Staff Editor

Following his guilty plea to mortgage fraud conspiracy in New York, Guyanese businessman Ed Ahmad faces over 10 years in jail and US$15M in restitution and fines, according to today’s edition of the New York Daily News.

ISTANBUL,  (Reuters) – Moscow accused Ankara of endangering Russian lives today after Turkey forced a Syrian passenger plane to land and seized what it suspected was military equipment being ferried from Russia to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

(Trinidad Express) RBC Royal Bank has withdrawn its proposal to implement a one per cent fee on foreign currency credit card transactions.

(Trinidad Express) Confessed bigamist Lynette Phillips was told yesterday that her illegal marriage left her second husband feeling cheated and humiliated.

(Trinidad Express) Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has called for two multi-million-dollar Tobago projects to be halted and has requested that a probe be conducted into questionable dealings of the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) led by Chief Secretary Orville London.

MUMBAI,  (Reuters) – Former India captain Anil Kumble has been named the new head of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) cricket committee, replacing former West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd, the global governing body said today.

(Trinidad Express) Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams yesterday said the police had a legal obligation to provide crime statistics to the public and the National Security Minister had no authority to stop that.

STOCKHOLM,  (Reuters) – Chinese writer Mo Yan won the 2012 Nobel prize for literature today for works which the awarding committee said had qualities of “hallucinatory realism”.

(Trinidad Express) National  Security Minister Jack Warner has sought to clarify his claim that the People’s National Movement (PNM) was responsible for a murder in Laventille yesterday which broke a broke a 30-day cease-fire in the area.

TOKYO, (Reuters) – World’s fastest man Usain Bolt is still toying with the notion of adding the 400 metres or long jump to his repertoire after retaining his 100 and 200 Olympic titles.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez named Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro as his new vice-president today in the first change of cabinet after Sunday’s re-election.

Police say that at about 1100h today, the decomposed body of Norma Hamilton, 60 years, was found in her home at Republic Park, EBD.

Police say that investigations are being conducted into the circumstances surrounding the death of Vibert Fernandes, 60 years, of Queenstown, Essequibo Coast, which occurred at about 0025h.

US-based Guyanese businessman Ed Ahmad this morning pleaded guilty to attempting and conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud before Judge Dora Irizarry in a New York Court.

Amid public consternation and calls for the resignation of Minister Clement Rohee, the Ministry of Home Affairs today expressed deep concern over the killings of Shaquille Grant and Dameon Belgrave by the police and said that  an analysis is being done of current training regimens.

(Trinidad Guardian) Minister of the People Glenn Ramadharsingh says half of the 1,400 street dwellers in T&T are to be removed before Christmas.

(Trinidad Guardian) In a landmark judgment, the Court of Appeal yesterday stated convicted criminals should have the time spent awaiting trial in remand discounted from their substantive sentence.

(Trinidad Guardian) ST GEORGE’S, Grenada—The Government of Grenada has described the decision by Standard and Poor’s to lower foreign currency sovereign credit ratings on Grenada to ‘SD’ from ‘B-/B’ as premature.

(Jamaica Observer) LONDON, England – Britain’s top black woman-judge Constance Briscoe was arrested at her home.

(Jamaica Observer) HOPEWELL, Hanover — Opposition Leader Andrew Holness says he is in favour of the empanelling of a broad-based committee to choose a replacement for Contractor General Greg Christie, who is expected to demit office next month.