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THIS WEEK’S SUMMARY
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SCOTLAND YARD TO REVIEW WOOLMER DEATH INVESTIGATION—03/31/07
Lucius Thomas, Police Commissioner, has called in a team of detectives from Scotland Yard to help in the investigation of Bob Woolmer’s murder. Woolmer was the coach of the Pakistan Cricket team. The Commissioner made his request through the Ministry of National Security. Four senior Scotland Yard detectives were invited to come to Jamaica and review what has been done so far in terms of the investigation. The detectives will work closely with Operation Kingfish.
HOLNESS WANTS PARENTS OF DELINQUENTS LOCKED UP—04/01/07
Andrew Holness, Opposition Spokesman on Education, believes that the parents of children who exhibit delinquent behavior should be locked up. Holness suggested this approach in response to several incidents of violence that have occurred in the schools. One incident led to the death of a student and injuries to several others.
ALLEGED KILLEER OF POLICE OFFICER SHOT DEAD—04/02/07
Christopher “Cheese Trix” Williams was shot and killed by police, and two hours later, the Denham Town Police Station in western Kingston was the target of gunfire. A police constable was shot during the incident, and one of the gunmen was killed. Police believe the attack was in retaliation for Williams’ shooting. Williams was the alleged killer of Special Corporal Charles Gordon, who was gunned down as he conducted a traffic check in Kingston in January 2007.
LOCAL POLICE SAY WOOLMER NOT POISONED—04/03/07
In spite of reports in the international media that Bob Woolmer, former Pakistan cricket coach, was murdered by poisoning, local police continue to support their conclusions as to cause of death. It has been suggested that aconite, an ancient drug, was used to kill Woolmer, but the local police believe he was asphyxiated due to manual strangulation. Forensic experts have said that aconite would cause asphyxiation, but until the toxicology report is issued, the police are standing by their strangulation theory.
MIKE HENRY, OPPOSITION MP, DEMANDS PAY RAISE—04/04/07
Breaking a code of silence among legislators, Mike Henry, Opposition Member of Parliament for Central Clarendon, has demanded an increase in pay. Henry is opposed to further delays in granting pay increases to parliamentarians, and he raised the issue in a meeting of the Standing Finance Committee of Parliament. Parliamentarians need more than they are paid, says Henry.
SALE OF GOODYEAR FACTORY QUESTIONED—04/05/07
Gary Foster, philanthropist, may contest the Western St. Thomas government seat currently held by James Robertson, Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) deputy leader. Foster would make his move on behalf of the People’s National Party (PNP). Foster is angry at Robertson because of comments suggesting that he, Foster, has benefited from government connections in order to purchase the former Goodyear factory near Morant Bay in western St. Thomas. Foster, a friend of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, made a bid for the factory. He plans to use it for his charity, the Upliftment Jamaica Foundation.
IDENTITY OF DECEASED DIVER REVEALED—04/05/07
Joseph Campbell, 35, of Alligator Pond in St. Elizabeth, told family and friends he was going to Kingston to see his father, who was ill. Instead, Campbell has been identified by his wife as the diver whose body was found floating in Kingston’s Gordon Cay area. He was wearing a diving suit and carrying an oxygen tank. Another tank was nearby, and a toolkit was found to be in Campbell’s possession. It appears Campbell was attaching a canister containing more than 100 pounds of compressed ganja to a ship’s hull when the propeller hit him in the head, causing his death.
GOVERNMENT SEEKS RETIRED POLICE TO HELP IN CHILDRENS’ PROGRAM—04/06/07
The government is attempting to address the problem of children roaming the streets at night. It plans to introduce a program that will use retired policemen to keep them off the streets and to warn parents that they will face prosecution if their children on found roaming freely at night. Health Minister Horace Dalley wants retired police who are interested in this project to form a “little night squad” to get the children of the streets. The Child Development Agency (CDA) is looking for a place in which to care for the children until their parents are notified.
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JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS
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REGGAE MUSICIAN WOWS UK WITH BARBECUE SAUCE—03/31/07
Levi Roots, a Jamaican musician who became a businessman in the United Kingdom attracted considerable attention in the United Kingdom when he participated in “Dragons Den,” a BBC reality-TV show. Roots, who was born Keith Valentine Graham in Jamaica in 1959, convinced investors to put £50,000 into his business, which has only one product: barbecue sauce called Reggae Reggae Sauce.
