finance, Pierre Laporte, diplomats, Members of the National
Assembly and senior officers
from the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA).
The CEO of the SFA, Finley
Racombo, expressed his satisfaction and gratitude to all the
individuals and organizations
that assisted SFA in completing the new project on time.
Mr. Racombo stated that the
SCR32 million investment for
(L-R) Minister Sinon, President Michel & Deputy British High
Commisioner Dave Jones representing the EU.
The new facilities in the Providence Fishing Port.
the new processing plants was
financed by the SeychellesEuropean
Union
Sectoral
Program. The construction
took 15 months to complete,
including the importation of
the structures, land clearing
and leveling, etc. The new processing facilities have been designed and constructed in such
manner to maintain the ideal
hygienic and sanitary levels
required to meet international
food standards.
The new processing plants
represent the second phase
completion of the Providence
post-harvest project. For his
part, Minister Sinon stated
that the eight processing
plants would be 100% owned
by Seychellois entrepreneurs
and are expected to directly
create more than 50 new employment opportunities and
generate more revenue from
the export of processed and
high valued fish products. He
officially handed over the keys
of the eight processing plants
to the new proprietors.
The eight successful investors
whose projects have been approved by the SFA to operate the
new processing plants will be given one year to put their processed
products on the market. In addi-
tion, these Seychellois entrepreneurs will receive professional
support and guidance from an
SFA expert who is trained in fish
processing techniques and from
whom the promoters will obtain
practical experience.
The new processing plants
were blessed in a traditional yet
humorous ceremony by Father
Louison Emerick and Father
Kisito Kouyimoussou both from
the Roman Catholic Church.
President Michel had the honour of unveiling the plaque and
cutting the ceremonial ribbon to
mark the occasion of the inauguration.
Three recipes for success
The new processing plants will employ three category fish processing techniques: First there is the
preliminary processing which consists of basic good handling practices, sorting, grading, bleeding,
gutting, and chilled storage. Cold storage facilities are one of the most important pre requisites of
this component.
The second category involves primary processing which includes basic processing and preservation techniques to provide materials for the secondary processing. The products from this category
include filleting, slicing, steaks, marinades and raw kebabs, just to name a few.
The third category is known as secondary processing which includes processes to improve the
taste, flavor and texture of finished products, such as smoking, fish fingers, fish croquette, fish
burgers, fish balls, fish spreads, etc.
CEO of SFA Finley Racombo.
The official plaque.
The official hand over of the keys
p8
Tuesday 26 August, 2014
Long service award
The proof of good hospitality
Le Meridien Fisherman’s Cove paid tribute to some of its longest serving employees hailing from various sections of the hotel who had achieved five and ten years of service in 2014.
By N. Dennis
4
0 long-serving staff members with more than 450
years of collective experience at Le Meridien Fisherman’s
Cove were congratulated and
paid tribute to by the hotel’s general manager (GM) Wael Rashed
and the director of operations,
Maxime Rachel at a cocktail reception held on last Friday 22 at
the resort.
Dedicated staff: they have served the hotel for 20 years.
Apart from the hotel’s GM Mr.
Rashed and other staff members
, the ceremony was attended by
Peter Moncherry, the general
manager for Hotel D’ Application
of Seychelles Training Academy.
Out of the 40 employees, 18 received awards for having served
over five years while 22 received
the ten year-service award.
A total of 26 women, repre-
senting 65% of the special staff,
have received the award while the
remaining 14 out of the group are
men.
Speaking at the event, the hotel’s GM, Mr Rashed said, “for
the past ten years you have contributed towards the success of
Le Meridien Fisherman’s Cove,
and for the short time that I have
been with you as your leader, I
am able to see the amount of effort and commitment you display
in your work and this is highly
appreciated. It is with your continued dedication and loyalty that
we were able to overcome many
challenges, and convert them into
opportunities to deliver a worldclass service and achieve outstanding results.”
He thanked the employees and
said he appreciated the role they
played in making the difference
in the hotel’s guest experience
Mcshane Bibi (centre) surrounded by Mr. Rachel and
Mr. Rashed (right).
Ms. Phylis Padayachy with Mr. Moncherry
( left) and Mr. Rashed.
and loyalty.
