A British man accused of air rage during a transatlantic flight denied the charge when he appeared in court on Friday.

Grant Smith was aboard the Thomson Airways flight carrying 253 passengers from Manchester to the Dominican Republic on December 31 when it was forced to divert to Bermuda after its crew reported problems with some passengers.

Three men were arrested by local police when the aircraft landed in Bermuda and the flight continued to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, arriving more than four hours later than scheduled.

Two other men were released without charge.

Migrants resolution passed

The National Assembly in Guyana has approved a resolution calling on the government to protect the rights of nationals travelling to other Caricom countries.

	Guyana parliament had a busy day

The resolution followed complaints about the treatment of illegal Guyanese migrants in Barbados, which says control over immigration is a sovereign right.

Raphael Trotman the co-leader of the minority Alliance For Change which brought the motion, said Caricom was doomed if all member countries took that position.

Lay magistrates for Guyana

The Guyana Parliament has passed a bill providing for the appointment of lay magistrates - people without formal legal qualifications - to deal with a backlog of petty court cases.

The new bill states that it is the duty of a lay magistrate to promote reconciliation and encourage settlements as an amicable way of proceeding in both criminal and civil cases.

They have also been empowered to adjudicate in petty criminal offences if the punishment does not exceed the equivalent of US$50 and in civil cases where the dispute does not exceed $250.

At the end of 2008, there was a backlog of around 17,000 cases in the magistrates courts.

UK company prosecuted for Caribbean corruption

A British engineering company has admitted it was involved in overseas corruption in Jamaica and Ghana and the breaching of UN sanctions.

Mabey and Johnson tried to influence officials in the two countries when bidding for public contracts.

It also paid more than $200,000 to Saddam Hussein's regime -- violating the terms of the 'oil for food' programme.

The company pleaded guilty to ten charges of corruption and sanctions violation at Westminster Magistrates Court in London.

Windies board, players group remain at odds

The deadlock between the West Indies Cricket Board and the Players Association remains unresolved.

Talks between the two sides ended after just 23 minutes on Thursday when the board refused to negotiate while the players remained on strike.

The leading test players have boycotted the series against Bangladesh due to a dispute about contracts and payments.

A makeshift West Indies team, including seven newcomers, took the field on a rain-affected first day of the series in St Vincent.

WHO targets lifestyle diseases

The World Health Organisation has launched a global network to fight non-communicable diseases, such as heart diseases, strokes, diabetes and cancers.

Speaking at the launch, Guyana's health minister Leslie Ramsammy said it was a serious mistake to omit these lifestyle diseases from the Millennium Development Goals.

These are the UN targets to halve a host of social and economic ills by 2015.

Bounty Killa arrested in Jamaica

Jamaican reggae and dance hall star Bounty Killa has been arrested on assault and other charges over an altercation with an off-duty policeman nearly two years ago.

Police said Bounty Killa, whose real name is Rodney Pryce, could face a sentence of 15 years in prison if convicted.

Pryce was charged with assault, unlawful wounding and illegal possession of a firearm.

Chavez applies new broadcast rules

The Venezuelan government is imposing new regulations on cable and satellite television channels.

Under the rules, cable companies which produce the majority of their content in Venezuela will have to comply with Venezuelan broadcasting laws.

They will be obliged to carry speeches by President Hugo Chavez on a regular basis.

These can last for four to five hours.

In addition, more than 200 radio stations in Venezuela have had their re-broadcasting licences revoked.

The government says it is "democratising the airwaves" with these latest decisions; the opposition say it is a clampdown on the freedom of speech.