SmallShop Caribbean News

Go-Jamaica "Cigarette manufacturer, Carreras Limited has published the new prices for cigarettes arising from the recently announced increase in Special Consumption Tax (SCT) which takes effect tomorrow. On December 17, the government announced that the SCT on cigarettes would be increased from $8,500 per 1,000 sticks to $10,500. The measure is expected to yield $1.4 billion in revenue for the government. As of tomorrow a carton of the Craven “A” and Matterhorn brands will now cost $4,950. The price for Dunhill and Rothmans moves to $5,550 per carton. The suggested retail price per 20 pack of Craven A and Matterhorn is $580, while the 20 pack of Dunhill Lights, Full Flavour and Menthol brands are to be sold for $650. A 20 pack of Craven A was previously sold for an average $500."

- JamaicaObserver.com : "GOVERNMENT officials last night denied knowledge of a plan by the British government to offer Jamaicans incarcerated in that country up to (J$720,000) if they take up an offer to return home before their sentences expire. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Kenneth Baugh, as well as Minister of Information Daryl Vaz, both expressed ignorance of the UK government's decision when contacted by the Observer. 'I will have to research it and then I can respond,' Dr Baugh said, sounding taken aback while promising to investigate the matter."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : "DRUG money totalling US$94,000 (TT$599,720), seized from an alleged Couva drug lord during a raid earlier this year, which formed part of exhibits in the court case against the suspect, has gone missing from the property room of the Couva Police Station, where it was lodged for safekeeping"

Kaieteur News : "“She playing tricks. She only behaving so when she see y’all,” were the alleged comments made by a midwife of the West Demerara Regional Hospital whose responsibility it was to attend to a pregnant patient some hours before she died. Salima Ram, 32, of 19 Vive-La-Force, West Bank Demerara, was pronounced dead by doctors on Tuesday after she collapsed in the maternity ward of the hospital. Reports are that the woman, overwhelmed with pain, was attempting to find nurses manning the ward to inform them that her baby was ready to be delivered. She collapsed before reaching them."

Nation News "It happens only once in a blue moon -- and scientists say a blue moon is exactly what we'll see in the skies this New Year's Eve. Don't expect an azure glow over our lunar satellite, however. The term 'blue moon' simply refers to the second full moon in a calendar month, something that hasn't happened on a New Year's Eve for nearly 20 years, NASA says.

Nation News "UNITED STATES-BOUND passengers leaving Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) now have to face more stringent security. Corporate communications specialist for GAIA Inc, Keith Goddard, said this was following recommendations from the Transport Security Administration in the United States as a result of the recent attempted suicide bombing aboard a jetliner travelling from Amsterdam to Detroit."

Dominica News Online : "Twenty-six-year-old Neil Karam of Roseau is dead following a vehicular accident on the Goodwill Road in the early hours of Wednesday morning. While Police Public Relations Officer Inspector Claude Weekes was unable to confirm the actual cause of the accident, he told Dominica News Online that he believed the Toyota Corolla car, which Karam was a passenger in, was being driven quickly."

Taiwan News Online : "Antiguan authorities have charged the son of a former prime minister from Dominica with murder. Police said in a statement Wednesday that 26-year-old Joel Seraphin is one of three suspects accused of shooting a 37-year-old man found dead on a beach in November. In April, the three men will appear before a judge who will determine whether there is enough evidence to go to trial. Seraphin has not entered a plea. His attorney, Steadroy Benjamin, did not answer his telephone Wednesday."

Donovan Lorde appears for bail application hearing

Kaieteur News : "Masked gunmen, using boats, escaped with millions in machinist equipment and computers during a robbery at the Engineering Construction Cooperative (ECI) at Friendship, East Bank Demerara shortly after midnight yesterday. The robbers assaulted and tied up two on-site guards and remained at the scene for some three hours, disabling a GEB alarm system and severing telephone lines before breaking into various offices, containers and storerooms. They reportedly then fled via the Demerara River, abandoning some of the excess booty by the company’s wharf. A senior official estimated that the bandits carted off more than $10M in articles, including an estimated $5.5 M in machine tools. About $500,000 in petty cash was also stolen. The robbers also made off with several computers, including the company’s server with confidential information about the firm’s operations."

Stabroek News "Two men, including a Police Constable stationed in Berbice, were each granted $300,000 bail yesterday after they appeared before the Springlands Magistrate’s Court charged with the December 23 Crabwood Creek robbery. Police Constable Colin Jonas and Marvin Samaroo, 39, of Cumberland, Canje, Berbice appeared before Magistrate Omeana Hamilton charged with robbery with aggravation. It is alleged that on December 23 the men robbed businessman Ramesh Kalicharran of Crabwood Creek, Corentyne.

Jamaica Gleaner "The wait-time for the return of checked bags to passengers who were aboard ill-fated American Airlines Flight 331 is now estimated at 60 days. In a release yesterday, the airline said it would be providing an international standard of care for the recovery and return of checked luggage and personal effects through a company specialising in this process. 'Recovered items will be cleaned, sanitised and returned to passengers. A team will be working initially, including engineers and recovery experts, to complete this sensitive project, which may take up to 60 days,' the airline said."

JamaicaObserver.com : "THE type of seats carried by the Boeing 737-800 American Airlines aircraft which was damaged beyond economic repair when it crash-landed at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston December 22, figured highly in the passengers surviving the impact in such good shape. Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Derby, director general of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority, told the Observer that the 'new generation set of passenger seats' carried by the aircraft were constructed to withstand a force, on impact, of 16 times the weight of the passengers seated in them before dislodging."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : "THIS year seems set to end on a bloody, deadly note as within the space of less than 24 hours, between Monday and yesterday, the murder toll rocketed from 497 to 504 with seven killings being recorded. This spate of murders kept Homicide Investigations Bureau detectives, district medical officers and undertakers very busy and several families in mourning. There were four murders on Monday between 5 pm and 11.30 pm and three murders yesterday between 1 am and 1 pm."

Nation News "HIGH WAVES CONTINUE to batter Barbados' coastline as the island remains under a high surf bulletin and small craft warning. Nowhere was the effects more evident than along the East Coast yesterday where the water made itself an unwelcome visitor in a few beach houses. Giselle Roach was staying with friends at one of these beach houses in Cattlewash, St Joseph, called Sand Acres. She was sitting in a chair watching the waves roll in when one of them 'rolled' a little too far. 'I was enjoying the view when a wave came into the house. I ran inside then upstairs but I wasn't afraid,' she said."

ECCB HDQ, St. Kitts (December 29, 2009) -- St. Vincent's Prime Minister, the Hon. Dr. Ralph Gonsalves speaking moments after the signing of the Treaty of Basseterre.