“We hope you will serve with
us for many years to come as we
believe that the future here has
unlimited potential for people
who have the right attitude, commitment and dedication to excellence,” concluded Mr. Rashed.
TODAY in Seychelles spoke
to the hotel’s senior human resources and training supervisor,
Adolph Antant who said that “at
Starwood hotels and resorts we
believe in giving both our guests
and employees the sense of affiliation and growth besides delivering a beautiful service with
a memorable experience. The 40
long service associates are truly
proof of our culture,” he said.
The employees were awarded
with a certificate, a pride pin and
a cash prize while the evening
continued with drinks, éclairs and
live music entertainment.
Linda Ramkalawan and
Pascal Renaud celebrate a collective experience of 60 years
of service.
Employees who have served over five years at the hotel.
Tuesday 26 August, 2014
p9
Tuesday 26 August, 2014
p10
Seychelles-India Day 2014
Indian royal heritage
handicrafts exhibited
in Seychelles
The 2nd edition of Seychelles India Day (SID) 2014 starts in October and will span over
three days. The activities will comprise of Indian food, music, dance and workshops (vocal, dance, and culinary workshops) and will be conducted by Indian celebrities.
By N. Dennis
W
hat better than Bollywood in its entire
splendor to light up
India’s off-shore celebrations?
But to ensure a local flavour to
the festivities, local artists will
be performing alongside Bollywood stalwarts and get an
opportunity to showcase their
talents.
Apart from entertainment,
Indian handicrafts from various parts of incredible India
“The Indian handicraft exhibition is organised for the
first time and our organising
committee felt that one of the
best ways to promote the bilateral relations between our two
countries is by way of promoting the arts andcrafts of India,”
Mr. Sharma said.
“The crafts of India are diverse with a rich history from
each state of India. The crafts
reflect the influence of different
empires. Throughout centu-
Rajasthani handicrafts highlights the local artisans work
India,” explained the media executive of SID.
Asked about the handicrafts,
Mr. Sharma said that, “we have
focused on the north-west of
India mainly the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Rajasthan
is known for its royal heritage,
which is also prominent and
well-established in the craft
industry. Craft remains a tradition in Rajasthan that has been
preserved over centuries by the
stronghold of the Royal Rajput
family. The other renowned
state is Gujarat that is popular
for its textile production methods. Bordering Rajasthan, the
two states share similarities in
culture and identity.”
Mr. Sharma also said that
the different items on display
will include Indian traditional
mirrors, cabinets, tables, table
runners and cloth, bed covers, cushions, bags, clutches,
jewelry, carpets, rugs, wine
racks, decorated jewelry boxes,
wall panels, Madhuani paintings (ed’s note: the paintings
are popular in most Indian
homes), Indian clothes, stoles,
bindis and much more.
“We have tried to include almost 80% of the Indian handicraft products that India is famous for. The products will be
affordable to the general public. The main attraction of this
activity is to showcase Indian
Cabinets made of teak and rose wood
handicrafts to our Seychellois
community. Accordingly one
will be able to make suitable
selection as per ones taste and
if satisfied, one can buy these
products,” added Mr. Sharma.
“We are trying our best to make
these items reach as many Seychellois homes as possible and
we are not looking to make a
profit, we only want to cover our
costs, as in all our activities surrounding the Seychelles India
day Celebrations. We are focusing on strengthening our relations with the Seychellois society
and show the strengths of Indian
society too. As you know India is
a vast and even mammoth country as far as cultures, traditions
and handicrafts are concerned,”
concluded Mr. Sharma.
Madhuwani paintings
Decorative mirrors
Tables showcases the royalty of Rajputs
will also be showcased.
TODAY in Seychelles caught
up with the Seychelles India
Day’s media executive, D.V
Sharma who explained the rationale behind of the handicrafts exhibition.
ries, crafts have been embedded as part of the culture and
traditions within rural communities. They are a constant
source of inspiration for contemporary designers in global
exhibitions when representing
A beautiful Gujarati clutch bag
Trays used in royal familiies
Cushions made of mirror embroidery
Embroidered rugs
Jali handicrafts
Canvas printed travel bags
p11
Tuesday 26 August, 2014
PRASLIN
La Fête de Praslin... history in the making!
The second most populated island in Seychelles gets ready for its first ever culinary and arts fiesta starting 5 September.
