GREAT BRITAIN   –  A weekend of celebrations begins for Queen Elizabeth II as she officially marks her 90th birthday. Before the festivities, a new photograph of the Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh — who turns 95 today — was released to commemorate their joint birthday.

The Queen and Prince Phillip will attend a thanksgiving service at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, where they will be joined by other members of the royal family and politicians past and present. Readers at the service include renowned broadcaster and naturalist David Attenborough and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

.(CNN.COM/ photo: CNN.COM)…[+]

The Ministry of Public Infrastructure (MPI) yesterday insisted that despite media reports, there has been no increase on the tolls for the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB).

In the June 8, 2016 edition of the Guyana Chronicle, under the headline “Cabinet clears new tolls for DHB”, it was indicated that a decision was taken by Cabinet to increase tolls from $20 to $40 for motorcyclists and from $100 for $200 for motorcars. The tolls for buses and SUVs remain unchanged, the article said. “However, MPI would like to clarify that while the proposal to increase the tolls is indeed up for Cabinet consideration, approval has not been granted. Rather, the memorandum, submitted by Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson, was deferred,” the ministry assured Thursday in a statement. .(Kaieteurnews.com/photo: Kaieteurnews.com)…[+]

The recently released forensic audit into the $7.9B E-Governance project has found the venture was being run without the necessary systems of internal control.

Auditors attached to Ram and McRae reported that the project which was being managed by former first son, Alexei Ramotar has no documented Standard Operating Procedures. Also, there were no formal accounting policies and procedures in place. This caused major problems in auditors being able to verify items purchased and other financial transactions. Auditors listed at least four weaknesses in internal controls. Major problems were found with regards to inventories. The listing given to auditors by Ramotar did not include cost, which is the most significant element of an inventory listing.(Kaieteurnews.com/photo: Kaieteurnews.com)…[+]

USA –   Several types of Nature Made vitamins are being recalled due to possible salmonella or Staphylococcus aureus contamination, according to a Tuesday announcement from Pharmavite LLC.

Consumers can find the lot numbers on the back panel next to the expiration date. “The recall was initiated after it was discovered that salmonella and/or Staphylococcus aureus testing were not completed properly on these specific batch lots,” a Pharmavite press release said. Symptoms of salmonella illness, including diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps, may begin 12 to 72 hours after a person is exposed to the bacteria..(CNN.COM/photo: CNN.COM)…[+]

GREAT BRITAIN   –  Ah teenagers. We accuse them of trying too hard, acting too cool, caring too little. But not Ellis Coupland and Kian Henderson — two 16-year-olds from Sunderland, North East England, who knew exactly what to do when they saw a man standing on a bridge, thinking about jumping. People walked by, oblivious or indifferent.

But not the school mates. Now they’re being hailed as local heroes for talking a suicidal man down from possible death.  The boys were coming home from the movies when Kian spotted the man.  It’s not a situation too many people find themselves in. And fewer still would know how to respond. But after the boys saw someone walk past the man with barely a glance, they realized they had to do something.  So they began to talk to him..(CNN.COM/photo: CNN.COM)…[+]

Parliament Building’s electrical installation is in a dangerous state. It represents a fire hazard to the building and its occupants.

This was according to an audit which was conducted into the Electrical Installation and Main Infrastructure of the building. The report was prepared by Electrical Consultant, Mr. Andrew Ramcharran. The consultant used words such as “disgusting”, “disgracefulness” and “repulsive” to describe the present situation of these mechanisms at the building which he said, “has been in neglect for many years”. Ramcharran was harsh on the “untrained, inexperienced electricians”, while noting that the neglect was also due to the lack of oversight by Parliament Administration and a monitoring and evaluation programme.(Kaieteurnews.com/photo: Kaieteurnews.com)…[+]

USA   –  Two South Carolina Air National Guard fighter jets involved in training ahead of an upcoming deployment collided Tuesday night over rural Georgia, forcing both pilots to eject safely, according to a unit commander.

The F-16C jets crashed in a heavily wooded area of Jefferson County, Georgia, according to Col. Nicholas Gentile Jr., commander of the 169th Fighter Wing at McEntire Joint National Guard Base near Columbia, South Carolina. The pilots ejected and were taken to a Georgia hospital for evaluation before returning to South Carolina, Gentile said.(CNN.COM/photo: CNN.COM)…[+]

It’s taken a while, but India is finally welcoming home some long-lost national treasures. The U.S. has handed back more than 200 ancient artifacts, valued at more than $100 million, that were stolen from religious sites in India and smuggled out of the country.

The artifacts included religious statues, bronzes and terracotta pieces, some of them dating back more than 2,000 years. They were returned to the Indian government Monday at a Washington, D.C. ceremony attended by U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “On behalf of President Obama, it is my great privilege to return these marvelous objects to the people of India,” Lynch said.

Most of the pieces were seized during Operation Hidden Idol, an investigation that began in 2007 after Homeland Security special agents received a tip about a shipment of seven crates destined for the United States and labeled as “marble garden table sets.”(CNN.COM/photo: cnn.com)…[+]

It is no secret that the public health sector in Guyana is in dire need of adequate resources to efficiently address the medical needs of the nation. The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) is no stranger to this deficiency.

In an effort to assist the GPHC to alleviate this, RAD-AID International made a timely donation yesterday of a portable ultrasound machine to the public hospital. RAD-AID is one of the largest radiology aid organisations in the world. Chairing the handing over ceremony was head of the Accident and Emergency Department of the GPHC, Dr. Zulfikar Bux. He told those in attendance, that he had made contact with the organisation to offer assistance in the hospital’s radiology services, specifically in the emergency department. Within months of making contact, the organisation sent representatives to do a site visit in November 2015 to ascertain how much help they can provide.(Kaieteurnews.com/Photo: Kaieteurnews.com)…[+]

Hillary Clinton was campaigning Monday in a last-ditch effort to stave off an embarrassing defeat in California, even as she reportedly locked up enough delegates to capture the Democratic presidential nomination. With polls showing the race in the Golden State as a neck-and-neck fight, Clinton desperately battled to the end for every vote and even appealed to rival Bernie Sanders to do the “right thing” and abandon his campaign.(nypost.com)…[+]