JamaicaObserver.com : "A 35-year-old man was fatally shot by two robbers at a plaza on Seaward Drive, Kingston 20 last night. The dead man has been identified as Craig Dennis of Palmoral Avenue, Kingston 6. Police said about 4:40 pm, Dennis was at an establishment at the plaza when the two armed men entered and proceeded to rob him of his gold chain and bracelet. Dennis drew his licensed firearm and challenged the robbers but was shot. The robbers then escaped in silver Honda Integra motor car registered 9032 DM. Dennis was taken to the Kingston Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead."

Prensa Latina "Bolivian justice plans to begin a trial, in mid January, against former Governor of Pando Leopoldo Fernandez and 27 people responsible for a massacre to peasants last year. � The lawyer that represents the victims�� families, Mary Carrasco, told the state television that Fernandez was already notified at San Pedro penitentiary, where he has been kept since the slaughter to farm workers and primary school students of the localities of Porvenir and Filadelfia on September 11, 2008."

DominicanToday.com : "DAJABON, Dominican Republic.– Dominican soldiers stationed on Haitian border in the northwestern province of Dajabon traded shots with Haitian rustlers who were taking 43 cattle stolen from Dominican ranchers. According to the Border Security Corps (Cesfront), no casualties or arrests were reported, and the Haitians escaped leaving the cattle behind. The livestock recovered belonged to rancher Manuel Cordero, who has been the victim of cattle rustling on other occasions. Two months ago the Haitian National Police arrested nine Dominican ranchers who crossed the border looking for their stolen cattle."

The Nassau Guardian "A group of Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) marines was forced to spend the Christmas holidays on lock down at the Coral Harbour Base after police and Defence Force investigators failed to locate a weapon that went missing from a vessel. Commodore Clifford Scavella ordered the 14 crew members of the RBDF vessel Guanahani to remain on base until the pistol has been found or someone explains what happened to the firearm.

Daily Observer Online – "Taxi-men, vendors, retailers and tour operators are still waiting for their ship to come in despite thousands of cruise passengers arriving on the island since the start of the winter season last month. Some of these tourism stakeholders say business is so slow that they don’t take home even $100 a day, but they return the next day hoping to do better."

Antigua Sun "A Jamaican man was released on bail while his British counterpart was remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison. Andrew Marriott of the United Kingdom (UK) and Devon Mckintosh of Jamaica appeared in the Bolans Magistrates’ Court before Magistrate Joan Fung. The prosecution objected to both men being granted bail citing that they do not have any known ties to Antigua. According to the prosecutor the offences for which both men are charged have very severe penalties. The prosecutor told the court that if the duo is granted bail, they are likely to abscond from the country and not show up for the case."

Kaieteur News : "Fed up with his drinking and threats of violence, two relatives allegedly battered 53-year-old Inshan Ally to death and dumped his body outside his home on Boxing Day. This is what an elderly male relative and his niece have reportedly told police while confessing to murdering the fisherman from Pandit Street, Bagotstown, East Bank Demerara. The two were detained shortly after Ally’s body was found on the roadway outside his residence. Kaieteur News understands that investigators had focused on the relatives after residents reported that the victim and the suspects were heard arguing on Christmas Day. According to sources, the man and his niece alleged that Ally had threatened them while under the influence of alcohol. Those threats reportedly led to his demise."

JamaicaObserver.com : "THE pilot of American Airlines flight 331, which crashed at the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) in Kingston last Tuesday night, opted not to utilise a mis-approach, as suggested by local air traffic controllers, the Observer has learnt. The mis-approach option -- which would require the pilot to circle and make another landing attempt -- was offered as the Boeing 737-800 approached the runway with a tailwind and in driving rain which, according to local aviation sources, was not heavy enough to prevent the aircraft from landing without problems. 'Three flights landed in the hour before the American Airlines flight,' a source at the airport told the Observer yesterday. 'It was raining just as heavily at the time they landed. I know the option was communicated to him, but I can't say anything more as the matter is under investigation.'"

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : "POLICE officers of the Riot Squad and Southern Task Force had to be called out to the Holding Bay cell of the San Fernando Magistrates’ Court yesterday when a fight broke out among prisoners. One prisoner and two police officers were injured and had to seek medical treatment for minor injuries. A prisoner identified as Gregory Charles, 28, sustained a minor stab wound to the head"

Kaieteur News : "Poor medical response and a non-functioning operating theatre at the spanking new Linden Hospital Complex are being blamed for the tragic death of a 35-year-old mother of three and her unborn baby. Tricia Winth died at the recently commissioned medical facility shortly before 14:00 hours on Sunday, six hours after she was admitted for the delivery of what would have been her fourth child. Her husband, Eusibo Winth, told this newspaper that his wife went to the hospital around 7:30 am on Sunday in severe pain. According to the man, his wife who was hypertensive, could hardly walk and was suffering spells of headache when she arrived at the hospital. Upon arrival there, she was examined by nurses who reportedly told her that she was not ready to deliver after examining her."

Stabroek News "After repeated pleas for swift action in the murder investigation of boater Patricia Williams, the police last evening intercepted a boat on the Essequibo River that was ferrying the suspect to Bartica. Patricia Williams The 20-year-old suspect was reportedly fleeing Foulmouth for shelter in Bartica with the aid of relatives, but information of his getaway was leaked and Williams’ relatives moved against him. Reports are that the man was hiding in the area since he allegedly killed Williams just over a week ago."

Nation News "A ST PHILIP FAMILY is in mourning after its patriarch fell to his death in an accident at home yesterday. Keith Walton died on the spot in Lashley Road, St Martin's, after falling from a ladder around 3:15 p.m. while trying to measure a window. The 65-year-old returned to Barbados three years ago from England with his wife Juliet. He leaves to mourn two children, Natasha and Christopher Walton. His distraught widow said he was a very fun-loving, outgoing and independent person. They were married for 33 years."

Kaieteur News : "An ex policeman who was recently freed on a murder charge by a Berbice Magistrate is among the quartet in custody as investigations continue in the daring Wednesday night robbery committed on Crabwood Creek businessman, Ramesh Kalicharran. Charges are likely soon against the ex-cop and three others, including a serving rank. They are all in custody at the Springlands Police Station as investigators seek the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The men had robbed Kalicharran, 53, of Grant 1805, Crabwood Creek of jewellery worth over $100,000 and $400,000 in cash before escaping. Kaieteur News understands that the ex-cop was held after he was implicated by the serving policeman who was arrested minutes after the robbery."

