Two Iranian poets are facing 99 lashes each for shaking hands with people of the opposite sex in one of the latest examples of harsh punishments meted out against writers and artists by Iran’s judiciary, according to human rights advocates. The poets, Fatemeh Ekhtesari and Mehdi Musavi, have also both been sentenced to years in prison for “insulting the sacred” in their writings, a decision slammed by freedom of expression activists.(CNN.COM/photo:cnn.com)…[+]

William Ebi Lockhart, formerly ‘Johnny Welshman’ is once again in the limelight. This time, the man who had accused former Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman of sexually assaulting him, has found himself on the wrong side of the law, with a mother accusing him of fleecing her of $40,000 by pretending that he was an attorney. The incident allegedly occurred on October 21, in Georgetown. Lockhart, 23, of 2519 Layou Street, North Ruimveldt, Georgetown, is being accused of obtaining the money from a woman by falsely pretending to be an attorney at law, knowing same to be false.(Kaieteurnieuws.com/photo:Kaieteurnieuws.com)…[+]

Auditor General (AG) Deodat Sharma has found it appalling that after flagging a few cases of financial improprieties against the State since 1992, these matters still await closure in Guyana’s Court system. In his 2014 report, Sharma said that over the years, there were four matters which were either being investigated by the police or pending before the Court. Sharma said that each case was based on apparent irregularities or suspected fraudulent acts perpetrated against the State. The estimated losses, which remain outstanding to date, are valued at $14.382M. He then briefly explained the four cases.(Kaieteurnieuws.com/photo:Kaieteurnieuws.com)…[+]

Agriculture Minister, Noel Holder, is of the view that current strike action organized by the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (GAWU) is politically motivated since the sugar industry is now performing under a newly installed Interim Management Committee (IMC). According to Minister Holder, “One of the problems with the sugar industry is that it has been used as a political football, and you have seen the result of that is the reduction in productivity over the years, and the putting of square pegs in round holes by the former Government.”(Kaieteurnieuws.com/photo:Kaieteurnieuws.com)…[+]

Police may be close to solving the murder of Good Hope, East Coast Demerara farmer, Shiraz “Amir” Ali, after arresting five men and recovering his cell phone. Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum said that police also recovered the Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card that came from Ali’s phone. The suspects are reportedly from East Coast Demerara. Police are also trying to locate a sixth man, known as ‘Cartel’, who is said to have been in possession of the phone. ‘Cartel’ had reportedly told his associates that he found the phone near the Montrose Market.(Kaieteurnieuws.com/photo:Kaieteurnieuws.com)…[+]

U.S   –   Donald Trump on Monday said his climb to the top of the business world hasn’t been an easy one and depicted a $1 million loan from his father as “small.”  “My whole life really has been a ‘no’ and I fought through it,” Trump said Monday at an NBC-sponsored town hall here. “It has not been easy for me, it has not been easy for me. And you know I started off in Brooklyn, my father gave me a small loan of a million dollars.”(CNN.COM/photo: aplesherald.com)…[+]

GUATEMALA   –  Comedian-turned-politician Jimmy Morales is poised to become Guatemala’s next President, according to preliminary election returns. Morales, 46, won more than 69% of votes with results from more than 93% of polling stations counted, election officials said. Former first lady Sandra Torres, 59, who was trailing with nearly 31% of votes, conceded Sunday.(CNN.COM/photo:cnn.com)…[+]