By A.De Giorgio
A
press conference on the
first ever culinary and arts
fiesta on Praslin was held
last Friday at the Domaine de La
Reserve on Praslin.
Minister for Tourism and Culture, Alain St.Ange met with the
Praslin Fiesta Committee, government officials, partners and hoteliers to take stock of the progress
for the preparations for Praslin’s
first culinary and arts feast.
The newly elected chairman of
the Seychelles Hospitality and
Tourism Association (SHTA)
Freddy Karkaria was also present for the meeting along with
the principal secretary for culture Benjamine Rose, principal of
the Seychelles Tourism Academy
(STA) Flavien Joubert and the
chief executive officer of the National Arts Council, Jimmy Savy.
“Mahé has several activities
throughout the year and even La
Digue has its own annual event
however the second most populated island in Seychelles is not really
celebrated for its distinctiveness
which is its exceptional cuisine
and its breathtaking art therefore
the time has come to showcase
Praslin for its true beauty,” said
Minister St.Ange.
Minister St Ange surrounded by Natasha Esther, MNA for Baie St Anne and Marc Volcère, MNA for Grand Anse, Praslin.
The culinary and arts feast is
set to take place throughout a
weekend programme commencing with the opening ceremony
on 5 September in Grand Anse,
Praslin. The opening ceremony
will feature live bands, and entertainment for all ages as well as
art exhibitions, culinary competitions, big game fishing, to name
but a few.
In addition, the general public
will have the opportunity to taste
the dried kernel of the Seychelles’
unique Coco de Mer. Representatives from the STA even prepared
a wide range of products such as
the parfait, bavarois, flan, bread,
mousse and ice-cream for tasting.
Furthermore, prominent local
businessman Joe Albert who is
also a member of the Praslin Fiesta Committee announced that
Cat Coco Ferries will be offering a
discounted rate during the threeday fiesta.
Minister St.Ange mentioned that
he will also look into the possibility of having the price of domestic
flights possibly reduced. Meanwhile the official programme and
brochure for the culinary and arts
Feast will be launched later this
week.
p12
Tuesday 26 August, 2014
Lifeline
John Lennon’s Killer Mark
David Chapman Denied
Parole For Eighth Time
Celebrity Profile:
Richard Attenborough (1923–2014)
Richard Attenborough was an award-winning actor and director known for helming acclaimed works like Gandhi and Cry Freedom.
Source: biography.com
Synopsis
John Lennon’s killer has been denied bail yet again.
Mark David Chapman, the man
who gunned down the former Beatle
in December 1980 outside the musician’s New York apartment, has been
denied parole for the eighth time.
Chapman was sentenced to 20 years
to life in 1981 after pleading guilty
to second-degree murder. On Friday, Aug. 22, a three-person Parole
Board panel denied the inmates request for release. The panel decision
came from a concern that Chapman
would commit more crimes and that
his release would be “incompatible
with the welfare of society,” according to the decision.
Chapman was last denied parole
in 2012 even though the panel acknowledged his good conduct in
prison. The board found that at the
time his release would “trivialize the
tragic loss of life which [he] caused.”
Now 59, Chapman won’t be eligible
for parole for another two years.
Judge Rules That Shakira’s
Hit Song ‘Loca’ Broke
Copyright Laws
Born on August 29, 1923, in
Cambridge, England, Richard Attenborough went on to pursue an
acting career, known for British
military dramas and the American
POW film The Great Escape. He
won several awards in the 1960s
and made his film directorial debut
with the satirical Oh! What a Lovely War. He eventually went on to
direct the masterpiece Gandhi, for
which he won Academy Awards for
best director and picture. In recent
years, Attenborough continued
his acting work and directed other
films, including Cry Freedom,
Chaplin and Shadowlands. He died
on August 24, 2014 at the age of 90.
Early Life and Career
Richard Samuel Attenborough
was born on August 29, 1923, in
Cambridge, England. His mother
was a writer who was involved in
socially progressive work, and his
father was a college principal. In
addition to having three sons, one
of whom would become noted
naturalist David Attenborough,
Richard’s parents adopted two German girls of Jewish descent during
World War II.
Richard Attenborough developed
a passion for acting and performance as a youth, with his father
encouraging him to pursue theatri-
cal work if he could dedicate himself
to the craft. He attended the Royal
Academy of Dramatic Arts, earning
the Leverhulme Scholarship. It was
at the Royal Academy that he met
his future wife, Sheila Sim.
