December 30, 2011
Verizon to charge $2 fee for online payments
Verizon Wireless will soon make some customers pay for the privilege of paying their bills. The nation's largest wireless company is instituting a $2 "convenience charge" for those customers who make one-time bill payments using a debit or credit…
December 30, 2011
North Korea says it won’t deal with South Korean government
North Korea said Friday that it remained steadfast in its refusal to engage with the current South Korean government, dismissing the prospect of a shift in relations with Seoul after a dynastic succession in Pyongyang. "We solemnly declare with…
December 30, 2011
US aircraft carrier in drill zone: Iran
A US aircraft carrier entered a zone near the Strait of Hormuz that is now being used by the Iranian navy for military drills, an Iranian official said on Thursday amid rising tensions over the key oil-transit channel. "A US aircraft carrier was…
December 30, 2011
AL observers visit Syria amid continuing violence
Syria still faces continuing violence despite the arrival of Arab League observers in the country. On Thursday, amateur video emerged purportedly showing Arab League observers running from gunfire. The killings in Syria show no sign of abating. In…
December 30, 2011
Russia Says Crew Inside Burning Submarine in No Danger
The Russian military says crew members still inside a burning nuclear submarine docked in a northern Russia shipyard are not in any danger. An official said Friday the undisclosed number of crew members are monitoring temperatures and carbon…
December 30, 2011
Deadly Cyclone Hits Southern India
Indian weather forecasters say a cyclone has hit the country's southeastern coast, killing at least six people. Cyclone Thane made landfall near the former French colonial town of Pondicherry early Friday with winds up to 135 kilometers per hour,…
December 30, 2011
Samoa and Tokelau Cross International Date Line
The tiny Pacific island nation of Samoa and nearby atolls of New Zealand-administered Tokelau skipped Friday this year and moved from Thursday straight to Saturday to align themselves with their trading partners in the region. At the stroke of…
December 30, 2011
PNP’s Portia Simpson delivers crushing 41-22 seat defeat to JLP
THE People’s National Party (PNP) sent the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) back into Opposition after scoring a crushing 41-22-seat victory in yesterday’s 16th general election that pollsters and analysts had said was mostly too close to call. A sober…
December 30, 2011
Police protecting Tufton
Jamaica Labour Party Deputy Leader Dr Christopher Tufton says he is now under police protection at his home in his South Western St Elizabeth constituency. According to Tufton, People’s National Party (PNP) supporters have refused to accept his…
December 30, 2011
USVI to lay off nearly 500 amid budget crisis
The governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands says he will be forced to lay off nearly 500 employees in the coming months because of a fiscal crisis. Gov. John de Jongh said Wednesday that 143 temporary and part-time workers will be dismissed on Dec.…