Staff Editor

President Donald Ramotar and First Lady Deolatchmee Ramotar ringing in the New Year at Camp Ayanganna.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Seven years after Jamaica started courting the eastern Europeans, the first Russian carrier Transaero arrived on the island yesterday.

SYDNEY, Australia,  CMC – Sydney Thunder head coach Shane Duff has thrown his support behind embattled West Indies star Chris Gayle, following the opener’s latest failure.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – European shares rallied across the board at the start of the new year after U.S.

(Barbados Nation) Police are investigating the discovery of a newborn’s decomposed body  in a St James home on Boxing Day.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is aware that his condition is complicated following a fourth cancer operation in Cuba, Vice President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday, as the OPEC nation watches for clues to the socialist leader’s health.

(Trinidad Express) Sexual offences and kidnappings were at an all time high last year than any other time over the past five years, according to statistics from the Crime and Problem Analysis Branch (CAPA) of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS).

SYDNEY,  (Reuters) – Sri Lanka will use the example of their remarkable turnaround on their last tour of South Africa to try and rescue a face-saving third test victory against Australia, captain Mahela Jayawardene said today.

(Trinidad Express) All those who were on duty at the Defence Force Headquarters in Chaguaramas the night Lance Corporal Curtis Marshall was murdered have been locked down at base while homicide detectives conduct their investigations.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – The United States averted economic calamity yesterday when lawmakers approved a deal to prevent huge tax hikes and spending cuts that would have pushed the world’s largest economy off a “fiscal cliff” and into recession.

The Chinese electronics giant, Haier, has not yet begun assembling laptops here as a result of several factors including the re-organisation of the company’s structure in China.

(Trinidad Guardian) US Embassy officials have denied knowledge of imposing a ban on Carnival masqueraders passing near its building on Marli Street, Port-of-Spain.

WASHINGTON,  (Reuters) – Washington’s last-minute scramble to step back from a “fiscal cliff” ran into trouble today as Republicans in the House of Representatives balked at a deal to avert a budget crisis.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, a BBC cricket commentator and newspaper writer, has died of cancer at the age of 67.

Start-up logging company, Vaitarna Holding Private Incorporated (VHPI) has not yet set up a promised wood processing plant here but company director Chethan Narayan has assured that such a facility is on the cards and the company is doing the groundwork.

(Jamaica Gleaner) National Security Minister Dr Errol Cort will meet with senior officials of the Antigua and Barbuda Police Force tomorrow to deal with the upsurge in criminal activities on the island.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Mandeville was yesterday left in shock and disbelief after an elderly couple was found dead at their home in the town Monday morning.

(Barbados Nation) Reopen the case! Find the man who raped us!

(Trinidad Express) Legal Affairs Minister and Congress of the People leader Prakash Ramadhar yesterday stated that in 2013 he will keep the promise to deliver on Constitution reform.

ABIDJAN,  (Reuters) – About 60 people were crushed to death in Ivory Coast’s main city of Abidjan overnight after a New Year’s Eve fireworks display, an emergency official and state radio said today.