Attenborough made his professional stage debut in the early 1940s,
in a production of Ah Wilderness!.
He then had his big-screen debut in
1943, playing a young sailor in the
military drama In Which We Serve.
Acting Acclaim and Directorial
Debut
Attenborough served in the Royal
Air Force before returning to film,
particularly gaining notice for his
role in 1947’s Brighton Rock. Many
roles followed, including those in
The Guinea Pig (1948), Morning
Departure (1950) and Hell Is Sold
Out (1951). He especially became
known for his work in various military dramas.
During the 1960s, Attenborough
earned attention in the United
States as part of the ensemble cast
of the POW film The Great Escape
(1963). Soon after, he won a British Film Academy Award for his
performance in Séance on a Wet
Afternoon (1964). He won Golden
Globe Awards for supporting actor
roles during this period as well, for
the films The Sand Pebbles (1966)
and Doctor Dolittle (1967).
In 1969, Attenborough made his
big-screen directorial debut with
TODAY in History
A federal judge in New York has
found that the Spanish-language
version of Shakira’s hit song ‘Loca’
breaks copyright laws.
The song, which has sold millions
of copies since its 2010 release, was
found to indirectly infringe on a
song by Dominican singer Roman
Arias Vazquez, the BBC reports.
Judge Alvin Hellerstein ruled
Tuesday that ‘Loca’ was based on a
song by Dominican rapper El Cata,
which in turn resembled Vazquez’s
1990s song ‘Loca con su Tiguere.’
El Cata, whose real name is Eduard Edwin Bello Pou, denies the resemblance, the BBC says. Damages
for the plaintiff, Mayimba Music,
haven’t yet been determined. The
English version of ‘Loca’ was “not offered into evidence” at the trial.
Suge Knight Shot At
Chris Brown’s Pre-VMA
Party, TMZ Reports
TMZ reports that Suge Knight
was shot multiple times at a preVMA party hosted by Chris Brown
at 1Oak early morning Sunday,
August 24. Family sources say that
Knight is currently in the ICU, but
his wounds are not fatal.
There are varying accounts of
how many times the former Death
Row Records CEO was shot.
Sources at 1Oak told TMZ they
heard four shots around 1:30 am,
though the post has since been
updated to say Knight was hit six
times.
The site adds that Knight was
able to walk out of the party and
be escorted to an ambulance.
August 26 is the 238th day of the year
Home Alone star
Macaulay Culkin born
(1980)
Grease movie
soundtrack earns its
second #1 hit (1978)
which focuses on the romance between writers C.S. Lewis and Joy
Gresham.
Personal
Work
the musical Oh! What a Lovely War,
which critiqued the loss of life and
military maneuvering of World War
I. The film starred several prominent British thespians, including
Maggie Smith, Vanessa Redgrave
and Laurence Olivier, and earned
a Golden Globe in the foreign film
category.
Making some onscreen film appearances in the early 1970s, Attenborough then directed a biopic
on Winston Churchill, Young Winston (1972), and followed that up
by helming the 1977 World War II
drama A Bridge Too Far.
‘Gandhi’
In 1982 came the masterpiece
The 1960s was the final decade
in which the musical hits of Broadway were routinely and successfully
adapted by Hollywood into big-budget screen versions. West Side Story
(1961), My Fair Lady (1964), The
Sound Of Music (1965), Funny Girl
(1968)—all of these movie musicals
were among the biggest critical and
commercial hits of their era. But
while the early part of the subsequent
decade brought successful adaptations of Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
and Cabaret (1972), Hollywood had
all but given up Broadway by the
middle of the 1970s. And then, in
1978, Paramount Pictures placed
a big bet on a small musical called
Grease and came up with not just an
enormous hit movie, but a true popcultural phenomenon that included
one of the most successful original
motion picture soundtrack albums
in music history. On August 29, 1978,
that album earned its second charttopping hit when its third single—
Frankie Valli’s “Grease”—reached the
#1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
The two Grease numbers that
preceded Frankie Valli’s title tune as
singles were the #1 hit “You’re the
One That I Want,” a duet by the film’s
co-stars John Travolta and Olivia
Newton-John, and the #3 hit “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” by NewtonJohn alone.
and
Recent
Attenborough returned to acting in his later years, playing Kriss
Kringle in the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street, and continued
to perform onscreen in a number
of projects, including Hamlet
(1996), Elizabeth (1998) and the
first two Jurassic Park films (1995
and 1997). Also around this time,
he directed the films In Love and
War (1996) and Grey Owl (1999).
