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THIS WEEK’S SUMMARY
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LUCIEN JONES CALLS FOR BREATHALYZER PROGRAM—05/05/07
Dr. Lucien Jones, the Convenor and Vice-Chairman of the National Road Safety Council, wants to see the reintroduction of the breathalyzer program. His call for the program comes at a time when the number of traffic deaths have significant increased. According to Dr. Jones, the breathalyzer program must be revived quickly, since it has been proven to reduce road injuries and deaths.

JLP SAYS PALMER RESIGNATION SIGNALS TROUBLE IN THE PNP—05/06/07
Karl Samuda, General Secretary of the Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), says that the resignation of Vando Palmer as a candidate for the People’s National Party (PNP) from Central Manchester indicates the PNP is trying “desperately” to save what remains of a “sinking ship.” Samuda says the PNP had accepted the fact that Palmer was likely to lose the seat to Sally Porteous and wanted to “reverse an irreversible situation.”

DURING CHILD MONTH 2007, DADS URGED TO BE INVOLVED WITH CHILDREN—05/07/07
In view of the large number of female-headed households in Jamaica, fathers are being encouraged to become more involved in their lives of their children. Dr. Pauline Mullings, chairperson of the National Child Month Committee, says that any man can become a father, but “it takes a special man to become a daddy.” The theme of 2007’s Child Month is “Fathers, Your Children Need You.”

WOOLMER WAS STRANGLED, INSIST JAMAICAN POLICE—05/08/07
Police in Jamaica continue to maintain that Bob Woolmer, Pakistan cricket coach, was strangled, in spite of reports in the Pakistani press that investigators from that country say local police have not yet shown conclusive evidence that Woolmer was murdered.

PNP FAILS TO FIND CANDIDATE TO REPLACE ASSAMBA—05/09/07
The People’s National Part (PNP) has not been able to find a replacement candidate for Tourism Minister Aloun Assamba in South East St. Ann. This has created one more political problem for the governing party as reports surface saying that one of its prominent councilors, Vinette Robb, will run as an independent candidate in the general election. Robb is councilor for the Calderwood division. She says she will run as an independent if the PNP goes ahead with plans to bring in an “outsider” to run for the seat vacated by Mrs. Assamba.

$500 MILLION TEACHERS’ LOAN FUND LAUNCHED—05/10/07
A $500 million revolving loan fund for teachers has been implemented following seven months or waiting and problems for educators from tertiary institutions due to nonpayment of fees. The loan is designed to promote professional development for Jamaica’s 17,000 teachers who do not have a first degree. The program will go into effect on June 1, 2007.

MANY JAMAICANS WILLING TO SELL VOTES —05/10/07
According to a study of the financing of political parties, 25 percent of voters would sell their votes for a direct monetary payment, while 17 percent would do so for gifts. The study was conducted by Market Research Services Ltd. for the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ). Many of the individuals surveyed said they would accept gifts or other benefits in exchange for their votes. The study found that corruption was the biggest problem facing Jamaican political parties.

FLASH FLOODING PROMPTS DEPLOYMENT OF DISASTER COMMITTEES—05/11/07
All parish disaster committees across Jamaica have been placed on alert by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) in view of reports of flash flooding in some low-lying areas of the island. According to Ronald Jackson, director-general of ODPEM, the need to open shelters in the communities impacted by heavy rains is being assessed. Evacuations are possible as well.
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JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS
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BRITISH WOMAN HAPPY WITH CONVICTION OF JAMAICAN HUSBAND—05/09/07
Patricia Sinclair, 32, of East Oxford, was ecstatic that her husband, 40-year-old Jamaican Michael Sinclair, was jailed for passport fraud. She says she is happy about his arrest because it means she will be able to see him more often. The couple applied for a spouse visa after their marriage in 2003, but Michael was advised to return to Jamaica to apply for permanent leave to stay in the UK. He returned to Jamaica in May 2005, but returned to the UK in August on a false passport. He was refused entry and sent back to Jamaica, but returned to the UK again in March 2007 on a false passport and was arrested. He is now serving a 12-month prison term at Canterbury Jail.

