Staff Editor

An attempt was made early this morning to burn down a bond owned by murdered Pest Control Plus boss Mohammed Baksh.

(Jamaica Observer) Former Prime Minister P J Patterson says Jamaica’s trade deficit with non-Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries deserves as much attention as that being given to the imbalance with the regional bloc.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Telecommunications firm Digicel has accused the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) of being “unconstitutional” and setting itself up as “judge, jury and executioner”.

LONDON,  (Reuters) – Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt was released from prison in Britain today after serving seven months of a two-and-a-half year term for involvement in a match-fixing scam that sent shock waves through the world of cricket.

(Trinidad Express) The remains of murdered Michelle Coudray, daughter of San Fernando Mayor Marlene Coudray, will be cremated in Jamaica and her ashes returned to her homeland.

JAKARTA,  (Reuters) – A boat carrying about 200 suspected asylum seekers has capsized in Indonesian waters 120 nautical miles north of Australia’s Christmas Island and many are feared drowned, authorities said today.

(Trinidad Express) The brother of the 24-year-old man whose car slammed into a Caura bar and killed five people on Tuesday said last night that his brother was not drunk as he only had one beer that morning.

(Trinidad Express) Police are investigating reports of several mysterious fires at the home of a millionaire Central businessman.

AMMAN,  (Reuters) – The pilot of a Syrian MiG 21 fighter jet who flew his plane to Jordan today asked for political asylum on landing, Jordanian Minister of State for Information Samih al-Maaytah said.

(Jamaica Gleaner) A 24-year-old man who chopped his brother to death and injured two other family members has turned himself in to the Greater Portmore police this afternoon.

Chief Executive Officer of COPS Security and former army Lieutenant Colonel, Gregory Gaskin, died earlier today after suffering internal injuries when he fell from his motorcycle at the South Dakota Circuit, Timehri.

Speaker of the National Assembly and Leader of the Alliance For Change, Raphael Trotman tonight announced that the mantle of party leadership will be transferred to MP Khemraj Ramjattan who currently holds the position of Chairman.

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – A U.S. congressional panel voted today to charge Attorney General Eric Holder with contempt of Congress after the Obama administration invoked executive privilege for the first time since coming to office, withholding some documents related to a failed gun-running investigation.

(Jamaica Gleaner) The Ministry of National Security has signed a Military Cooperation Agreement with China.

The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation and the Ministry of Health today announced that the hospital performed its first Haemodialysis treatment today on a patient with renal failure.

(WICB) Port-of-Spain, Trinidad — The West Indies Cricket Board Selection Panel today named the West Indies A Team 13-man squad to face India A in two T20 matches.

(Trinidad Guardian) Planning and the Economy Minister Dr Bhoe Tewarie is confident that this country’s music industry can prove to be a very lucrative export if packaged properly.

Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman today issued a statement condemning a report in the June 17 edition of the Sunday Chronicle and called for a retraction and  for the newspaper to lift the standard of its reporting.

(Jamaica Observer) Dancehall act Busy Signal was yesterday extradited to the United States to face trial for jumping bail shortly before the start of his cocaine-trafficking trial a decade ago.

The police today said that at about 2210h last night, two men armed with firearms entered the Popeye’s Restaurant at Vlissengen Road and Duncan Street, Georgetown, and held up the three female cashiers and two customers.