Attenborough and his family suffered a great personal loss in 2004,
when his daughter, Jane, and
granddaughter, Lucy, were killed
in the Indian Ocean tsunami. He
spoke openly about his grief.
Richard Attenborough directed
the Shirley Maclaine film Closing the Ring (2007), and penned
with friend Diana Hawkins the
2008 autobiography Entirely Up
to You, Darling, a phrase used by
his mother.
Attenborough survived a stroke
in 2008 from which he never fully
recovered. He died on August 24,
2014 at the age of 90. He is survived by his wife of nearly 70 years,
Sheila Sim, and their children Michael and Charlotte.
Life & style
Is gluten bad for your health?
It has been linked to irritable bowel syndrome and those on gluten-free diets say they have lost
weight. But is it really the cause of digestive problems – and aren’t wholegrains good for us?
Source: theguardian.com
I
t’s hard to distil the gluten-free
debate so we could just go with
Miley Cyrus’s take on it. Her
gluten-free diet helped her lose
weight but, she tweeted: “It’s not
about weight it’s about health. Gluten is crapppp anyway!” It’s a widespread view, with 30% of people
wanting to cut back on gluten – a
protein found in wheats and other
grains.
On this day in 1980, Macaulay
Culkin, the star of the Home Alone
movies and the most successful
child actor of his generation, is born
in New York City.
Culkin, the third of seven children born to Patricia Brentrup
and former actor Christopher “Kit”
Culkin, began appearing in theater productions by the age of four.
He made his feature film debut in
1988’s Rocket Gibraltar (1988),
starring Burt Lancaster. In 1989,
Culkin appeared in the comedy
Uncle Buck (1989), which was written and directed by John Hughes
and featured John Candy in the
title role.
Culkin would skyrocket to fame
as Kevin McCallister in the 1990
blockbuster Home Alone, about
a little boy who must protect his
suburban Chicago house from
bumbling thieves after his family accidentally leaves him alone
when they go on vacation. The film,
directed by Chris Columbus and
written by Hughes, who reportedly recommended Culkin for the
lead, spawned a 1992 sequel, Home
Alone 2: Lost in New York, which
also starred Culkin. (A third film,
Home Alone 3, was released in
1997, along with a 2002 TV movie,
Home Alone 4, but Culkin wasn’t
involved with either project.)
that has perhaps defined Attenborough’s career: He directed Gandhi,
an epic film that chronicled the life
of the pacifist leader Mahatma Gandhi, with Ben Kingsley in the lead
role. The work, known for stunning
scenes of visual beauty, earned eight
Academy Awards, including for best
director and best picture.
Attenborough went on to direct a
film version of the musical The Chorus Line (1985) and helm the acclaimed work Cry Freedom (1987),
which looks at the murder of SouthAfrican anti-apartheid activist Steve
Biko and journalist Don Woods’s
quest to expose the killing. He continued to pursue directing work
with the biopics Chaplin (1992) and
Shadowlands (1993), the latter of
Loss
bloatedness and diarrhoea but also
fatigue, “foggy brain” and pain and
numbness in the arms and legs. This
syndrome should show an improvement in symptoms when following a
gluten-free diet.
So if going wheat-free helps you
lose weight and makes you healthier,
shouldn’t we all head for the glutenfree shelves?
The solution
About 1% of the population has
coeliac disease, a serious genetically linked autoimmune disease in
which the small bowel is inflamed
and made leaky by gluten, causing
diarrhoea, weight loss, anaemia,
osteoporosis and a small increased
risk of bowel cancer. It is underdiagnosed (you need blood tests that
detect antibodies and a biopsy of
the small bowel), with only 20% of
affected people being treated. But
since 2012 gastroenterologists have
also identified a syndrome of noncoeliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS),
with symptoms similar to irritable
bowel syndrome (IBS), including
The answer is emphatically no. If
you have bowel symptoms that you
think are gluten-related, you should
get checked for coeliac disease. But
wholegrains have B vitamins, iron
and fibre and in a balanced diet may
reduce the risk of diabetes and heart
disease. The research on NCGS is
inconclusive and the most recent
studies show that carbohydrates
called Fodmaps, rather than gluten,
may be the cause of symptoms. Fodmaps are fermentable oligo-, di- and
mono-saccharides, and polyols –
and one of them, fructan, is increasingly implicated in irritating the gut,
Gluten – good or bad?
