Lost in rain forest for 6 weeks, student survives until father finds him

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - A Brazilian student lost in the Amazon rain forest for six weeks was found by his father, only to die in his arms a short time later, rescue officials said on Tuesday.Jonathan dos Santos Alves, 18, had been lost in the forest since mid-May, when he became separated from two friends he was hunting with in an area 72 miles north of the city of Manaus.Fire and rescue department chief Antonio Dias dos Santos told Reuters he had been missing for 42 days.The official search was called off a month ago but his father, Edilson, continued looking with his brother and two other men. On Saturday, they found Jonathan lying next to a river, dehydrated, emaciated and covered in insect bites.‘Gritted his teeth and died’
“I held him in my arms and got the insects away from his mouth,” his father, a 40-year-old farmer, was quoted as saying by the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper. “When I tried to revive him, he gritted his teeth and died.”The son was found about 27 miles from where he went missing. Pictures from the scene showed rescuers using a helicopter to lift his body from a tree, where his father had placed it during the weekend to keep it from being eaten by animals.

PARIS - Brangelina’s twins aren’t here yet, but the big day is drawing closer.The seafront Lenval hospital in Nice in the south of France said Tuesday that Angelina Jolie had checked in at its Santa Maria maternity clinic to be kept under doctors’ surveillance and get some rest before she gives birth.“There’s no urgency. Read the full story

Just when you thought the New Kids on the Block reunion couldn’t get any sweeter, word comes that the guys are recording a song with another favorite boy band: New Edition.”Donnie Wahlberg had this idea for a few months, since New Kids had the idea of getting back together really,” says producer Nadir “RedOne” Khawat, who worked on the song. Read the full story

Addressing a large crowd at the New Amsterdam Technical Institute on Saturday evening during the launch of the Caribbean Festival of Arts (CARIFESTA) X in Berbice, President Bharrat Jagdeo expressed regret that the Berbice River Bridge will not be completed in time for the activities slated for Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne)   during the period August 22-31.
After witnessing the spectacular talent of the Berbicians, the President urged them to ensure that they take part in the grand event and informed that the bridge may be completed a month or two after CARIFESTA.
Saturday evening’s event saw Berbicians turning out in their numbers to witness the numerous cultural displays showcased by their fellow residents comprising mostly youths and children. The Region also took the opportunity to prove that it possesses a number of talented persons and is therefore ready for CARIFESTA X as the event seemed to be well organised and most of the displays were accompanied by upbeat music to ensure that onlookers were not easily bored.
On Saturday, workers were busy working on the edifice to speed up its construction.
The bridge, being built to link Regions Five and Six reflects one of the most outstanding projects in the country promised to Guyanese in 1992.
The 1.55 kilometre bridge is being constructed with financial commitment totalling approximately US$38M from several investors, including top commercial banks, major insurance companies and several corporate agencies.
When completed, the bridge will be operated by the Berbice Bridge Company Incorporated on a toll basis, using the formula intended to recover sufficient revenue to cover operating and maintenance costs, return investments and repayment of financing.
Meanwhile, construction of access roads on either sides of the bridge is ongoing to establish 3.1 kilometres of roadway on the eastern side of the bridge and 700 metres on the western bank of the Berbice River.
Guyanese are looking forward to the bridge’s completion with great anticipation as many opportunities are being visualized with the structure expected to enhance trade,   improve transportation access and boost tourism.

A dark, devious, and stylish thriller, “Strangers” comes across as an amalgamation of a cocky Hitchcock and a desi Brian da Palma without steamy scenes, deriving inspiration from Karan Johar’s “Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna”. Read the full story

Wladimir Klitschko (50-3, 44 KOs), from Kiev, Ukraine, continues his pursuit to the top of the heavyweight division. He scored a unanimous decision victory over Sultan Ibragimov last February to unify two of the world titles in the heavyweight ranks, and now returns to the friendly confines of Germany to face mandatory challenger Tony Thompson. Read the full story

Following the recent commissioning of the Dawa Pump Station in Region Two another major step was taken today to boost the region’s D & I capacity with the commissioning of the Westbury sluice.
During the commissioning ceremony, Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud said it is a significant step made by the government to improve the agriculture infrastructure and is committed to ensuring the improvement of the conditions of the agriculture sector in the region.
He said the commissioning of the sluice would improve drainage and irrigation in farming areas and also expand the capacity of the drainage system. The commissioning of the Dartmouth/Westbury sluice is to improve drainage in the farming area…increasingly expand the capacity of the drainage system and increase the interest of farmers to bring more land under cultivation, he added.
Minister Persaud in his remarks noted that the importance of the European Union support in making the country’s agriculture sector competitive and added that Guyana will continue to Read the full story

The National Grade Six Assessment results released today have shown that students throughout the country have improved in three key subjects areas; English, Mathematics and Science.
English passes have increased from 20 percent in 2007 to 32.9 percent in 2008. Mathematics passes increased from 29 percent to 35.4 percent and Science from 30 percent to 34.8 percent. However, Social Studies’ overall passes showed a decline from 36 percent in 2007 to 24.7 percent in 2008.
Minister of Education Shaik Baksh said that, “This shows a significant increase of which I am very pleased… with the results in English, Mathematics and Science.”
“It shows that the work that is being put into the education sector is bearing fruit especially for the Interactive Radio Instructions (IRI) for Mathematics for primary schools,” the Minister said.
However, Minister Baksh said that, “The decline in the Social Studies will be a matter of an internal inquiry of the Ministry as to what went wrong.”
The student gaining the top score for the country is Yogeeta Persaud of CV Nunes Primary on the Essequibo Coast with 558 out of the total 578. Read the full story

On Monday, June 23, last, Guyanese received the sad news that our first President, the late Raymond Arthur Chung, who served as President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic from March 17, 1970 to October 6, 1980, had died at his Bel Air Springs home. He held the office of President, albeit non-executive, longer than any of Guyana ’s Executive Presidents to date, including the now deceased Forbes Burnham, Cheddi Jagan and Desmond Hoyte.
He exceeded by one score, the Biblical life quota of three score and ten years and at the ripe age of 90, news of his death should not have been unexpected. Yet it was, because we had almost become accustomed to the recent reports of his illness and the subsequent news releases that he had recovered or was on the way to recovery.
This time, however, without fanfare and fuss he silently departed this earthly plane, much to the surprise of even his dear wife of 54 years, Doreen. She whispered to me that she had just slipped away from him for less than a minute when he passed. Life is unpredictable and we in Guyana have had regular reminders of what can occur in the proverbial twinkling of an eye. Read the full story

The Hon Winston Williams, Minister of Sport, Antigua and Barbuda has called on the Caribbean Community to organise a Conference of Sport Ministers to discuss the future of Regional Sport Development within the Community.
Minister Williams, who was speaking at the Presentation Ceremony of the Fourth Annual 10k Road Race held at the Antigua Recreation Ground on Sunday.
29 June 2008, said regional Ministers of Sport needed to come together to discuss Sport related and to make some critical policy decisions on, and direction of CARICOM Sport Development. He called on CARICOM Secretariat staff to spearhead the convening of such a meeting. Read the full story