USA   –  Man’s best friend gets a second chance at life; thanks to an extern.  Ollie, a 10-year-old Sheltie from Portland, Oregon, was moments from being euthanized when a veterinary extern spotted the problem that left the dog fighting for his life.

The dog’s owners had a tough decision to make when his health started to rapidly deteriorate. Ollie wasn’t eating or drinking, he couldn’t eliminate on his own and was almost completely paralyzed.  After multiple tests and no sign of a solution, Ollie’s owners, Al and Joelle Meteney, decided it was time to end his suffering.  “We were at a complete loss,” Al Meteney said in a press release. “What do you do in that situation? He is part of our family, and we’ve always tried to provide the best care we can for him.” Dr. Adam Stone, DoveLewis Animal Hospital, and extern Neena Golden, who is a visiting veterinary school student, began prepping the dog for the euthanasia procedure. As Golden was comforting the dog, she felt a strange lump in the thick fur behind his ear…[+]

The two-day National Symposia series earmarked as a main event on the Jubilee calendar opened yesterday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre under the theme Guyana at 50: Understanding our Independence Journey.

More than 70 presenters drawn from academe in Guyana and abroad are lined up as panelists. At the opening ceremony, Minister within the Ministry of Education, Nicolette Henry, expressed appreciation to all those who were involved in the planning of the symposium. She also thanked the participants for the role they will play in the symposium over the two days. “Your presence is an eloquent opportunity to reflect on the journey travelled, to celebrate our collective achievements and strategize the best route forward over the next 50 years,” the Minister said…[+]

Several LIAT Airlines passengers, who would have flown into Guyana, are frustrated at not receiving their luggage on time.These passengers have been visiting the Eugene F. Correia International Airport for the past couple of days inquiring about their suitcases but to no avail. When Kaieteur News visited the Airport on Saturday, some of the passengers were voicing their concerns. Many stated that they came to Guyana to celebrate the country’s Golden Jubilee.

One passenger stated that it was an unpleasant experience and making the issue more frustrating is that LIAT is not providing any answers. Efforts to contact LIAT representatives have so far been futile.(Kaieteurnews.com)…[+]

IRAQ   – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi took to live television early Monday to announce the start of an operation to recapture the city of Falluja from ISIS.

Speaking on Iraqi state TV from the military’s Joint Operations Command in Baghdad, Abadi said Iraqi security forces would provide safe passage for civilians to leave the city during the operation. Abadi’s overnight announcement came hours after Iraq’s military implored residents of ISIS-held Falluja to flee their homes ahead of the operation to wrest the metropolis from the terror group (CNN.COM/photo: www.cbsnews.com)…[+]

USA   – A pair of new polls out this weekend show the presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump and his likely Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton are both viewed unfavorably by more than half of U.S. voters.

In a Washington Post-ABC News survey released Sunday, the candidates both registered net negatives in the double-digits, with 57% of the electorate saying they had unfavorable impressions of the respective candidates. Fifty-four percent of respondents to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll took a dim view of Clinton, while 58% looked unfavorably on Trump. The horse race itself is swinging toward the billionaire businessman, who according to the Washington Post-ABC News poll has picked up 11 points since March, giving him a narrow 46%-44% lead. But the sum result in both surveys is a statistical dead heat. Clinton leads by 3 points, 46%-43%, in the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Trump’s recent bump coincides with a growing sense of acceptance among Republican establishment figures. From former primary opponents to elected officials on Capitol Hill, the GOP is broadly warming to its likely standard-bearer(CNN.COM/photo: cdn3.img.sputniknews.com)…[+]

USA   –  Drummer Nick Menza, who played on many of Megadeth’s most successful albums, died after he collapsed on stage during a show. He was 51.

Menza was into the third song with his new band Ohm when he collapsed last weekend, said Ohm’s manager Steve Bauer. Paramedics couldn’t revive him. The band was playing at The Baked Potato, in Studio City, California. The group’s bassist texted me last night after it happened,” Bauer told CNN. “We are all still in shock.” Officials haven’t released a cause of death..”(CNN.COM/photo: cnn.com)...[+]

FINLAND   –  We all know about the dreaded meat sweats.  But at this Burger King in Finland, they might be brought on by eating your Whopper in the sauna.

As nude dining looks set to become Europe’s most unlikely food trend a naked restaurant in London currently has a waiting list of 37,000 the Mannerheimintie branch of Burger King in Helsinki has opened an in-store spa. The latest innovation we never knew we needed features a 15-person sauna, shower room, locker room and media lounge with TV and gaming facilities. Guests can spread out on blue and red benches in the sauna, perhaps covering their modesty with a Burger King towel or robe, and watch TV or play video games while basking in the steam.

.(CNN.COM/photo: cnn.com)…[+]

Geneva, Switzerland –  The Zika virus strain linked to surging cases of neurological disorders and birth defects in Latin America has for the first time been found in Africa, the World Health Organization said yesterday.

The UN health agency announced that the Zika virus strain circulating in Cape Verde had been shown to be the same as the one behind an explosion of cases in the Americas. “This is the first time that the Zika strain responsible for the outbreaks linked to neurological disorders and microcepaly has been detected in Africa,” Matshidiso Moeti, WHO’s Africa regional chief, told reporters in Geneva. (Jamaica Observer/photo: jamaicaobserver.com)…[+]

ISRAEL –  Israeli Defense Minister Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon resigned Friday morning in the midst of a government shake-up that would have seen him replaced. “I have lately found myself in difficult moral and professional controversies with the Prime Minister, a number of other ministers, and some members of Knesset,” Ya’alon said at a Tel Aviv press conference after his announcement.

“To my great sorrow, they have taken over Israel, and the Likud movement, dangerous and extremist elements, that upend the house and threaten it. This is not the Likud movement that I joined.” Ya’alon has been in a protracted public argument with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the Israeli military. In recent weeks, Ya’alon has encouraged military generals to speak out about moral issues and the rules of engagement, even if they did not have the support of politicians. The statement was seen as criticism of Netanyahu. The two men met for an hour Monday to reconcile their differences, saying: “There is no quarrel.” (CNN/photo: newsunited.com)…[+]

Guyana is not currently considering accepting refugees from neighbouring Venezuela but would take returning Guyanese. According to President David Granger, the economic crisis in Venezuela will no doubt affect the security of the region, with Guyana wanting an orderly resolution to the situation.

The economy of neighbouring Venezuela, a country with the large oil reserves, has been in crisis since the decline in oil prices on the world market. International media report that three years of recession, crime, shortages, looting, electricity and water rationing, and inflation projected to rise to as much as 700 percent, has angered Venezuelans. “I am deeply concerned, Guyana has special interest because of the territorial question, but I think the whole region is concerned about what is taking place in Venezuela, and we hope that there is not going to be a resort to lawlessness,” President Granger stated in a Ministry of the Presidency statement. (KAIETEUR NEWS/photo: caribbeantrakker.com)…[+]