causing flatulence, diarrhoea and
bloatedness. Wheat has Fodmaps
but so do other foods such as garlic,
artichokes, yoghurt and fruit. While
Fodmaps are fine for most people,
those with IBS don’t absorb them so
well – one study shows a low-Fodmap diet reduces symptoms in 70%
of people.
Recent well designed research (a
double-blind randomised controlled
trial) from Jessica Biesiekierski’s
research team in Belgium took 37
people with NCGS – defined as IBS
that gets better on a gluten-free diet
– and found that symptoms only improved on a low Fodmap diet. The
paper, published in Gastroenterology, was accompanied by an editorial
suggesting that NCGS may not be a
“thing” at all and that Fodmaps, not
gluten, may cause symptoms. Biesiekierski warns that you should see
a doctor before any exclusion diet
and that reducing Fodmaps should
be restricted to four to six weeks,
and then gradually reintroduced –
as they are no more “crapppp” than
gluten.
p13
Tuesday 26 August, 2014
Mr and Miss Regatta 2014
Celebrating beauty and service
Round Table Seychelles (RTS) has teamed up with Terry Carolla of Telly’s Modeling Agency to organize this year’s Mr and Miss Regatta competition. The event will for the first time be featured
together in one main event according to a joint communiqué issued by The RTS and Telly’s Modeling Agency. The pageant’s theme will focus on the theme of water which will be encompassed
by this year’s motto of “Healthy living for a cancer free world,” in which Round Table Seychelles aims to raise awareness through its funding of the ministry of Health’s Cancer Programme and
the renovation of the delivery room in the maternity ward.
BY: S.S
S
cheduled for Tuesday 23
September at the International Conference Centre
Seychelles (ICCS), the show will
be taking place one week prior
the Regatta weekend as custom
dictates, in anticipation to the
largest fund raising event to be
organised on a national level.
Initiated in 2005, the Miss
Regatta Beauty Pageant was
held annually until 2010, when
the organizers “paused to better
evaluate the event,” revealed the
communiqué, which added that
there was high public interest
in organizing another edition of
the ever popular Miss Regatta
Nine of the contestants who will be taking part in this year’s beauty pageant.
Juniors and seniors will be flexing their muscles for the audience.
Senior budybuilders lining up during this year’s Seychelles bodybuilding championship.
Beauty Pageant. The event will
be held this year alongside the
Mr Regatta competition which
will now accord the audience the
pleasure of enjoying both of the
much acclaimed events on the
same evening.
The beauty pageant is considered to be a celebration of youth
and dynamism that portrays
the vitality of the Regatta fundraising activity. The organisers
believe that the Miss Regatta
beauty pageant empowers the
contestants to realize their full
potential through their involvement in the community work
of RTS, thus becoming ambassadors of the organization in
service to the community. The
ten contestants who will be participating in this year’s pageant
are expected to share the same
ideals and principles of the RTS
which include service to the
community and the establishment of peace and goodwill on a
global scale.
Under the theme of, “water,”
the organisers aim to illustrate
the purity and the importance
of healthy living which will run
parallel with this year’s topic of,
“healthy living for a cancer free
world,” that will see the Cancer
programme of the ministry of
Health and the delivery room in
the maternity ward benefitting
from the proceeds that will come
from this year’s lottery.
The organizers are still calling for sponsors who would be
willing to lend their support and
hope to see a high public turnout
in anticipation of this major annual event.
The beauty queens, in anticipation of the much awaited return of
Miss Regatta.
Tuesday 26 August, 2014
Peugeot 406 TDI station wagon2001. Diesel engine, Very good
condition. Contact tel: 2510029
Peugeot 206 Cabriolet Convertible. Engine in very good condition, body completely redone. Price negotiable.
Tel : 2511973
Toyota Hilux vigo space cab, year
2006. Tel: 2781223.
Local made photo frames perfect
gifts for your loved ones and friends
on any occasion. For more information please call 2577723.
