Staff Editor

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., (Reuters) – President Barack Obama today described a U.S.

KOLKATA, India – Left-handed West Indies stroke-maker Darren Bravo may take no part in the lucrative Indian Premier League when the current Australia series ends in the Caribbean.

Signalling a further closing of ranks, APNU and the AFC today said that they will resist the passage of the 2012 budget unless significant changes are made and they called for the lowering of VAT, the Berbice bridge toll, a hike in salaries for public servants and the revamping of government’s holding company, NICIL, among a range of other demands.

(Trinidad Guardian) Chinese construction firm, China Jiangsu International, has secured a half-a-billion dollar contract for the construction of the University of the West Indies (UWI) South Campus in Penal/Debe.

(Jamaica Observer) Dancehall recording artiste Mavado is to have a major role in Shottas 2 which began filming last Friday.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Describing delays in the country’s court system as chronic, the leaders of the Jamaican Bar Association say abolishing preliminary enquiries could be one cure to the malady.

The PPP/C yesterday called on all “patriotic Guyanese” to reject “purveyors of division” and to support attempts being made to attain political consensus along political lines.

(Jamaica Gleaner) Brian Pengelley, the president of the Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association (JMA), is warning that walking away from membership in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) would not solve the vexing issue of trade imbalance.

(De Ware Tijd) THE HAGUE – Legislators Thijs Berman of the European Parliament (EP) and Kathleen Ferrier of the Dutch Lower House are disappointed over the European Union’s (EU) decision not to impose sanctions on Suriname for adopting the Amnesty Act.

(Trinidad Express) Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley yesterday charged that he was in danger of bankruptcy as Attorney General Anand Ramlogan was making select lawyers millionaires to wage legal battle against him (Rowley) as he conducts his public duty.

(Trinidad Express) A clear motive has not yet been established for the shooting deaths of a couple who were asleep at their Thomasine Street, Laventille home, early yesterday.

(Trinidad Express) Following are the nine charges brought against Caribbean Communications Network (CCN) Ltd by ASP Ajith Persad of the Port of Spain Criminal Investigations Department (CID) over the airing of a rape video on the Crime Watch programme for which host Ian Alleyne has also been charged.

(Trinidad Express) No bail. This was written on three warrants which were executed on TV6’s Crime Watch talk show host Ian Alleyne yesterday as he was processed by officers of the Port of Spain CID.

CARACAS,  (Reuters) – A healthy-sounding President Hugo Chavez called Venezuelan state television from Cuba on Monday to dispel rumors fanned by a nine-day silence that he had died undergoing cancer treatment at a hospital in Havana.

CHICAGO,  (Reuters) – Grammy and Oscar winning singer and actress Jennifer Hudson testified today that she had known the man charged with killing three members of her family since they were in middle school together but never liked him.

ROSEAU, Dominica, (Reuters) – West Indies off-spinner Shane Shillingford ran through Australia’s middle order on the first day of the third test today before admitting his surprise over how much purchase he gained on his home track.

St Vincent Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves was treated for an abscess at a hospital in Barbados over the weekend, Foreign Affairs Minister Douglas Slater announced today, according to CMC.

Ninety-four foreign miners – many of them Brazilians – were snared in a recent crackdown by the government against illegal mining which apparently led to a high-level delegation from Brazil’s state of Roraima seeking clarifications from Georgetown.

ROSEAU, Dominica,  (Reuters) – Shane Shillingford delighted his fellow Dominicans with a four wicket haul as West Indies restricted Australia to 212 for seven on the first day of the third and final test.

The Guyana Police Force today said that senior officers of the force expressed concern at a  management team meeting last Wednesday about statements that had been made by Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee at a recent Community Policing Workshop but that the matter had now been resolved.