Staff Editor

(Trinidad Express) AT LEAST 5,000 new Housing Development Corporation (HDC) houses are to be distributed next year by the Government.

KARACHI, (Reuters) – Bangladesh have agreed to tour Pakistan next month in the first visit by any country since armed militants attacked the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in 2009, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf said today.

MOSCOW, (Reuters) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that neither side would win the civil war in Syria, and that China and Russia would be unable to persuade President Bashar al-Assad to quit if they tried.

(Trinidad Express) A blackout along the entire north-west of Trinidad forced dozens of businesses in downtown Port of Spain to halt Christmas shopping amid a rush of people yesterday afternoon.

MELBOURNE, Australia CMC – West Indies bowling star Sunil Narine was powerless to stop his Sydney Sixers from a 21-run defeat at the hands of Melbourne Stars in the Australian Big Bash here yesterday.

ST JOHN’S, Antigua,  CMC – Guyanese opener June Ogle has earned a recall in a strong 13-member West Indies Women’s squad announced for the first three One-Day Internationals of the five-match series against South Africa next month.

LONDON, (Reuters) – Former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher, the country’s first woman elected leader, is in hospital recovering from surgery to remove a growth on her bladder, a source close to the family said today.

LOS ANGELES,  (Reuters) – “Two and a Half Men” star Ashton Kutcher filed for divorce from actress wife Demi Moore today in Los Angeles, following more than a year of separation, according to court documents.

Reuters – Moody’s Investors Service yesterday downgraded Barbados’ credit rating to Ba1, into junk territory, citing the Caribbean country’s lukewarm economy and rising government debt levels.

President Donald Ramotar has promised to appoint a team to examine the recommendations advanced by the state-run Guyana National Printers Limited (GNPL) for recapitalising of the entity.

CHICHEN ITZA, Mexico,  (Reuters) – Dawn broke over ancient holy sites in southern Mexico to celebrations today, ushering in the start of a new era for the Maya people that had been billed as a possible end of the world.

NEW DELHI,  (Reuters) – The gang-rape of a young woman in New Delhi has sparked public outrage across India, bringing thousands of people onto city streets in protest against authorities’ failure to ensure women’s safety.

The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) yesterday announced that it has launched its online feature for the monitoring of the status of Customs Declarations by importers or their brokers.

(Trinidad Guardian) Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran is confident that T&T’s relationship with Venezuela will continue even if Venezuelan President Hugo Chavéz has to quit office because of ill health.

(Jamaica Observer) The Jamaican Copyright Licensing Agency (JAMCOPY) last week distributed J$23 million in royalties to some 300 Jamaican creators and publishers of printed materials.

(Jamaica Observer) Caribbean Airlines is now being prosecuted in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court for failure to comply with an Industrial Disputes Tribunal (IDT) ruling to reinstate a former vice-president.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The Office of the Contractor General (OCG) has unleashed a verbal assault on Industry Minister Anthony Hylton for statements he made on Wednesday.

(Jamaica Gleaner) United States District judge James Moody has reserved decision in the application by reggae artiste Buju Banton for a mistrial to be declared.

Three Bajans, including recently installed Barbados T20 captain Dwayne Smith, are among seven Windies players that have been chosen to play in the lucrative Bangladesh Premier League following yesterday’s drama-filled auction.

(Barbados Nation) As Barbadians prepare to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s holidays, they have been put on notice that private sector layoffs are looming for 2013.