Stabroek News "Following the Christmas Day attempt by a Nigerian to blow up an aircraft over Detroit, passengers travelling to the US will be subjected to a “one hundred percent” check before they board even after they would have passed the security scanners at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA), Timehri, according to Caribbean Airlines Area Manager, Carlton Defour. Defour told Stabroek News yesterday that hours after the attempted detonation, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), which governs security at airports and on airplanes in the United States, issued the new measure and it was immediately implemented."

Go-Jamaica "Travelers en route to the United States are now being subjected to full body searches instead of the usual random checks at the boarding gates at Jamaica’s two international airports. The changes took effect on Boxing Day. Director General of the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA), Lieutenant Colonel Oscar Derby, said the screening procedure at the airports is in line with a directive from the United States’ Transportation Security Administration. He said all flights going into the United States will for now are affected and there is the possibility that European and other carriers may later be included."

JamaicaObserver.com : "AN 18-year-old male was fatally shot during a confrontation with a policeman on the Mount Salem main road, Montego Bay, St James yesterday. He has been identified as Shawn Pinnock of Gunns Drive, Granville in the parish. Police said about 10:30 am, an off-duty police officer was driving his private motor car along the roadway when he observed that he was being followed by a grey Toyota Corolla motor car. The car overtook and blocked his path. Pinnock and gunmen alighted from the vehicle and approached him. The policeman pulled his firearm and opened fire at them, hitting Pinnock. The other men escaped in the area."

JamaicaObserver.com : "SEVENTEEN persons were killed over the Christmas weekend, including six on Christmas Day, police reported. Of the six killed on Christmas Day, four were slain in double murders. The 11 others were either murdered, killed by police, drowned or perished in road collisions. In the first double murder, Andre Hamm, 31, also known as 'Baby Wayne' and O'Neil Brown, 40, also called 'Police', both of Sunrise Crescent, Kingston 19 were gunned down in their communities around 8:30 am, a few metres from each other."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "STAFF AND patients at the Accident and Emergency Section of the Sangre Grande District Hospital fled for their lives yesterday when three men entered the hospital and began brutally stabbing a man with whom they had a previous altercation. Kevin Kahani, 24, of Quash Trace, Foster Road, Sangre Grande, is warded in critical condition after he was stabbed several times over his body. Police said the incident occurred around midnight when Kahani went to the hospital to get medical attention for injuries suffered during an altercation with fellow villagers. His assailants got past the hospital’s security by claiming they were his brothers and were allowed to enter the Casualty Section where Kahani was being treated. The men whipped out knives and began butchering Kahani, as doctors, nurses, patients and security guards ran screaming for help."

Nation News "THE NEW DRESSES have hit the racks and the sparkling jewellery has been put on display, not to mention the new shoes. It's all just in time for ringing in the New Year on Friday. But with just four days to go before Auld Lang Syne's refrain is heard across the island, not many people were taking advantage of the first day of the new stock being put out in the stores on Swan Street and Broad Street, The City, yesterday."

Sydney Morning Herald THE accused mastermind of a huge Ponzi scheme, R. Allen Stanford, will not be released from jail before his fraud trial in 2011, a US judge has ruled after reviewing a doctor's report that the financier was close to 'a complete nervous breakdown'. Lawyers for Mr Stanford, who faces 21 criminal counts for allegedly swindling investors out of more than $US7 billion ($7.9 billion), asked US District Judge David Hittner in Houston to reconsider an earlier ruling denying bail out of concern the defendant might flee"

- MiamiHerald.com : "The ties between indicted banker Allen Stanford and members of Congress -- including millions in contributions and weekends in five-star Caribbean resorts -- are now the subject of a sweeping federal investigation."

Jamaica Gleaner "DECLARING THAT Jamaica's music has died, producer Mikey Barnett says the Government needs to restrict freedom of expression if the society is to survive. 'The Government has failed in its role to protect the society from itself - meaning artistes of today. There is too much freedom in the name of creative expression,' Barnett told a recent Gleaner Editors' Forum. Barnett argued that the Govern-ment had allowed a small societal sore to turn into gangrene before trying to fix it. He said the decline in Jamaica's music is going to be impossible to address because the State allows everyone to freely express what he or she wants through areas such as music."

JamaicaObserver.com : "Workmen earlier this morning removed sections of the the broken American Airlines Flight 331, which ploughed through the perimeter fencing of the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston and crash-landed close to the sea. One hundred passengers were reported injured when the plane crashed and broke in three after landing at the airport shortly after 10:00 Tuesday night. The Boeing 737-800 had just arrived from Miami in pouring rain with 148 passengers and a crew of six when the incident occurred. The impact cracked the fuselage, crushed the left landing gear and separated both engines from the Boeing 737-800."

Kaieteur News : "Residents of Lethem, Rupununi, were greeted on Christmas morning by the sight of the body of a man lying in a pool of blood at the approach to the Takatu Bridge. The man who police say is Marcus Paul Da Silva, 34, a Brazilian but who residents identified as Ramotar Singh, of Moco-Moco village in the Rupununi, is the victim of a brutal murder some time between Christmas Eve night and Christmas morning. His body bore more than 60 stab wounds to his head, face, upper chest and lower back. Police in a press release said they are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Brazilian National Marcus Paul Da Silva, 34, of Brazil. His body was found at about 07:30 hours on Christmas Day at Takutu, Lethem, with stab wounds."

Stabroek News "A Brazilian national who journeyed to Lethem to party was found stabbed to death near the Takutu Bridge on Christmas morning and investigators believe that the assailant fled to Brazil. Dead is Marcus Paul Da Silva, 34, whose body was discovered around 7.30 am with multiple stab wounds about the face, back and chest. According to the police, a trail of blood was observed leading from the murder scene unto the Takutu Bridge which links Guyana to Brazil."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : "Christmas Day brought shock and sadness to a south family as their 15-year-old child drowned in the Poole River, Rio Claro on what should have been one of the happiest days of his life. Shaquille Roopa, of Guayaguayare Road, Rio Claro, police said, drowned after he was allegedly pulled by his neck from off a log on which he was sitting on the river bank and into the water by another teenager. Roopa, relatives said, was a non-swimmer."

Nation News "THEY CAME IN their hundreds from the snow- battered states in North America wearing boots and coats, for a warm Barbados holiday home. It was two days before Christmas and all through Grantley Adams International Airport many people were stirring as they greeted loved ones on Wednesday. Letitia St Hill has been living in New York for the past 17 years, but has only been visiting Barbados for the past four. She wished she could stay here, but planned to make the most of it until it was time to depart."