Jetski – SEADOO GTX 1500 supercharged was Rs215,000 now Rs
150,000 Tel: 2573916
Plants for sale
Indoors and outdoors.
Tel: 2514035 or 2583626
Rockit is seeking a dynamic individual to head up our IT division. Must
have a minimum of 7 years experience in software, web and app development; be well versed in various
programs including Adobe Creative
Suite, CMS, Java Eclipse and XML
Job Plus (Seychelles) invites potential & qualified candidates to
apply for the following vacancies:
Newly build two bedrooms house
fully furnished. Quiet location. Two
minutes drive to the main road.
Call 2716035 anytime.
2 Offices Available For Rent
Each 6.7metres x 5.6 metres
Situated at Providence Industrial Estate. Contact 4 676 000 For Viewing
3 bedroom house, ensuite bathroom,
furnished with outside area and garage
at Anse a la mouche. 3 minutes walk to
the beach. Tel: 2781223 / 4375684
Land for sale at Grand Anse Praslin
1200sqm Tel: 2573916
MAHE
Secretary
PRASLIN
Warehouse/ Storekeeper Manager
Interested candidates are requested
to report to Job Plus (Seychelles) Office at Room 12, Ocean Gate House
between 8.00am to 12.00 noon Monday to Friday where you will be provided with detailed information and
make your applications.
Notice of Appointment of a Liquidator under Section 204 of the
BVI Business Companies Act.
Blowers & Sons Ltd.
(In Voluntary Liquidation)
Company No. 1493662
NOTICE is hereby given pursuant to
Section 204, subsection (b) of the BVI
Business Companies Act, 2004 that
the Company is in voluntary liquidation. The voluntary liquidation commenced on 18th August 2014. The
Liquidator is Daniel Skordis of Oak
Cottage, 34 Cuckoo’s Knob, Wooton Rivers, Marlborough SN8 4NR.
Dated this 18th August 2014
Daniel Skordis
Voluntary Liquidator
21 Jan – 19 Feb
Work and business are
twice as hard as they ought
to be today -- so make sure
that you've got someone else
covering for you or at least
advising you. Things should
start to add up in a few days
at the most.
23 July – 22 Aug
Your financial dealings
are somewhat weird today -- so see if you can get
your people to help you
figure them out. Many
brains should be able to
piece it all together, even
if you feel hapless.
20 Feb – 20 March
Your primary relationship
-- however you define it -is making your life much
better and more interesting today. It's a good time
to invest some extra energy
in nurturing it and understanding it better.
23 Aug – 23 Sept
A new achievement fills
you with glee -- and it may
actually cause someone
new to take notice as well.
Things should start to get
really interesting late in
the day when all the elements fall into place.
21 March – 20 April
Your routines are keeping
you sane today -- so make
sure you're sticking to the
schedule as much as you
can. Things are sure to look
even better in the near future if you can keep it up.
24 Sept – 23 Oct
You can spot the tiniest
details out of place today
-- and while that would be
a curse to come people, to
you it just adds more joy to
an already pretty cool day.
Make everything perfect!
21 April – 21 May
You are having a great
time today -- even if
events are somewhat beyond your control. Your
great energy helps you see
the brighter side of almost
anything. Try to open up
someone else's eyes.
24 Oct – 22 Nov
A big secret spills today
-- and while it may have
nothing to do with you at
first, eventually it seeps
into your awareness in a
big way. You may be able
to take advantage of this!
22 May – 21 June
You are having a really hard
time reaching someone
-- so make sure that you're
giving it your all, especially
if they're close. You are just
about to reach a breakthrough, but it only comes
if you work at it.
23 Nov – 21 Dec
It's time for you to deal
with that authority figure
who has been driving you
nuts -- even if it causes
friction. You may not
know exactly what to do,
but you can for sure make
a difference.
22 June – 22 July
Open up to someone new
today -- your communication skills are highlighted,
and you may find yourself
saying something old in a
new way. That's good for
everyone, and it helps you
make new contacts.
22 Dec – 20 Jan
Now is the perfect time
for you to make your big
plans. Someone close to
you is sure to make life
really interesting, and that
could mean that you've got
extra resources to make
use of.
