The State of Palestine and the Republic of Guyana last night signed a joint statement establishing bilateral diplomatic ties.

Palestinian Permanent Observer to the United Nations Riyadh Mansour and his the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Guyana to the UN George Talbot sealed the deal.

Guyana’s large stock of natural resources has not only attracted Canadian mining companies, but also waves of unwelcomed corruption. Like much of the continent, this South American country finds its origins and its explosive social-cultural setting throughout years of European colonialism, a bitter past represented by its fractured population and its years of economic strife.

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate Guyana on the 43rd anniversary of the founding of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana this February 23.

The United States values its close and collaborative relationship with Guyana. Our cooperation in the development and empowerment of women and youth in Guyana is an essential aspect of our shared social and economic vision for the future.

This huge gun is all that remains of 'American Guiana'. By mid-1940, the USA was worried. After years of neutrality, Americans now found themselves being drawn into a new world conflict. Apart from Britain, Europe was almost entirely under Nazi control. Worse, in the Caribbean, Europe’s old colonies were looking decidedly vulnerable.

The United States is proud to be supporting Guyana as they take a leadership role in their fight against HIV/AIDS.

Progress achieved in Guyana through direct PEPFAR support during fiscal year (FY) 2011: (1)

Not much trace remains of the British Empire in Guyana - but there is this: a statue of Queen Victoria. Her rule broadly coincided with the abolition of slavery, and with one of the most prosperous periods in the region's history. That, of course, had much to do with the value of sugar, and British rule is not much celebrated these days.

In a recent issue, five scientists document 324 species of amphibians and reptiles in Guyana, South America. Fifteen percent of these species are presently not known elsewhere in the world, and several are endangered or critically endangered. These facts emphasize the importance of documenting the world’s biodiversity as an important first step in understanding how to best preserve it.

This monstrous thing is the Ariane space rocket. It's an odd one to find on the Wild Coast, but it explains a lot.

With the final closure of the penal settlement in 1963, French Guiana took on a forlorn air. The economy was completely supported by France, and there seemed little future for the colony.

Is this the shoe of one of those poisoned in Jonestown (Guyana) in 1978? It could be. I took this picture on the exact spot where, on 18 November that year, over 900 people took (or were forced to take cyanide). Few women will have lost their shoes in this bit of jungle since then, so it could well be the wreckage of that terrible day.

Why am I showing this embroidery depicting 'The Secret War' in Laos in the 1970s? Remarkably, because it's was made on the other side of the world by Hmong tribesmen in French Guiana.