TrinidadExpress "A $30 million fire in Tobago has left 95 people jobless. The inferno brought tears to many on Christmas morning, as two buildings belonging to the Phillips family, of Scarborough, were ablaze, shortly before 4 a.m. yesterday. There were no reports of any injuries. Firefighters took nine and a half hours to extinguish the blaze. The fire at the mini-mall complex, comprising two buildings, which housed several businesses, spanned from Piggott Street to Castries Street, drew scores of curious people to the scene."

The Barbados Advocate : "IN the days leading up to Christmas, Barbadians rushed to get last minute shopping completed and this was clearly evident in Bridgetown, as there was hardly breathing room. Long lines filled the cashiers, especially in stores such as Woolworth where people gathered with shopping carts full of items while others were loaded down with items in their arms."

Kaieteur News : "Policyholders hoping for an early conclusion to the liquidation of the CLICO Guyana are facing another setback with the court on Wednesday ordering a temporary stay of proceedings after the company asked that Chief Justice (ag), Ian Chang, recuse himself from the case. And a top government official, who asked not to be named, said that had government had its way, more than 2,000 policy holders would have been paid by this Christmas. CLICO Guyana, through its lawyer, Roysdale Forde, on Wednesday, was granted the stay of proceedings by Justice Franklin Holder after a Writ of Summons and Ex-Parte Application was filed on last week Thursday. The matter comes up again on January 12."

Stabroek News "Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang was set to rule yesterday in the Clico (Guyana) case, which has dragged out in the High Court for almost a year, but the company managed to secure an interim order to stay the proceedings. The Christmas Eve drama unfolded for several hours in the High Court before Justice Franklin Holder when Senior Counsel Ashton Chase entered an appearance before the judge to have the interim order discharged. Clico’s attorney Roysdale Forde had made an immediate application for a stay of the proceedings on Wednesday afternoon shortly after he received notice of the pending decision and was successful."

Jamaica Gleaner News "WESTERN BUREAU: Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett is projecting a five per cent increase over last year's figures in stopover visitors this winter tourist season. The industry reported a two per cent growth last winter. 'The airlift is greater than ever and projected even at a 70 per cent load factor. This would mean improvement over last year,' he told The Gleaner on Wednesday, while boasting of a record number of 17,800 passengers arriving at Montego Bay's Sangster International Airport on the first weekend of the season."

NYTimes.com : "“I am not afraid to tell you, I hit rock bottom,” he managed in a velvety lilt before the sobs rose up and tangled his speech. “But I was determined to uplift myself,” he added, his voice reduced to a whisper. Mr. Knight immigrated from Barbados at 19, bunking with a sister in Brooklyn after his mother died of cancer."

The Canadian Press "KINGSTON, Jamaica — Offshore lights that guide pilots into Jamaica's main airport had been knocked out for more than a month when an American Airlines jet landed in driving rain and overshot the runway, injuring most of the 154 people on board, officials said Friday"

examiner.com "The NTSB is assisting in the investigation of an American Airlines 737-800 which broke apart after attempting to land during a fierce rainstorm last Tuesday at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica. Flight 331, which left Miami International Airport about an hour late, was carrying 148 passengers and 6 crew members. It had originated at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C."

JamaicaObserver.com : "THE white hospital walls at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston will be a lot more bearable today for Camille Boothe, now that she finally has good news to celebrate over the festive season. A wish has come through this Christmas for the 29-year-old who is now quite optimistic that she will soon be able to leave for the United States to receive life-saving treatment for aplastic anaemia -- a rare disorder said to affect three out of every one million people."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "Onika Dyer bravely took a bullet to her back as she tried to shield her brother Kendall from determined gunmen, who just placed her aside and shot him dead at her home in Moruga on Christmas Eve. “I am sorry, I couldn’t save my brother,” Dyer, 31, said from a ward at San Fernando General Hospital yesterday. Her first instinct was to protect her brother and her two young sons and Dyer said she did not think of the risk to her own life when she covered Kendall, 24, with her body."

Kaieteur News : "A Police Constable from the Central Police Station, New Amsterdam, Berbice was thrown into a cell at his place of employment after he was nabbed fleeing from the scene of a robbery in the ancient county. The constable and two of his accomplices were held in a car at a roadblock at Number 76 Village, Corentyne, minutes after they committed a robbery at Grant 1805 Crabwood Creek. Police in a press release stated that the robbery was committed on businessman Ramesh Kalicharran around 20:00 hours on Wednesday."

Stabroek News "Residents of the quiet community of Foulmouth situated on the right bank of the Essequibo River, were last evening living in fear as a 20-year-old man, who is wanted by the police in connection with the murder of a 50-year-old woman, remained at large."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : "After spending the past three days in police custody charged for drug trafficking, a 43-year-old prisons officer, who has 18 years service, has been granted bail in the sum of $120,000. Don Mascal of Jattan Lane, El Socorro, appeared yesterday before Magistrate Melvin Daniel in the Port-of-Spain First Magistrates’ Court charged with trafficking 141.7 grammes of marijuana. The charge was made more serious as it occurred within 500 metres of a school, St Mary’s College."

Jamaica Gleaner News "Coming home for the holidays is usually a happy occasion. But for Victoria Tavares-Finson, it was not the joyous occasion she thought it would be. As a passenger on American Airlines Flight 331, she was caught up in the hubbub when the aircraft overshot the runway coming to a halt metres from the sea. The 18-year-old, who attends school in Boston, Massachusetts, said she thought all was going well with the flight but things changed quickly. 'I thought it was a routine landing until we hit the wall. They didn't tell us to brace or anything,' she said when The Gleaner contacted her yesterday. Tavares-Finson struck her head, breaking her nose. To compound matters, luggage from the overhead compartment struck her. She also has a deep cut above her eye."

JamaicaObserver.com : "The Bruce Golding administration last night appeared to pull back from the brink, announcing a revised tax package that shifted the burden substantially away from the poorest Jamaicans to higher income earners. Against the backdrop of street demonstrations by the Opposition People's National Party (PNP) and lingering public outrage over the $21.8 billion tax package unleashed last week, Golding, looking subdued and sombre, unwrapped the new package in a national broadcast on radio and television. Last week's measures contained a painful addition of GCT to a raft of previously non-taxed basic food and services which, Golding last night said would be rolled back."

9&10 News "KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — When an American Airlines flight slammed into a runway in Jamaica and skidded to a stop just short of the Caribbean Sea, one passenger says he just wanted to get out quickly and get far away. Gary Wehrwein of New Hampshire says he could smell fumes -- and knew that 'if it blew, it could be a pretty big fireball.' There was no explosion, and all 154 people on board the plane survived. More than 90 were taken to hospitals, but none of the injuries was considered life-threatening. The flight from Miami touched down last night in a fierce rainstorm at Kingston's airport. By the time it skidded to a halt, battered and bruised passengers were screaming in panic."