NICK PERRY SAYS NYC COLLEGES UNPREPARED FOR EMERGENCIES—05/07/07
Jamaican-born Assemblyman Nick Perry has released a report stating that less than 10 percent of the 54 colleges and universities surveyed in New York City have campus-wide emergency alert systems capable of issuing timely and effective alerts in case of an on-campus emergency.

ANTIGUA ORGANIZATION LOBBIES FOR RETURN OF BODY TO JAMAICA—05/09/07
The Jamaica/Antigua Association has made a public appeal for EC$15,000 to help send the body of a Jamaican woman killed in Antigua back to her family. Stacy Hall was strangled in February 2007 after she allegedly was a witness to a robbery at a brothel. She is survived by three children, but her family has not been successful in finding the money to transport her body home to Jamaica. A suspect has been charged in her murder.

MINISTRY OF JUSTICE IN UK TO EXAMINE PRISONS—05/10/07
A new Ministry of Justice was created in the United Kingdom after a separating of role from the Home Office. It will make the chronic overcrowding of British prisons its focus. The priority will have a special impact on foreign nationals behind bars. Jamaicans make the up the largest group of foreign nationals in prison in the UK.

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SPORTS
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QUARRIE EXPECTS ‘GREAT THINGS” FROM VERONICA CAMPBELL AT MEET—05/05/07
Donald Quarrie, legendary Jamaican track and field star, expects to see “great things” from Veronica Campbell, 2004 Olympic 200-meter champion, at the fourth Jamaica International Invitational Meet at National Stadium. Quarrie says attendees will see Campbell “on her way back to the top.” He expects her to be a major contender for the top spot at the Osaka World Championships.

REGGAE BOYZ MAKE LAST STAND TO SET UP SHOWDOWN—05/06/07
Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz achieved a last-minute stand and came from two goals behind to defeat the United States. The Boyz were only 12 minutes away from elimination, but they managed to set up a winner-take-all situation with Trinidad and Tobago at National Stadium.

NO WORLD CUP FOR YOUNG REGGAE BOYZ—05/07/07
Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz lost their chance to get a place in the FIFA Under-17 Youth World Cup in South Korea when they lost to Trinidad and Tobago 1-0 at National Stadium. David Hunt, disappointed with the results, resigned his post as coach immediately.

COACH MOORE CITES NEED TO ACCLIMATIZE AS PRIORITY FOR WINDIES—05/10/07
According to David Moore, coach of the West Indies team, which is visiting the United Kingdom in May, becoming accustomed to conditions quickly is the team’s first concern. The team, with its new captain Ramnaresh Sarwan, will begin a four-Test series against the British.

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DEVOTIONAL
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Always In His Sight

Have you ever felt like God has lost sight of you? That He has lost your address and doesn’t know where you are? I recall those feelings of many years ago when it seemed like nothing about me was going right, yet despite what the enemy would have me believe, I knew enough to know that it only seemed like God had forgotten me, but He really hadn’t. In our lowest moments, Satan would have us believe that we are alone. Hanging on the cross, Jesus echoed the cry of the Psalmist, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46b), or as the Message Translation records the verses, “God, God…my God! Why did you dump me miles from nowhere? Doubled up with pain, I call to God all the day long. No answer. Nothing. I keep at it all night, tossing and turning” (Psalm 22:1-2).

Because the enemy is not capable of telling the truth (John 8:44), someone once said that whatever comes out of Satan’s mouth, turn it around. If he says God has abandoned you, the opposite is true; truth is, we are always in His sight. In Psalm 139:7-12 we read, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.” There is absolutely nowhere that we can go that we are ever out of His sight.

What marvellous truth! What tremendous comfort! Amidst life’s storms, and even in the dry places along our spiritual journey, we can rest assured that the omniscience of our God enables Him to have us in His sight at all times. The devil is a liar and there is no need for the child of God to be discouraged. No matter the challenges, we can sign with the hymn writer: “Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise / When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies / I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free / His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”

Thank you Jesus!

CEW

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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.