An audit into the state of affairs of the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL) has revealed that the entity went on a selling spree in order to get cash to finance the construction of the Marriott Hotel.

NICIL’s audit report stated that decisions were made to sell government assets with haste.  It was noted that NICIL, under the leadership of the embattled Winston Brassington, decided to sell government’s share in the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) company and almost all the money received from that sale US$20M went into the construction of the Marriott. But that was not all. According to the audit report, evidence indicates that in addition to the disposal of GT&T shares, “there was an acceleration of the disposal of State properties/assets in order to secure financing for the construction of the Marriott Hotel.”.(Kaietuernews.com/photo:Kaieteurnews.com)...[+]

U.S.   –   A contrite George R.R. Martin has a message for fans, and “you won’t like it,” the author said in a blog post Saturday.The next novel in the series adapted by HBO as “Game of Thrones” is not finished. So HBO’s sixth season of the wildly popular show, slated to start in April, will almost certainly air before its source material is published.(CNN.COM/photo:cnn.com)…[+]

UK – Prince William says becoming a father has made him “a lot more emotional” and made him realize how precious life is.

World events, and “the idea of not being around to see your children grow up”, affected him much more since the births of Prince George and Princess Charlotte, the 33-year-old prince said. “The smallest things” now made him well up, he said in an ITV documentary about his father’s Prince’s Trust charity. Prince Charles said he hoped his sons would take over the trust one day. Speaking to presenters Ant and Dec – Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly alongside his brother Prince Harry, the Duke of Cambridge said: “I’m a lot more emotional than I used to be, weirdly. “I never used to get too wound up or worried about things. But now the smallest little things, you well up a little more, you get affected by the sort of things that happen around the world or whatever a lot more, I think, as a father. “Just because you realize how precious life is and it puts it all in perspective. The idea of not being around to see your children grow up and stuff like that.” (BBC)…[+]

TURKEY – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said he backs a criminal investigation into leaders of the pro-Kurdish opposition over comments about Kurdish self-rule, saying those who committed constitutional crimes must pay the price. A Turkish prosecutor opened an investigation into Selahattin Demirtas, co-head of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), last week after a two-day congress of Kurdish groups called for greater self-governance. The probe comes as predominantly Kurdish southeast Turkey experiences some of its worst violence since the 1990s after a two-year ceasefire between Kurdish militants and the state collapsed in July.(Reuters)…[+]          

(CNN)Since Saudi Arabia executed 47 people in one day, exasperation has poured in from human rights activists and sectarian anger has spread in the Middle East — over the death of one man.

Shia Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr was a fervent dissident against the Sunni Muslim Saudi royal family and called for their deposal during the Arab spring uprisings in 2011. He died on Saturday alongside 46 terrorism convicts. Later that night, in predominantly Shia Iran, Molotov cocktails smashed into the Saudi embassy in Tehran. Protesters shouted as it caught fire. Some went inside and ransacked offices.

Police donned riot gear and arrested 40 people. Embassy staff was not present during the fire attack.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani condemned al-Nimr’s execution in Saudi Arabia, and he also blasted the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran and on a Saudi consulate in another Iranian city…[+]

A police officer stops and checks a driver during an anti-drunk driving counter attack campaign in Surrey, Canada, Dec. 30, 2015. Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) kicks off a road safety operation during the New Year’s Eve looking for impaired drivers at several road checks throughout the region.(Xinhua/Liang Sen)…[+]

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Image provided by Chile’s Presidency shows Chilean President Michelle Bachelet (C) talking with students during a breakfast with the best national scores of the University Selection Test, in La Moneda Palace in Santiago, capital of Chile, on Dec. 28, 2015. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said on Monday that she seeks to turn superior education in a social right, while defending again her gradual free-of-charge policy in the educational institutions. (Xinhua/Sebastian Rodriguez/Chile’s Presidency)…[+]

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro delivers a speech during the hosue delivering ceremony in the Antonio Ricaurte district, Aragua state, Venezuela, on Dec. 30, 2015. Maduro delivered Wednesday one millon houses as part of his commitment with Venezuelan people through the social program “Venezuela’s Housing Great Mission”. (Xinhua/Venezuela’s Presidency/AVN)…[+]

As the country readies for a January 1 ban on Styrofoam containers, Government has assured that those who have stocks in hand and are on the way to Guyana, will be given a three-month grace period. The ban, in the making for a number of years now, was announced a few months ago by Government. According to Minister of Governance, Raphael Trotman, regulations were laid in the National Assembly last Thursday and will come into effect from January 1.(Kaieteurnews.com/photo:Kaieteurnews.com)…[+]

A manhunt is underway in Berbice to recapture murder accused Neshan Jagmohan, who escaped from the New Amsterdam Prison sometime on Sunday. Kaieteur News understands that Jagmohan, a remand prisoner, was discovered missing when a check was made on his cell in the solitary confinement block of the prison on Sunday night.(Kaieteurnews.com/photo:Kaieteurnews.com)…[+]