Houston Chronicle : "A psychiatrist who examined R. Allen Stanford believes he is in danger of suffering “a complete nervous breakdown” if he is not released from prison on bail and allowed to properly prepare for his scheduled criminal trial, according to court documents. In documents asking that the jailed businessman be released on bail, attorneys argue Stanford's deteriorating mental and physical health, combined with the difficulty of seeing his attorneys while at the downtown Houston Federal Detention Center, make it impossible for him to properly prepare for trial."

Stabroek News "Just before midnight on Monday the partially nude body of a woman was discovered at Foulmouth; just above Makouria on the Essequibo River. Patricia Williams of Far Rock; was found dead on Monday night shortly after giving a group of men a ride to Foulmouth. A suspect said to be hiding in the area is wanted by police."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "THE search is on for the driver of a gold-coloured Nissan 280C car who police say was involved in a hit and run accident which claimed the life of 20-year-old Daniel Maharaj on Monday night. At about 10.30 pm, Maharaj of Newbold Street, San Fernando parked his vehicle on the roadside and was attempting to cross the SS Erin Road in Debe near South Importers Ltd when he was knocked down by an oncoming vehicle and his body was thrown some 100 feet in the air. Maharaj died on the spot. The driver never stopped."

Jamaica Gleaner News "One hundred and forty-five passengers aboard American Airlines flight 331 from Miami narrowly missed death as the aircraft overran the Norman Manley International Airport runway in Kingston, ending inches away from the sea along the Port Royal main road last night. More than 40 passengers aboard the Boeing 738 aircraft were taken to hospital, The Gleaner has learnt. According to Information Minister Daryl Vaz, most of those suffered broken bones."

JamaicaObserver.com : "Forty passengers were reported injured when an American Airlines plane crashed and broke in two after landing at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston shortly after 10:00 last night. 'The injured passengers have been taken to the Kingston Public Hospital,' Information Minister Daryl Vaz told the Observer. 'There are no reports of fatalities.' Vaz, Transport and Works Minister Mike Henry and National Security Minister Dwight Nelson were quick on the scene and engaged in a head count from the passenger manifest to determine if anyone was missing."

Nation News "In an interview yesterday, Barrack told the DAILY NATION his lawyers were now examining proposals from two business interests who were offering to 'buy over the debt' owed to him by Government. 'Two offers came to me today, one for 60 million (dollars) from a local business, the other came from my guy in United States who I owe some money. He (United States businessman) said the amount doesn't matter, get your lawyers to do the paperwork - that's all you have to do,' was how Barrack explained how a telephone conversation went yesterday."

The Tourism Minister says Saint Lucia may lose Norwegian cruise lines following recent robberies of the cruise ships passengers. The news comes on the heels of a string of attacks on visitors in recent months several of them against cruise ship passengers sightseeing in Castries. Allen Chastanet says the correlation between crime and tourism is very real and should not be underestimated. He says although the government will do all in its power not to lose Norwegian citizens have to do their part and stop perpetrating crime against visitors.

The Next Reporter "At 6-feet-11, 210 pounds, and only 16-years-old, Marvadene “Bubbles” Anderson plays basketball for Rutgers Preparatory School in Somerset, New Jersey. She has been playing the sport for only two months, having played netball (a sport similar to basketball that is very popular in the Commonwealth nations) in her native Jamaica before she was discovered. Anderson got her nickname, Bubbles, because of her effervescent personality. She was teased in Jamaica for her tremendous height, being called Baby Giant.� With her sister who is 6-4, they were called Twin Towers."

Dominica News Online : "Fellow Dominicans, friends and well wishers…To God be the glory…Great things he hath done!"

Dominica News Online : "Leader of the Dominica Freedom Party (DFP)Judith Pestaina says the outcome of the December 18 general elections will not determine the future of her political career. The previously powerful DFP, fielded 11 candidates at the December 18 2009 general elections, but failed to win any seat in parliament."

Radiojamaica.com... "Dominica's Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has been sworn in for another term after leading his Labour Party to an overwhelming election win. Mr. Skerrit took the oath of office before President Nicholas Liverpool at a brief ceremony at the Office of the President. The Labour Party won 18 seats in Friday's vote with the other three going to the United Workers Party."

Jamaica Gleaner "BITING CRITICISM of and widespread disgust with the Government's latest tax package has forced the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) government into reverse gear as it changes course on measures deemed by many to be 'oppressive'. At the same time, the opposition People's National Party (PNP) has planned peaceful protests for Wednesday at different locations across the country, as it calls on the Government to roll back the taxes. Up to late last evening, Cabinet members were at Jamaica House working feverishly to revise the taxation package announced by Finance and Public Service Minister Audley Shaw last Thursday. A government source told The Gleaner that some of the taxes, which triggered a public backlash, have been rolled back."

JamaicaObserver.com : "MONTEGO BAY, St James -- 'Suffer the little children...' -- Christ's injunction to his disciples -- has taken on a new meaning. Just days before Christmas, little Shantoy Lawrence was hit with the bad news that the University of the West Indies Hospital (UHWI) cannot accommodate the critical heart surgery she needs to remain alive. The surgery has been put off until next year because of the busy holiday season. Shantoy's sad story as told by the Observer West, tugged at heart strings earlier this year, but seemed to have been headed for a happy ending when good Samaritans paid the UHWI over half-a million dollars for the life-saving operation some six weeks ago."

Sun St. Kitts "St. Kitts/Nevis outpaced Barbados and the member countries of the OECS as the leading exporter of goods and services to the United States in September and October. According to the Foreign Trade Division of the United States Census Bureau, St. Kitts/Nevis exported goods and services valued US$4.3 million in September and US$4.7 million in October and a total of US$41.3 million so far for the past 10 months of this year."

Antigua Sun "Leroy King will now have to wait until January next year before his extradition proceedings get underway. King appeared in the St. John’s Magistrates’ Court yesterday before Chief Magistrate Ivan Walters. King’s attorney, Dane Hamilton Sr. QC, requested an adjournment as he was not prepared to deal with the matter. Also, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Anthony Armstrong will travel out of the country today and will not be returning before next year, so the matter could not have been slotted to be heard before year’s end."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : "For more than eight hours, hundreds of angry customers at the Port Authority compound — “One Stop Barrel Shop” located on Wrightson Road waited patiently for their names to be called so they could collect their barrels/boxes. As early as, 4 am customers lined the front entrance of the compound in an attempt to get their paper work completed as early as possible. After waiting five days to get her barrel cleared Marva Beckles from Laventille was able to get her documents processed only late yesterday before taking her barrel home."

