THAILAND   –  More than 10 diving sites in Thailand’s national marine parks have closed due to widespread coral bleaching, amid the country’s continued efforts to seal off its famous tourist attractions to protect the environment.

At its worst in over six years, coral bleach has spread widely between 40% to 80% of the reefs along both the east coast (Gulf of Thailand) and the west coast (Andaman Sea), according to Nattapol Rattanaphan, Director of the Marine National Park Division (MNPD). Koh Ma Prao and Koh Chumpon are the worst-hit areas with up to 80% of their corals having turned white, Rattanaphan told CNN. Bleaching occurs when algae that live inside corals and give them their color are expelled either due to increased sea temperatures or extreme weather events. “Sea temperature has been unusually high, reaching 34 degrees Celsius at one point,” Rattanaphan said. “This happened around early April to early May this year and lasted for several weeks.” Coral reefs would start to bleach if water temperatures go above 30.5 degrees Celsius and continue for two to three weeks, Rattanaphan added.(CNN.COM/photo: cnn.com)…[+]

After being cornered by forensic auditors from Ram and McRae, the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU) headed by Valmiki Sigh attempted to justify why it has not billed a cable television operator for five years. The entity proffered the excuse that the law does not provide a method to calculate such fees.

Concerned with this state of affairs at the company, the forensic auditors recalled the genesis of this matter and made strict recommendations. The auditors highlighted that in December 2010, former President Bharrat Jagdeo granted Quark Inc. (Broadband)/ Movie Star permission to broadcast television signals on the 2.5 GHz band, which allows for cable TV operations and internet-related services. Quark Inc. is owned and managed by Brian Yong. The auditors said that they are not aware, nor were they provided with any evidence that the President had any such authority. Additionally, since 2010, the auditors said that Quark Inc. also known as Movie Star has been providing cable TV and wireless internet services.(Kaieteurnews.com/photo: Kaieteurnews.com)…[+]

The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government granted a host of concessions to a company that did no good for Guyana BaiShanLin.

The logging company was allowed to spread its tentacles reaching into most, if not all, of Guyana’s business sectors. While BaiShanLin was busy having its way, exploiting Guyana and the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) was busy doing nothing about it, other companies that possibly had genuine intentions for business in Guyana of mutual benefit might have been deterred by BaiShanLin’s grip on Guyana.  That possibility was highlighted by former Auditor General and anti-corruption advocate, Anand Goolsarran. He recently spoke to Kaieteur News about various aspects of unfair play that Guyana endured with BaiShanLin. This newspaper had presented the facts to prove that BaiShanLin’s profits go to China and stay there. Goolsarran recently zeroed in on that fact, as he referenced the “ridiculous” agreements that the PPP/C signed with BaiShanLin.(Kaieteurnews.com/photo: Kaieteurnews.com)…[+]

A 14-year-old steel pan player, who was slated to perform at the flag-raising ceremony last night, was killed in a freak accident on Tuesday in front of the North Ruimveldt Multilateral School.

The teen had just finished rehearsing for the “big day” at D’Urban Park and was heading back to the school with four other students in a truck to offload instruments when the tragedy occurred. Kivon Scipio of Lot 6 Railway Line, Kitty, was pronounced dead at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. According to reports, just as the truck was about to reverse into the school compound, the 14-year-old teenager jumped off the back of the vehicle but fell under it. The driver of the vehicle was reportedly unaware that the young man had jumped off the vehicle and when the other students hit on the side of the truck for him to stop; he (driver) thought that it was an indication for him to reserve.(Kaieteurnews.com/photo: kaieteurnews.com)…[+]

Information regarding any aspect of the concessions granted to foreign and/or local companies under the past regime is not state secret, said Finance Minister, Winston Jordan.

Jordan said that the media and any member of the public for that matter have a right to know how the nation has benefitted in this regard. He reiterated that data on such subjects should not be treated as a “state secret.”The Finance Minister said, “I have said it before and I will say it again, the public and the media have a right to know what is going on in the country.“It is reasonable for taxpayers to want to know what the government of the day is doing in various sectors. It is even more reasonable for them to question how members within various sectors are operating and operated during a certain period.”(Kaieteurnews.com/photo: kaieteurnews.com)…[+]

USA   –   Actress Amber Heard has filed for divorce from actor Johnny Depp, according to documents obtained by CNN.

Heard, 30, and Depp, 52, have been married since February 2015. She filed for divorce in Los Angeles Superior Court on Sunday citing irreconcilable differences and requested spousal support, according to court records. They have no children. Depp and Heard made headlines last year after being charged with illegally bringing their two dogs into Australia, which has strict biosecurity laws regarding foreign animals.  Heard pleaded guilty to knowingly producing a false or misleading document, while two other charges of illegally importing her dogs were dismissed. She was spared a conviction over the incident and given a one-month good behavior bond sentence instead.(CNN.COM/photo: cnn.com)…[+]

Seventy-one year-old Rickford Bourne died at the Georgetown Public Hospital on Monday evening, four days after being badly beaten by his 36-year-old son Kwame Bourne.

According to reports, Kwame Bourne would regularly threaten to kill his father when he did not receive money to support his smoking habit. The incident is reported to have happened sometime during last Thursday, May 19, in Turkeyen. It is said that an argument broke out between the father and son. During the quarrel, the son reportedly picked up an iron bar that was used to reinforce a window and struck his father repeatedly about the body.The now dead man’s daughter, Aisha Bourne who lives some nine houses away, told this newspaper that she received a call from neighbours urging her to check on her father as quickly as possible as they had heard the man screaming…[+]

USA   –  Professor Fritz Vollrath keeps his spiders in luxurious accommodation on the roof of Oxford University.

Dozens of plump Golden Orb Weavers cover the ceiling of a converted greenhouse, basking in the tropical humidity and lush foliage, as their intricate webs pluck delicacies from an ever-present swarm of flies. “I don’t understand arachnophobia,” says Vollrath, as he inspects his brood. After 40 years working with spiders, the German-born zoologist has developed a deep appreciation of their near-miraculous powers.  Spiders create webs by spinning liquid protein into silk that is pound-for-pound stronger than steel, yet extremely flexible. The highly efficient process requires little energy, and many spiders recycle by eating and spinning a fresh web each day…[+]

La-Toya Kenisha Smart admitted to a Barbados court on Monday to bringing into the island one pound of marijuana. She is now on remand awaiting her fate on June 20.

Immigration officers searched the luggage of the 25-year-old Guyanese upon her arrival at Grantley Adams International Airport, on a flight from Guyana on Saturday, and found eight packets of the prohibited drug. As though wanting to send a message to visitors of the treatment they would receive when attempting to smuggle drugs into the island, the Barbadian newspapers plastered photos of the young mother lugging a plastic bag of her belongings on her way to and from the Magistrate’s Court B, where she pleaded guilty, after spending the weekend in the lockups…[+]

AUSTRALIA   –  Jockey Michelle Payne was set to make her debut at Royal Ascot next month, but the first female winner of the Melbourne Cup is in a “serious but stable condition” after suffering abdomen injuries in a fall.

The Australian is expected to remain in hospital for “at least a week” after falling from her mount Dutch Courage in a race at Mildura Monday. The 30-year-old was reported to have experienced “acute pain” after the fall. She later tweeted a picture of her injuries, saying she needed pancreas and liver scans. Payne made history in November by winning the Melbourne Cup on 100-1 outsider Prince Of Penzance. Victorian Jockeys’ Association chief executive Des O’Keefe said: “Surgery has been successful and Michelle will be remaining in hospital for at least a week, perhaps more. She’s in a serious but stable condition”…[+]