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THIS WEEK’S SUMMARY
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SPANISH AMBASSADOR SAYS VISITS OF KING, QUEEN POSTPONED—11/22/08
Jesus Silva, Spain’s Ambassador to Jamaica, stated that a scheduled visit by the King and Queen of Spain to the island in December has been postponed to early 2009. He dismissed the idea that the change in schedule was related to a lawsuit filed against two Spanish-owned hotels for the theft of sand from a beach in Trelawny.
JAMAICAN DEVELOPER SUES SPANISH HOTELS—11/23/08
Felicitas Limited, a developer, has filed an $8 million lawsuit against RIU Hotels and Resorts and the Fiesta Hotel Group for the alleged theft of some 100 truckloads of sand from a beachfront property on the island. According to Michael Hylton, attorney, tests have indicated that the sand at the two Spanish-owned hotels, is similar to the stolen sand. Jesus Silva, Spanish ambassador to Jamaica, denies the accusations and said both hotel firms have cooperated with police.
GOLDING PAYS TRIBUTE TO LEE—11/24/08
Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding headed a list of government officials, dignitaries, and musicians who attended the thanksgiving service in honor of Byron Lee, Jamaican music legend. The event took place at St. George’s College.
GOVERNMENT VOTES TO RETAIN DEATH PENALTY—11/25/08
The Jamaican Parliament rejected a proposal to ban the death penalty. The vote was a response to the nation’s high murder rate and a series of violent crimes committed against children. While capital punishment has been law in Jamaica for some time, recent governments were reluctant to issue death warrants. The last execution on the island occurred in 1988.
WORLD FINANCIAL CRISIS COULD HELP ACCOUNT, SAYS BOJ—11/26/08
The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) believes that there is potential for improvement in Jamaica’s current account resulting from the international financial crisis, which is expected to restrict exchange earnings to the island. The BOJ says the actual picture of the Jamaican economy will be mixed, suggesting that tourism, transport, distribution, and financial services industries will see the biggest impact.
REMITTANCES TO JAMAICA REMAIN STEADY—11/27/08
The financial crisis impacting the United States has yet to have any effect on remittances to Jamaica, says Charles Spence, Sales and Marketing Manager for North America at Jamaica National Overseas, a money-transmitting firm. The level of funds being sent back to Jamaica via his company has remained steady since the beginning of 2008. Spence believes it will remain so despite U.S. financial difficulties.
JAMAICA BEGINS BIG TOURIST ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN—11/27/08
Jamaica has launched a $3 million ad campaign designed to attract tourists to the island in spite of the world’s financial crisis. Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s Tourism Minister, says radio and television advertising is targeting the United States, traditionally the largest tourist market for Jamaica. Promotions will also be designed for Canada and Europe.
POLICE TARGET STUDENTS IN KINGSTON—11/28/08
Jamaican police tried to round up students in downtown Kingston as they appeared ready to miss school for the day. After an hour of patrols, the police held nine girls and a boy, dressed in uniform, from a single high school. Knives, ice picks, and other weapons were seized, and one girl was charged with the possession of offensive weapons. Police say they must deal with such delinquents on a daily basis.
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JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS
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JAMAICAN MAN SUSPECTED OF INFECTING BRITISH WOMEN WITH HIV/AIDS—11/23/08
Over 400 British women are believed to have been infected with HIV by an illegal Jamaican immigrant, who is said to have overstayed a visitor’s visa in 2002. The man is also said to have mental health problems. It is suspected that the man had a series of one-night stands with women he met at clubs in the East Midlands.
JAMAICANS TO ATTENT EDUCATION CONFERENCE IN CUBA—11/24/08
Topics for debate during Pedagogy 2009, which will be held in Havana, Cuba, in January 2009, were presented at a meeting of Jamaican and Cuban educators. Jamaican professors were particularly interested in Cuba’s expertise with primary and adult education.
JAMAICAN A STAR IN U.S. COLLEGE BASKETBALL—11/25/08
Samardo Samuels made his basketball debut at the NCAA Division One college basketball match. The University of Louisville (Kentucky) had a perfect weekend, vanquishing Morehouse State University 74-67 and South Alabama University 81-54 to make the season 2-0, thanks chiefly to the Jamaican, who averaged 21 points over both games.
JAMAICAN TO VOTE IN ELECTORAL COLLEGE IN FLORIDA—11/26/08
A Jamaican immigrant will cast a vote in the 2008 Florida Electoral College, the only migrant from Jamaica to do so. The Florida Electoral College members include Marlon Hill, attorney and head of the Southeast Jamaica Diaspora movement. He will cast a vote for President-elect Barack Obama and Vice-President-elect Joe Biden.
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SPORTS
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JAMAICAN SKI TEAM TO WEAR SPYDER RACE APPAREL—11/24/08
Spyder Active Sports is supporting the newest national ski program, the Jamaica Ski Team, which will wear the firm’s apparel at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada. Errol Kerr is currently the only member of the team, but this does not limit the country’s chances for medals at the Games.
BOLT NAMED MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR—11/25/08
As expected, triple-gold-medal Olympic champion Usain Bolt of Jamaica was named the Male Athlete of the Year by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) in Monte Carlo, Monaco. Bolt won Olympic gold in the 100 meters, 200 meters, and 4×100 meter matches with world record times.
BOLT TO FOCUS ON WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS—11/27/08
Triple Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt will skip the early stages of the Golden League competition to focus on the 2008 World Athletics Championship to be held in Berlin, Germany. Bolts was recently named IAAF Athlete of the Year.
SPRINTER DUNKLEY RECEIVES 2-YEAR SUSPENSION—11/28/08
Julien Dunkley, sprinter, has been given a mandatory two-year suspension from the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association (JAAA) after testing positive for Boldenone, an illegal substance. According to Dr. Warren Blake, second vice-president of the JAAA, the ban went into effect when the positive test result was received, which was in July 2008. Dunkley, 32, will be ineligible to compete until July 2010, which means an effective end to his career.
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DEVOTIONAL
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A Heart of Thanksgiving
The idea behind having a day for thanksgiving, as North Americans do, is an excellent one. It is a day set aside when individuals stop to reflect on the goodness of God, and with a grateful heart, thank Him for His many blessings. It is a day shared with family and friends, a festive occasion for most, topped off with the traditional thanksgiving dinner. However, once the day is past, it is easy to go back to things being business as usual. Yet while it is wholesome to pause, reflect, and give thanks on the day, it is even better to do it every day.
A common theme in the Psalms is giving thanks to God. In five of them we read “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever” (106:1; 107:1; 118:1, 29; 136:1), words echoed from 1 Chronicles 16:34. It is interesting to note the reason we are admonished to give thanks to God – “for his mercy endureth forever”. The blessings we receive from God are all the result of His mercy, and so even before we start listing the things for which we are thankful, we have to begin with his mercy. Jeremiah reminds us “It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is [his] faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23, KJV).
In his first letter to the Christians in Thessalonica, Paul wrote, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (5:18). Many sermons have been preached on this text, but it is a constant reminder that we should give thanks in all situations. It is easy to be thankful in and for the good times, and for benefits that are to our immediate advantage, but harder to do so when everything seem bent out of shape. Yet even in those difficult circumstances we should give thanks, because in the midst of our thanksgiving are the seeds for our breakthrough.
As we go through today, and the rest of our days, let us do so with hearts of thankfulness to God. And while doing so, let’s not forget to thank him most of all for his “unspeakable gift” (2 Corinthians 9:15), our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
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CREDITS/SOURCES
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The weekly news is compilation of new articles from top Caribbean and Jamaican news sources.