Stabroek News "Almost two days after he was battered, burnt and left with his hands and feet bound in his East Canje home, a 78-year-old man succumbed to his wounds. Vishnu Persaud of Number Two Village, East Canje Berbice, a pensioner and farmer, was discovered around 10 am on Saturday in his home “with his hands and feet tied and a cloth tied over his mouth,” police said in release yesterday."

Kaieteur News : "The quite community of South Better Hope was yesterday plunged into a state of shock and disbelief after one its youngest residents died. Five-year-old Thaddeus Samuels of 156 South Better Hope, East Coast Demerara, was found lying face down in a septic tank. The septic tank is located at the back of his house; the opening is merely covered with a piece of plywood."

Nation News "WAYNE GLENROY HAREWOOD will spend 15 years in jail for manslaughter. The Court of Appeal, led by Chief Justice Sir David Simmons, yesterday dismissed Harewood's argument that the sentence was excessive. Harewood pleaded guilty to unlawfully killing his homosexual lover Andrew Browne, but denied murdering him on August 24, 2007. He was sentenced by Justice Margaret Reifer on September 4, 2008. The criminal appeal was heard on April 23 before Sir David and Justices of Appeal Frederick Waterman and Sherman Moore, and the decision given yesterday."

Antigua Sun "The Prison population is nearing double the numberit was intended to house when it was constructed back in 1735. At the close of the September Criminal Assizes last week, Prison Superintendent Anthony Hopkins told a High Court judge that there were 280 people at the island’s lone penal facility, which was initially intended to hold an average of 150 people. At the close of the Assizes in May, the figure stood at 267."

Trinidad Express : "Deep in her heart, the mother of missing auto parts salesman, Rishi Rampersad, knew that something had gone wrong when he did not return home. Her son would never leave home without saying where he was going. And he would never stay out without telling her. Polly Rampersad prayed that her son would return alive. She would hold on to his 15-year-old son, Dillon, and cry herself to sleep at nights."

The Trinidad Guardian : "She brought joy to many through theatre. She was often the voice of reason on her radio and television programmes, much sought after to host popular events, along with her buddy comedienne Nikki Crosby. An all-rounder when it came to entertainment, Mairoon Ali did it all. But most importantly, she was a friend, a mother and a sister to many. Sadly, the life of Ali was cut short when she reportedly slipped and fell in the bathroom of her Carlton Street home in St James, sometime between Saturday night and yesterday morning. She was 54. However, the cause of death is yet to be determined."

Kaieteur News : "“There will be no Christmas for me and my family and I don’t know how we will survive with my husband gone.” These were the utterings of grieving housewife Sursattie Paul yesterday as her husband’s body lay covered with a sheet several hundred meters from her home. From all accounts Rampaul Paul, 35, a forklift operator employed at John Fernandes Limited, was electrocuted while making an illegal electrical connection to his Diamond Housing Scheme Squatting Area, Sea Dam home."

Stabroek News "Police have said that the off duty cop who fatally shot Hewley Nicholas Barker and injured another man early Saturday morning was attacked by two men who pulled guns but family members are refuting this and are calling on the police to produce the guns they said the men had."

Jamaica Gleaner "Reacting to torrents of criticism nationwide and threats of street demonstrations by the Opposition, Prime Minister Bruce Golding yesterday succumbed to pressure over a $21-billion tax package slated to take effect on January 1, 2010. In a statement from Jamaica House yesterday, Golding said he would reconsider the package which, as it stands, brings the total amount of new taxes announced in three tranches to $47.6 billion this fiscal year."

JamaicaObserver.com : "A 35-year-old Kingston resident was last week sentenced to life imprisonment for the 2002 gun murder of a neighbour. Kirk 'Kirkie' Squire of Albion Avenue, Arnett Gardens, was ordered by Justice Patrick Brooks to serve 25 years of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole. Minutes after the sentence was handed down in"

Nation News "BUILDING CONTRACTOR Al Barrack will get his money from Government, but exactly when remains unclear. 'He will definitely be paid,' Prime Minister David Thompson told the DAILY NATION yesterday. 'There has never been an occasion when the Government of Barbados has had an obligation that it has not eventually paid.' He said Government was 'trying to find the resources' to pay the contractor the millions of dollars it owes 'against a background of a severe economic crisis' across the world which has adversely impacted Barbados. Barrack has been in a militant mood, threatening to seize Government property because of the non-payment of a more than $60 million debt triggered by an arbitration award over his role in constructing the Government's office complex in Warrens, St Michael. Thompson said that paying Barrack had never been an issue with his Government, which inherited the debt when the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) left office in J

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : "THE YEAR 2009 was a year where lawmen, including police officers and prisons officers, found themselves in the spotlight — either as subjects of crackdowns on illegal practices, abuse of power, mishaps, murder/suicide or victims of crimes. On August 6 at a doctor’s office in Curepe a policeman, Cpl Sean James, fatally shot his common-law wife, Donna Noel and then turned the gun on himself. On August 8, four unregistered firearms and a quantity of narcotics were discovered in the office of a senior officer at the St Joseph Police Station. Among the firearms recovered in this first search were a Beretta pistol and shotgun, which were reportedly hidden in the ceiling of the office."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : "Retired police officer Trevor Blandin reportedly begged for his life when three armed robbers entered his bar Friday night. He was beaten and when the bandits could not get anymore money from the battered 58-year-old, they shot and killed him. “They beat him with a stool and then they shoot him,” his grieving wife Lucy Ann Blandin said yesterday. She added, “They get the night sales and that wasn’t enough.” Almost twelve hours after the incident, Lucy Ann, of Robert Trace, Tunapuna, returned to the scene yesterday, with relatives who went to support her. She broke down in tears as she tried to come to terms with the demise of her husband."

Kaieteur News : "Controversy surrounds the shooting to death of 28-year-old Hewley Nicholas Barker, of Norton Street, Lodge. Barker was shot dead early yesterday morning, by an off-duty Assistant Superintendent of the Guyana Police Force. A friend of Barker, Mark Caesar known as “Lil Mark” was also shot during the scuffle; he is currently a patient in the High Dependency Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital. His condition is listed as critical. There are reports that the police officer was attacked by a number of rogue elements at Roopa’s Bar in Kitty and he retaliated in self defence.

