Several state boards are have been named by the administration but it appears that the Parliamentary Opposition, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), will not be participating.

This past week, at least four boards were introduced to Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, but on none of them was there a representative of the opposition.  Questioned about it, Patterson said that the PPP had been written to, asking the party to submit names, but there were no responses.

The Minister insisted that Government remains committed to engaging the Opposition especially when it comes to conducting business of the country and when it has to do with wide participation from stakeholders.  The Boards introduced this week under that Ministry were the Guyana Power and Light Inc. (GPL), Guyana Energy Agency (GEA), Demerara Harbour Bridge and the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. In recent weeks, Boards of Directors were also installed for the Sea Defence Board and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority. (KAIETEUR NEWS/photo: kaieteurnewsonline.com)…[+]

SYRIA – Three explosions killed 45 people Sunday in a suburb near the Syrian capital of Damascus, state media reported.

“Terrorists” detonated a car bomb at a bus terminal, followed shortly by two suicide bombings that targeted onlookers and medics at the scene of the initial attack, an Interior Ministry official told SANA, the Syria state news agency.

The blasts injured 40 others in Sayeda Zeynab, according to the news agency. The suburb is named after an important Shiite mosque. “The aim of this cowardly and desperate terrorist attack is to raise the morale of the defeated terrorist groups following the great victories that our brave army has accomplished in several areas,” Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi told SANA.

The attack happened while representatives from President Bashar al-Assad’s regime and the main Syrian opposition are in Geneva, Switzerland, for talks aimed at ending the country’s civil war. (CNN/photo: middleeasteye.net)…[+]

ST CATHERINE, Jamaica – The police have reported that 99 people were taken into custody and a number of items seized during an operation on Port Henderson Road, known as ‘Back Road’, in Portmore, St Catherine saturday.

The police say the eight-hour long operation began about 2:00 am, and involved police personnel from the Area Five Headquarters, the Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (CTOC), the St Catherine North Division, the St Catherine South Division, and the Mobile Reserve.

Fifty-nine females and 40 males were taken into police custody for processing. Their identities are being withheld at this time. Among the items seized were two firearms, ganja weighing approximately 2.5 pounds and three offensive weapons, while two business establishments were ordered closed due to violations of the Public Health Act.(Jamaica Observer/photo: jamaicaobserver.com)…[+]