Down
1. Anagram of "Crisp"
2. Fragrance
3. Sudden intakes of air
4. Sugary
5. Zulu warriors
6. An Italian greeting
7. Result
8. Saucy
9. One who denies the existence
of God
10. Characterized by opposite
extremes
11. Upon
12. Round red root vegetable
13. Nature of being
21. Harvest
25. Begrudge
27. Frolicked
28. Speak lovingly
30. Engage for work
31. Biblical garden
32. Repose
33. Money
34. Jacob's brother
35. Seats oneself
36. Relating to tailoring
37. 61 in Roman numerals
41. Hotel
44. Previously
46. Unit of electrical resistance
50. Oleoresin
51. Stream
53. Anagram of "Smite"
54. Exploded stars
55. Not active
56. Small ponds
57. Shut forcefully
58. Laughter
59. Portent
61. Timid
62. Finishes
Yesterday’s solution
Across
1. Droops
5. Freezes
9. Sun-dried brick
14. A pouch in many birds
15. Tropical Asian starling
16. Prongs
17. Thorny flower
18. Overtake
19. Despises
20. Masterful
22. Give expression to emotion
23. Glue
24. A lofty bird's nest
26. Circle fragment
29. A book of the Old Testament
33. A covered sewage cistern
38. Pace
39. Largest continent
40. Bravery
42. Angers
43. Persian governor
45. Not guilty
47. Cause to move hurriedly
48. Utmost degree
49. Command
52. A half note in music
57. Beach
60. A type of sedimentary rock
63. Vampire
64. Flat or level
65. Always
66. In the front
67. A fitting reward (archaic)
68. Female horse
69. Virile
70. Annoys
71. Collections
Published by TODAY Publishers (Seychelles)
Limited, P.O. Box 999, Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles
Printed by “The Print House (Pty) Ltd.”, Providence
Industrial Estate,
Mahé, Seychelles.
Tel: +248 4290 999/950/951
Fax: +248 4325999
info@today.sc
1-In 1797 3 pence could buy you a good (second hand) what?
2-Between 1659 and 1681 illegal celebrate what in Massachusetts?
3-What Saint said - Lord grant me Chastity - but not ye t?
Grand Anse, Praslin
Tel: +248 4237 441
Fax: +248 4237 442
4-The average Britain in their life consumes 18 lb of what?
5-Roller coasters originated in what country?
Managing Editor – Nichole Tirant-Ghérardi
info@today.sc
6-What unusual item can you buy - vending machine Paris Metro?
Business Development Manager - Veronica Maria
veronica.maria@today.sc
7-We've heard phrase I don’t give a toss - but Tos Greek for what?
Newsroom Manager – Deepa Bhookhun
deepa.bhookhun@today.sc
8-A Dorset shop sells bookends made from 140 mill year old what?
9-Every ship in the Royal Navy have customised what?
10-What meat outsells mutton and lamb combined in Sweden?
Quick Quiz Answers: 1. Wife 2. Christmas 3. St Augustine 4. Dirt bad washed food 5. Russia - ice on sleds 6. Levi 501s in 10 sizes 7. Bear 8. Fossil Dinosaur Shit 9. Zippo Lighters 10.
Horse meat
KIA Sportage. colour black,
10,000Km, only 1 year, full option,
sunroof, reverse camera.
Rs
649,000 when new, selling Rs
Rs550,000 o.n.o. Serious potential
buyers only. Tel 2573916
Spy. Candidate needs to submit references and portfolio of previous development work to sales@rockit.sc.
Deadline: 27 August
p14
How To Play
The objective is to fill the blank squares with the correct numbers
•Every row of 9 must include all digits 1 to 9 in any order
•Every column of 9 must include all digits 1 to 9 in any order
•Every 3 x 3 sub-grid must include all digits 1 to 9 in any order
Fill the other empty cells with numbers between 1 and 9
A number should appear only once on each row, column and 3 x 3 region
Journalists
Nicholas Rainer (nicholas.rainer@today.sc), Jack
Rigby (jack.rigby@today.sc), Shane Stravens (shane.
stravens@today.sc), Nexi Dennis (n.dennis@today.
sc), Anael Bodwell (anael.bodwell@today.sc), Abison
de Giorgio (Abison.degiorgio@today.sc)
ISSN: 1659-7265
Tuesday 26 August, 2014
p15