Stabroek News "man was shot dead and another injured by an off-duty police officer who was said to have been moonlighting as a bouncer/security guard at a city night spot. Hewley Nicholas Barker Hewley Nicholas Barker, 28, of Norton Street was shot dead outside the Station Street, Kitty bar some time after 2 am. Mark Caesar, 30, of St Stephen’s Street was wounded and is currently a patient at the High Dependency Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital. Reports are that Barker was shot at close range in his heart and succumbed to his injury at the scene, while Caesar was shot in the bac"

JamaicaObserver.com : "Her name is Corine Smith. She is a single parent and two of her five children still live with her. She works with a sub-contractor at Red Stripe, but only for two or three days per week. That gives her $3,000 — not enough to give her 16-year-old daughter lunch money for five days and buy food and toiletries for the house. “She go school irregular, all three day a week or two, ’cause mi cyaan afford fi sen her,” says the woman, tears welling in her eyes. “Her grades poor,” adds Smith, her voice breaking. “Teacher seh she would do better if she did go school more often, but mi cyaan afford it. An den ah night time ah bere gunshot, yuh cyaan even go yuh bed. An’ yuh cyaan go work fi earn di money, it just stressing,” she says, tears now streaming down her face."

Jamaica Gleaner News "Ten more members of the police force have been fired by acting Commissioner of Police Owen Ellington as he continues to wield the strap against corrupt cops. The latest list, published yesterday in the Jamaica Constabulary Force Orders, includes a cop who 'borrowed' and spent money he collected at a money-transfer company on behalf of a prisoner. In addition, Ellington has demoted two cops for conduct not becoming a member of the force. The measures come days after Superintendent Harry 'Bungles' Daley was found guilty of corruption charges, and three other members of the force were retired in the public interest. In the latest development, Ellington sent home eight constables and two corporals, while demoting a corporal to the rank of constable, and stripping a woman sergeant of her stripes, reducing her to the rank of corporal. The names of the 12 have been withheld by The Gleaner because they have the right of appeal."

JamaicaObserver.com : "THE Opposition People's National Party (PNP) yesterday labelled the Bruce Golding administration 'Jamaica's worst nightmare', and has called an emergency meeting of its National Executive Council (NEC) for tomorrow to plan the party's response to the new slate of taxes being imposed by the Government at the start of next year. Speaking at a press conference held at its Old Hope Road headquarters in Kingston yesterday, Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller told journalists that the party was 'ruling out nothing' when asked about possible protest action as part of its response. The Opposition, she said, would resist the $21.8-billion tax package announced by Finance Minister Audley Shaw on Thursday as part of measures to close a budget gap."

Stabroek News "Hours after an armed robbery, a man accused of being a perpetrator was fatally shot by police early yesterday morning."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "Convicted killer, Lester Pitman was yesterday awarded $147,000 in damages, for a beating he received from three prisons officers while on Death Row in 2008. In her verbal ruling, Justice Judith Jones said she “did not believe” the evidence of the three defendants, and specifically found that they went into the cell, and “assaulted Pitman”."

Kaieteur News : "Director of Medical and Professional Services at the Georgetown Public Hospital, Dr Madan Rambaran, says that the call by the Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform to probe the death of the late Minister within the Ministry of Education, Dr Desrey Fox, is unwarranted. Dr Rambaran denied that there was any case of negligence in the treatment of the Minister at the medical institution and as such there will be no probe. He added that Corbin’s comment was seemingly politically motivated and as such suggested that the issue of his call for a probe be dealt with by the subject Minister."

Nation News "CONTRACTOR AL BARRACK has dismissed charges that he joined the ruling Democratic Labour Party (DLP) earlier this year to influence Prime Minister David Thompson to pay him the millions of dollars Government owes him. He also slammed suggestions that he was trying to bring down the Government by insisting on being paid because he was disappointed that the Thompson administration has not been forthcoming with his money. Barrack stressed yesterday that he was insisting on payment of the now $62.3 million owed to him by the National Housing Corporation (NHC) over the building of the Government Office Complex in Warrens, St Michael, because it was the 'right thing' to do."

Dr Kenny Anthony also wants the Police to investigate what he says might be corruption within the government.

Antigua Sun "A US judge on Thursday said former Texan billionaire R. Allen Stanford will go on trial in January 2011. “This criminal case is going to get under way and it is going to go on schedule,” US District Judge David Hittner said at a federal court hearing. Reuters news agency reported that the date was a compromise between Stanford’s attorney, who wanted the trial to start in summer 2011, and US prosecutors, who pushed for a September 2010 date."

Kaieteur News : "Police on the East Coast of Demerara say they may have thwarted an attempt to free high profile murder suspect Royden Durant on Tuesday. Durant, of Buxton, East Coast Demerara, is charged with the August 30, 2007 murder of Cove and John businessman, Kumar Singh, called Mango Man. The court proceedings are taking place at the Cove and John Magistrate’s Court. According to reports police received information that a plan was hatched to free Durant during his court appearance yesterday."

Stabroek News "A GWI employee was up to press time last night in serious condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound when two men attacked and robbed him of a gold chain on Norton Street, Georgetown."

Stabroek News "A 40-year-old watchman was yesterday found murdered in the home he guarded at Sixth Street, Diamond, East Bank Demerara following an apparent robbery. Dead is Trevor Simon called ‘N"

Jamaica Gleaner News "FINANCE MINISTER Audley Shaw yesterday announced the largest tax package of the calendar year as the Government moved to plug a $17.9-billion hole in the Budget. The package, the third announced by Shaw this fiscal year, is intended to raise $21.8 billion annualised through the medium term. It brings to $47.6 billion the total tax bundle announced by Shaw since April. Speaking in Parliament yester-day, Prime Minister Bruce Golding said the move to pull more taxes from Jamaicans was necessary to heal the nation's ailing economy."

Nation News - Home : " GEORGE HEADLEY heard the news that a man had been killed during an exchange of gunfire with police on Monday evening. But it was only while on his way home from work yesterday morning that he realised the unidentified man was his 43-year-old brother, Denzil Orlando Headley. “I had heard the bulletin about a shoot-out with police, but it was only when I was coming home that the fellows shout and tell me: ‘man, Palu get killed by the police’,” Headley told the DAILY NATION yesterday. The confirmation of his brother’s death was made a few minutes later when Headley hurried to the Two Sons Funeral Home where he saw the body. "

FOXBusiness.com : "In the wake of jailed financier Allen Stanford's alleged fraud, questions have emerged as to the role the tiny Caribbean island of Antigua played in the scheme. Former investors allege the government benefited enormously from Stanford's enterprises, and some argue the country owes money and has seized properties that belong to alleged victims of the fraud. Legislators in the United States are attempting to block the Antiguan government's application for a loan from the International Monetary Fund and allegations of government corruption and cover-ups run rampant among critics of the island nation. FOX Business Network's Adam Shapiro traveled to Antigua for an exclusive interview with the Honorable Justin Simon, the Antiguan Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, to discuss several issues related to the purported Stanford fraud, including the potential corruption of Antiguan government officials, as well as the hundreds of millions of dol

Dominica News Online "Dominica News Online has confirmed that a 34 year-old Scotts Head man is dead following an incident at Scotts Head. The girlfriend of the deceased told Dominica News Online that her boyfriend, suffered from a seizure which led to his death. “When he wake up this morning, I hear him saying, ‘I getting small, I getting small...’ he tell me he going to kill me...He keep saying the thing go up in his head... He give me a cough at the side of my face... then I hear him saying [I going to kill you today then I going to kill myself]....After a while he get up and he say he going to kill himself...Then he went towards the sea...”"

