(via allheadlinenews.com)

Gunmen went on a rampage early Saturday in a village east of Guyana’s capital city of Georgetown killing 11 people including three children, police said.

The heavily armed gunmen stormed the village after staging an assault on the nation’s police headquarters.

In what is considered to be the worst mass killing in the South American country in more than three decades, gunmen randomly chose and kicked in the doors of houses in Lusignan, located about 10 miles (16 km) east of Georgetown, and fired at the residents.

“They didn’t come here to rob, they came here to slaughter,” a resident, Jag Singh, told AFP.

The reports said the police arrived an hour after the incident even though the police station located about four miles east of Lusignan, which is also a stronghold of the governing Peoples Progressive Party Civic (PPPC).

The authorities have accused the attacks as being led by a most wanted criminal in Guyana, Rondell Rawlins.

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Idealist’s databases are filled with opportunities, resources and people from all over the planet. Each week, we’ll bring you a roundup of what you can find on our site related to a specific country or city. Today we spotlight Guyana.

So far, there are 14 organizations related to Guyana that are registered on Idealist. The 5 located in Guyana cover issues such as youth empowerment, domestic violence and community development. The other 8 organizations–most of them based in NY—connect Guyanese living abroad to their home country.

If you’re looking to volunteer in Guyana, there are 6 opportunities to do so. You can mentor at an orphanage for boys, work at the hospital, teach at a public school or even try your hand at tropical juice making.

Currently, there are 7 Idealists signed up, as well as 19 people who list themselves as volunteers. If you’re Guyanese or simply love Guyanese culture, create a personal profile and let the world know!

(via peacecorpsonline.typepad.com/)

The U.S. Peace Corps is evacuating 35 of its volunteers from western Kenya because of the violence that has rocked the country since the disputed December 27 presidential election.  The relief agency says the volunteers are safe, and should arrive in the main Tanzanian city of Dar es Salaam Saturday.  The Peace Corps has 144 volunteers based in Kenya, although the organization says 22 of them are currently out of the country. An agency statement says the remaining volunteers have been “consolidated in a variety of locations.”  The U.S. Embassy in Nairobi is asking U.S. citizens in Kenya to remain indoors while the fighting continues, and urges them to consider leaving for their own safety.  More than 300 people have been killed in the post-election violence.

Local notables make the predictions.  Biggest possible influence? Oil