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THIS WEEKS NEWS SUMMARY
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CARIBBEAN COURT OF JUSTICE NEW TRADE COURT – 4/16/05
Legislation establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as Jamaica’s new trade court passed the Senate Friday. The CCJ is to supplant the United Kingdom-based Privy Council in Jamaica in the mediation of trade disputes in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). Three previous CCJ bills were ruled unconstitutional by the Privy Council, which will remain Jamaica’s highest court of appeal.

CARIBBEAN COURT OF JUSTICE CELEBRATES INAUGRAL – 4/17/05
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) members celebrated the inaugural of The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad in a historic shift of judicial powers from the London-based Privy Council court of appeal to Caribbean jurisdiction on Saturday. Noticeably absent from the festivities was Jamaica’s justice minister and attorney-general Senator A.J. Nicholson. Senator Nicholson remained in Kingston for passage of the CCJ bill establishing the CCJ as Jamaica’s trade court before the Senate. Barbados and Guyana are the only two countries to approve the CCJ as their final appellate court.

KILLINGS IN EAST KINGSTON SUSPECTED DRUG REPRISALS – 4/18/05
A group of armed men kicked open the rear doorway to a Bayshore Park residence and opened fire, killing three and injuring a nine-year-old girl early Sunday morning. Police are investigating a connection between the brutal killings and the shooting of two men on Matthews Lane last Friday. The bodies in that incident were set ablaze in an open lot on Rose Lane in a dispute arising over a stash of illegal drugs and guns. A nine-year-old girl caught in the gunfire was hospitalized and reported to be in stable condition.

BOYS TO RECEIVE ACADEMIC BOOST – 4/19/05
Hoping to stimulate academic aspirations in the sciences among Jamaican schoolboys, Generating Genius, is to sponsor 10 first form boys to attend a four-week summer camp at the University of West Indies starting this July. In an attempt to address academic underachievement by Jamaican boys, the program will require a five-year commitment and is expected to expand next year to include other countries in the Caribbean. The newly formed non-profit is the inspiration of Dr. Tony Sewell, a British educator, who will administer the project in partnership with the Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS), the Gleaner Company Limited and the University of the West Indies.

PORTMORE LAWSUIT DETOURS HIGHWAY 2000 – 4/19/05
Toll Roads Order of 2002 faces a second challenge to the construction of the Portmore stretch of Highway 2000 by the citizen groups Portmore Citzens Advisory Council and the Portmore Citizens’ Association. The complaint seeks to block the Portmore stretch of Highway 2000, claiming that the proposed alternative route to the new toll road requires motorists to travel twice the distance. A similar lawsuit was filed last month by five Portmore residents, to include Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Councillors Natalie Campbell-Rodriques, Andrew Wheatley and Keith Blake.

OPPOSITION CALLS FOR INQUIRY OF SANDALS HOTEL CONTRACTS – 4/20/05
Citing $1.8 billion in cost overruns and accusations of a three per cent fee paid to the hotel project manager, Opposition spokesman on Finance Audley Shaw called on the contractor general, auditor-general and the director of public prosecutions to investigate contracts awarded in the construction of the Sandals Whitehouse Hotel in Westmoreland. Project managers at Urban Development Corporation (UDC) dispute the accuracy of the charges, stating that only US$25 million of the funds was secured by a government loan guarantee.

$200 MILLION FOR COMMUNITY SECURITY FORCES – 4/21/05
A $200 million Community Security Fund to create safe zones in communities troubled by violence was announced yesterday by Dr. Peter Phillips, National Security Minister. Security forces will secure the delivery of public services such as garbage collection and sewage disposal, while promoting social services in an effort to create a partnership between local police and community members. The $200 million fund is to be spent over two years in hopes of undermining the influences of criminal activity in areas of extreme poverty.

GOLDING URGES CONTRACT REFORMS – 4/22/05
Bruce Golding entered the House of Representatives as the new Opposition leader Thursday swinging, taking jabs at government waste and corruption that has contributed to $760 billion in debt. Golding called for the government to impose caps on deficits, new legislation for the awarding of government contracts, and the appointment of a Prosecutor General to rid the system of corruption. The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader made the remarks to Parliament at the 2005/2006 Budget Debate after being sworn in as MP of West Kingston.

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SPORTS
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HINDS AND EDWARDS FIT FOR PLAY – 4/18/05
Ryan Hinds and Fidel Edwards will return to the West Indies for the third Test match in the Digicel Series against South Africa for play this Thursday at Kengsington Oval in Barbados. The changes to the 12-man squad come as no surprise after a second Test loss to South Africa by eight wickets. Hinds returns from illness to replace batsman Donovan Pagon who scored 0 and 2 in the second Test. Edwards will see his first international play since last summer’s Test match in England and will step in for the injured Pedro Collins.

FOOTBALLER PETER CARGILL MOURNED – 4/19/05
Former national midfielder and coach of the Waterhouse Football Club Peter Cargill was mourned as the latest fatality in a string of vehicle accidents that has claimed the lives of three Reggae Boyz in the past four years. Cargill was killed Saturday after the van he was traveling to the Wray and Nephew National Premier League (NPL) game against Wadadah crashed into a rock face in Discovery Bay. The 41-year-old Cargill made more than 80 appearances for the national team, most memorably in the 1998 World Cup in France. Former national player Hugh ‘Bingi’ Blair is to be charged with operating a vehicle without a license in the incident.

RIDDIM GIRLS SIGHTS ON WORLD CUP – 4/19/05
Jamaica’s Riddim Girls will compete in the final round of qualifications for the World Cup championship this August in the Dominican Republic. The top-ranked team in the tournament was undefeated in play in the North, Central America and the Caribbean Confederation (NORCECA) first round qualifiers at the National Arena. The Riddim Girls will by vying with powerhouse teams Brazil, USA, and Mexico for a chance to compete in the World Cup championship to be held in Japan.

MAGNIFICENT LARA – 4/22/05
Batsman Brian Lara proved himself once again in the West Indies third Test against South Africa. Rescuing the West Indies in the Digicel Series at Kensington Oval with 176 runs for the 28th Test century of his career, his second century in a row, Lara has scored more than 150 in 16 Test innings. He shared 138 in 40 overs in a fourth-wicket partnership with team captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul and 115 in 32 overs in partnership with Dwayne Bravo in a sixth-wicket.