South Florida Caribbean News : "PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad - “Although much of the violence is gang-related, in recent years tourists have increasingly become targets for robbery, sexual assault and murder,” says CDNN.INFO. While homicides increased two percent in Jamaica in 2008, murders were up 38 percent in Trinidad and Tobago. The US and the UK issued travel advisories warning travelers about increasing violence and the failure of police in Tobago to apprehend and prosecute criminals. A US travel advisory warns travelers that armed robbers have been trailing tourists as they depart international airports in Trinidad and Tobago. It said:"

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday "A 27-YEAR-OLD man who was brutally murdered in broad daylight in front of his shocked common-law wife yesterday afternoon, is the country’s 477th murder victim for this year. According to police, At about 1:30 pm, Dawn Daniel, aka “Pa”, a construction worker at a Valsayn College, was shot at his home in Green Hill, Acono Road, Maracas Valley. Police reported that he was with his live-in girlfriend in the yard of their home, when a “dark-skinned” man, dressed in a green pants and a grey t-shirt approached the couple. There was a brief exchange of words and the intruder told Daniel’s girlfriend to “step aside” before pulling out a handheld firearm, shooting Daniel several times about his body. The assailant then escaped on foot. Daniel reportedly died on the spot."

JamaicaObserver.com : "JAMAICAN reggae artiste Mark Myrie, who is better known by his stage name Buju Banton, yesterday waived his right to a bail hearing when he appeared before US Magistrate William Turnoff in the Miami Federal Court yesterday. Turnoff then issued a temporary order of detention. Banton, along with Ian Thomas, also called 'Yush' and Jason Mack, were held last Thursday by Drug Enforcement Administration agents and slapped with charges of possession with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine. The Jamaican reggae singer, who was only recently nominated for a Grammy Award, will have his case heard in Tampa, Florida where the offence allegedly occurred. No date has yet been set for the hearing."

Jamaica Gleaner News "Superintendent of Police Harry 'Bungles' Daley speaks with journalists moments after the guilty verdict was read at the Half-Way Tree Resident Magistrate's Court in St Andrew yesterday. - Peta-Gaye Clachar/Freelance Photographer Well-known senior policeman, Harry 'Bungles' Daley, was yesterday slapped with a guilty verdict on a corruption charge in the Half-Way Tree Resident Magistrate's Court. The 31-year veteran police officer, who for the past year has been engaged in a battle for his freedom, was yesterday sentenced to 18 months in prison by Senior Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey. The verdict was handed down in a crowded court room, pregnant with anticipation."

Jamaica Gleaner News "The top cop in Dominica has called for calm as campaigning intensifies ahead of the December 18 general election, according to a report on www.cananews.net. Police Commissioner Hobbes Jno Baptiste told reporters Wednesday that it was important for Dominicans to be united after the election process and so, needed to avoid all violent activity ahead of the poll."

Antigua Sun "Two men are being questioned by the police in Tobago, following the shooting death of Kenneth George and his Antiguan companion 57-year-old Daislyn Hunte. The bodies of the two, bearing gunshot wounds, were discovered in their home Saturday evening. Daislyn Hunte is the sister of local calypsonian Joseph “Calypso Joe” Hunte. She had just a few hours before her death returned from the United States. The Trinidad Express newspaper reported that the two men, who are in their 30’s, were held at separate locations in Tobago early Monday morning."

Telegraph : "The court also heard there had been suggestions that Mrs Giles had been a Miss Guyana, that her quantity surveyor husband Peter was a diplomat in Russia and that she had been involved in treating Michael Jackson and Oprah Winfrey in her work as a cosmetologist. However, she denied all claims."

Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday : "ELECTRIC fences may soon be installed around the perimeters of the nation’s prisons as a deterrent to prisoners plotting to escape. The TT Prisons Service is reviewing a proposal on the installation of high voltage fences from a private firm which gave a demonstration of its models at Kapok Hotel, St Ann’s yesterday."

Trinidad Express : "WITH two days to go before Dominicans vote to either retain or change the government in Roseau, reports point to a sharp intensification of a clash between ’big money’’ politics by the incumbent Dominica Labour Party (DLP) and widening allegations of political misconduct from its contesting opponents. Latest indication, as gleaned yesterday from a second poll done for Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit’s ruling DLP, is that it seems set to return to power for a third consecutive term, but with a reduced majority from the 12 seats secured at the May 2005 general election. Still unpublished at the time of writing, the poll of"

Jamaica Gleaner News "International reggae star Mark 'Buju Banton' Myrie has strongly denied any involvement in the illegal drugs trade. Buju, who has been one of the standard bearers for reggae music for more than a decade, made the declaration through his legal representative yesterday as he prepared for his first day in court. 'My client says he is absolutely innocent of each of the allegations that the (United States) government has made,' attorney-at-law Herbert E Walker III told The Gleaner late yesterday."

- JamaicaObserver.com : "A police inspector accused of having sexual intercourse with his adopted daughter was yesterday released on bail in the sum of $150,000, with one surety. Also, two constables who allegedly committed sexual acts on two minors were each offered $100,000, with one surety each when they appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court. The inspector, who is stationed at the Constant Spring Police Station, is facing two counts of carnal abuse, while the two constables -- assigned to the Motorised Patrol Division and Constant Spring Police Station respectively, have been charged with indecent assault."

Nation News "LOCAL HOTELS WILL BE dealt a 'catastrophic blow' if British Airways' cabin crew go through with their threatened strike from December 22 to January 2. That's according to executive vice-president of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), Sue Springer. She told the MIDWEEK NATION the proposed 12-day strike by the airline, which runs ten flights per week into Barbados, would have a 'massive impact' on hoteliers, especially those on the West Coast."

Nation News "IT'S GOING to be a blue, blue Christmas for a Christ Church farmer. For the umpteenth time in the past five years, livestock farmer Elmore Duncan has suffered substantial loss at the hands of thieves. The latest hit was last Saturday night, when close to 90 chickens were stolen from his Gibbons Boggs farm. The birds were to be slaughtered this week."