Staff Editor

PARIS, (Reuters) – France will pursue operations in Mali to prepare a subsequent African-led intervention to oust Islamist rebels and will step up anti-terrorist security measures on its own territory, President Francois Hollande said on Saturday.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,  CMC – A spectacular Derone Davis hat-trick triggered yet another humiliating Barbados batting meltdown as Combined Campuses and Colleges hauled themselves off the bottom of the Caribbean Twenty20 standings with a sensational win here Friday night.

OTTAWA,  (Reuters) – Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper agreed in a meeting with native leaders on Friday to pay more attention to their demands, trying to mollify an aboriginal protest movement that has threatened to blockade roads and railways across the country.

(Jamaica Observer) Attorney General Patrick Atkinson says that uncontrolled media releases from the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) will only serve to hurt Jamaica’s reputation internationally.

(Barbados Nation) There has been a major shake-up at one of Barbados’ biggest conglomerates.

(Trinidad Express) Saif Khan was knocked down and killed on Wednesday night as he tried to run across Eastern Main Road in St Augustine in an attempt to flee from bandits.

(Trinidad Express) A senior supervisor with Guardian Media Ltd became this country’s latest murder statistic after he was shot several times about the body as he stood outside his Laventille home yesterday morning.

(Reuters) – Influenza has officially reached epidemic proportions in the United States, with 7.3 percent of deaths last week caused by pneumonia and the flu, the U.S.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,  CMC – Jamaica edged Leeward Islands in a nail-biter, pulling off an exciting win via the super-over to move into contention for a playoff spot in the Caribbean Twenty20 here Friday night.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,  CMC – Veteran West Indies left-hander Shiv Chanderpaul says he is champing at the bit for Guyana’s showdown with Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean Twenty20 on Saturday night.

(WICB) Port-of-Spain, Trinidad – Steven Jacobs had a major say in the outcome of Thursday night’s Caribbean T20 contest, bowling Guyana to a big win over Barbados in a low-scoring affair.

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad,  CMC-A much-anticipated top-of-the-table clash between defending champions Trinidad and Tobago and arch-rivals Guyana will be played to a packed Queen’s Park Oval when the Caribbean T20 tournament climaxes its Port-of-Spain leg on Saturday night.

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa,  (Reuters) – Hashim Amla plundered yet another century to lead South Africa to a commanding 325 for four on the first day of the second and final test against New Zealand at St George’s Park today.

(Barbados Nation) Economic recession or not the Barbados Workers Union (BWU) intends to call out its full membership to hit the streets of Barbados for wide-scale industrial action in an effort to force telecommunications giant LIME to withdraw 97 letters of redundancy which were issued last week.

(Barbados Nation) The local and regional motorsport fraternity was thrown into mourning Tuesday with news of the passing of British racing driver Gabriel Konig at the age of 70.

(Trinidad Express) In an effort to not burden the Trinidad and Tobago consumer who is now faced with a 9.5 per cent increase in the price of cement by Trinidad Cement Ltd, Government plans to approach Caricom for a relief of the 15 per cent duty on cement imported from outside the region.

(Trinidad Express) More than 400 females were raped at gunpoint and/or gang raped over the past ten years in this country, a report from the Medical Research Foundation (MRF) has stated.

The body of a male commercial sex worker was found this morning behind the Carnegie School of Home Economics with stab wounds.

PARIS/BAMAKO,  (Reuters) – France would intervene to stop any further drive southward by Islamist rebels in Mali, President Francois Hollande said today, as Malian soldiers launched a counter-offensive to wrest back a key town captured by militants this week.

Eleven gold bars were found by US border patrol authorities last month at an airport in Puerto Rico and the precious metal is believed to have been part of the November 30 heist aboard a Guyanese boat in the Dutch island of Curacao.