JAMAICAN FLYING AROUND THE WORLD IN A SINGLE-ENGINE PLANE—04/01/07
Barrington Irving, 23, is on his way to Spain on the seventh day of his planned flight around the globe in a single-engine aircraft. Jamaican-born Irving is a senior at Florida Memorial University majoring in aerospace. Flying his plane, which he has named “Inspiration,” Irving hopes that his five-week flight will inspire other young people to follow their dreams and to keep away from negative influences.
JAMAICANS IMPRESS CROWD AT CONCERTS—04/02/07
As part of the Park of the Palms music series in Bradford County, Florida, Jamaican-born Grace McFarland, her brother John, a tenor soloist, Paulette Bellamy, violinist, and Deanna, John’s wife provided an excellent concert of Bach, Debussy, Ravel, and Chopin, among other classic works. McFarland made her debut at Carnegie Hall in 1982 and has played concerts worldwide. Currently, she is on the faculty of the Levine School of Music and is President of Washington, D.C.’s Music Teacher’s Association. Her brother John served in the Jamaican military and government and is currently the island’s Director of Transportation Security.
CANADA MAY ASK FOR MORE FARM WORKERS FROM JAMAICA—04/03/07
Officials in Jamaica and Canada want to expand the farm work program to other areas, which could result in a larger number of Jamaicans working on Canada’s farms. Derrick Kellier, Jamaica’s Minister of Labor and Security, visited Canada to discuss the program with farmers and officials. Kellier is interested in providing more employment opportunities for Jamaicans in Canada.
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SPORTS
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DISAPPOINTED LARA BLAMES BATSMEN FOR LOSS—03/31/07
Brian Lara, captain of the West Indies cricket team, blamed the batsmen for the loss to New Zealand in the World Cup Super Eights match. The Windies were dismissed for only 177 by New Zealand at Sir Vivian Richards stadium. New Zealand had little difficulty knocking off with only three wickets down and more than ten overs to spare.
CALABAR AND HOLMWOOD WIN IN CHAMPIONSHIPS—04/01/07
Calabar defeated Kingston College, and Holmwood Technical won its fifth straight girls’ title at the 2007 ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Athletic Championships at National Stadium. Calabar won it s first title in 10 years, while Holmwood had a large lead of 105 points over Manchester High.
WEST INDIES’ DREAM TURNS TO NIGHTMARE—04/02/07
The West Indies cricket team dreamed of winning the World Cup for the third time and becoming the first home team to hold the title. However, the dream has become a nightmare following the loss to defending champion Australia, then to New Zealand in the second round, Super Eights, and yet one more defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka at Providence Stadium in Georgetown, Guyana.
SRI LANKA DEFEATS ENGLAND IN SUPER EIGHTS—04/05/07
With the win over England, Sri Lanka won its Super Eights match and moves further along the path to the World Cricket Cup semi-finals. Sanath Jayasuriya, Muttiah Muralitharan, and Tillekeratne Dilshan, Sri Lanka spinners, held England back in the middle of the innings. Sri Lanka is in the company of Australia and New Zealand on six points in the Super Eights rankings.
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DEVOTIONAL
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Being With Jesus
It is not unusual for people who have close and personal relationships to demonstrate very similar attributes, neither is it unusual for a “student” to adopt some of the attributes of a mentor. According to Webster’s Dictionary, a mentor is someone who is “a trusted counselor or guide, a tutor, a coach”, and such a person is in a position to exert a tremendous amount of influence over another person’s life. Over time, good mentors will see characteristics of themselves in their “students”.
When Jesus chose his group of twelve, they were called his disciples. The Greek word translated “disciple” also mean “a learner/pupil”. In ancient times, a pupil was not only expected to learn from his mentor, but to also be like him. It is as if the mentor was replicating himself in the life of the pupil. Unknown to Jesus’ disciples, they had signed on for something that would revolutionize not only their lives, but the whole world. From the day they said “yes” to Jesus, they would never be the same again.
In Acts 5, Peter and John were arrested for preaching the resurrection message which had resulted in about 5,000 male conversions (v.4). The next day, upon being interrogated by the High Priest and his cronies, Peter, being filled with the Holy Ghost (v.8), preached Christ even more with unparalleled boldness. Luke tells us, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus” (v.13).
What an amazing testimony? These ordinary men, unlearned and ignorant, being filled with the Spirit, had taken on the attributes of their mentor, Jesus Christ, so much so that others could not help but know that “they had been with Jesus”. They had become “little Christs”, which is really what the word ‘Christian’ was meant to convey. What about you; when someone stop to check you out, can they tell where you have been?
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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.
