CARICOM says US third-country deal will not spark mass migration; INDECOM probes Spanish Town killings

CARICOM leaders have sought to ease public worry over a United States arrangement for third-country nationals, stressing that the framework will not produce large-scale migration into the Caribbean. Officials say it would allow only temporary passage through the region for foreigners without criminal records who are being sent back to their home countries.

The Independent Commission of Investigations has opened an inquiry into the fatal police shooting of two men during a Wednesday night operation in Spanish Town, St. Catherine. The episode has been tied to the robbery and shooting of a service station pump attendant along Dinuary Road in Kingston earlier that day.

Energy Minister Daryl Vaz has welcomed the settlement of a defamation suit he brought against People's National Party General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell. Vaz said the outcome clears him of what he called a politically driven rumour that first surfaced about four decades ago.

In Trelawny, two men charged jointly with murder were freed after a parish court judge found the evidence too weak to commit the case to the circuit court.

In sport, veteran coaches Donovan Dookie and Andrew Price are pressing the Jamaica Football Federation to move quickly on several FIFA rule changes already in use at the ongoing World Cup. The package includes an eight-second limit for goalkeepers to release the ball, visible countdown clocks for restarts, shorter substitution windows, tougher penalties for dissent, and mandatory medical leave for outfield players who receive treatment.

At midday currency trading, one US dollar sold for J$159.81, the British pound for J$216.56, and the Canadian dollar for J$114.26.

Friday's weather outlook points to isolated showers over eastern parishes in the morning, with scattered showers and thunderstorms later across western parishes and some hilly areas.