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THIS WEEK”S SUMMARY
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GUNMEN KILL 8 IN ST. CATHERINE—08/14/10
Gunmen thought to be gang members killed eight individuals in St. Catherine, including a mother, her son, and her two daughters, one of whom was 11 years old. They then killed a man, his son, his grandson, and a nephew. Jamaican police killed two of the suspects, who are believed to belong to the Clansman Gang. This gang is based near Spanish Town and is involved in a continuing war over drug and arms territory.
CURFEWS IMPOSED AFTER GANG VIOLENCE—08/15/10
The Jamaican government has imposed new curfews in four neighborhoods near Kingston, including Spanish Town, after ten people were shot and killed during an outbreak of gang violence, which resulted in a gun battle with police. The area affected by the curfews, which are the first issued since the hunt for Christopher “Dudus” Coke, includes Tredegar Park.
BIBLE BOOK TRANSLATED INTO JAMAICAN PATOIS—08/16/10
The Bible Society has translated the Book of Luke into Jamaican Creole. The translation is now available to the public and is viewed as a victory for the Society, which has been working on the Bible translation since the 1980s. The Society says it plans to help Jamaicans read the patois version of the Book of Luke. The translation represents the first time that a whole book of the Bible has been written in patois.
BLAINE ENCOURAGES FAMILY CONNECTIONS TO FIGHT HIV/AIDS—08/17/10
Betty Ann Blaine of the New Nation Coalition (NNC) believes that the local HIV/AIDS epidemic can be controlled with public education that focuses on abstinence and good family life. If the NNC is able to form the next Jamaican government, Blaine promises to strengthen the National AIDS Program with more public education. She believes the breakdown of family life is a contributing factor in the spread of HIV/AIDS.
JAMAICAN GOVERNMENT RECEIVES GRANT FOR SOCIAL INTERVENTION—08/18/10
The Inter-American Development Bank has given Jamaica’s government a grant totaling over $92 million that is designed to enhance social intervention programs. Most of the money is marked for a technical cooperation agreement to help the government use social spending to make police and institutional reforms. Audley Shaw, Minister of Finance, expressed the government’s appreciation in receiving the grant funds.
CAUSE OF GANG VIOLENCE UNCERTAIN—08/19/10
Neil Powell, councilor of the Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), and Keisha Lewis, councilor of the People’s National Party (PNP), discussed the problems facing the residents of Tredegar Park in St. Catherine following a gun battle between gang members and police that took ten lives. Official police reports link the fighting to two major gangs that operate from Spanish Town. The One Order gang, which is aligned with the JLP, and the Clansman gang, linked to the PNP, are the forces behind the violence.
GOVERNMENT SENDS AID TO RESIDENTS OF TREDEGAR PARK—08/19/10
Jamaica’s government has mobilized several agencies to help in providing immediate aid to residents of Tredegar Park in St. Catherine as people struggle to cope with gang violence that has left over 30 individuals dead since 2003. Daryl Vaz, the government’s representative, has promised residents of the area help from the Social Development Commission, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Water and Housing.
HOLNESS DEFENDS GOVERNMENT DECISION ON EDUCATION—08/20/10
Andrew Holness, Jamaica’s Minister of Education, is defending the government’s decision to reduce the education budget after the plan was criticized by the president of an organization based in the United States. Dennis Van Roekel, president of the National Education Association (NEA), asked to support from the United States Department of State in limiting loans made by the International Monetary Fund to countries that reduce their education budgets. Holness pointed out that some states in the U.S. had also made cuts in their education budgets because of the economic recession.
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JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS
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BUSINESSMAN CONVICTED OF THEFT, MONEY LAUNDERING IN CAYMANS—08/14/10
Jamaican businessman, Robert Christopher Tom Girvan, was convicted of 18 charges of theft and three charges of money laundering in the Cayman Islands. The Grand Court issued the conviction after Girvan pleaded guilty to the charges. The total amount of money involved in the crimes was US$19 million. Girvan took the money from Grand Island Commodity Trading Fund, Grand Island Commodity Trading Fund II, Grand Island Income Fund, Grand Island Master Fund Ltd., Caribbean Commodities Ltd., and RCTG Investments Ltd.
TUFTON DISCUSSES JAMAICAN AGRICULTURE IN CANADA—08/16/10
Dr. Christopher Tufton, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries in Jamaica, believes the country can reduce its food import bill by up to 30 percent if it passes several initiatives. Tufton, speaking with Gerry Ritz, Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food in Ottawa, said that Jamaican commodities like coffee, cocoa, and ginger represent excellent potential for development.
JAMAICANS IN UK ENCOURAGED TO SUPPORT STATUE APPEAL—08/17/10
Jamaicans living in the United Kingdom have been urged to lend their support to the Mary Seacole memorial statue appeal. This action seeks to put up a monument to Mary Seacole, Jamaican heroine of the Crimean War, outside of Parliament at Westminster. The statue appeal committee wants to raise over £500,000 in funding for the monument, which is to be established on the grounds of St. Thomas Hospital.
NEW BOOK PROVIDES INSIGHT TO DIASPORA—08/19/10
According to Dahlia Walker Huntington, former member of the Diaspora Advisory Board, Jamaicans in the Diaspora are availing themselves of new opportunities to connect with their homeland. In launching Delano Franklyn’s book, “The Jamaican Diaspora: Building an Operational Framework,” Huntington noted the changing relationship between Jamaica and the Diaspora since 2002, when the first Diaspora Conference was held. Franklyn is an editor, attorney, and former Minister of State in Jamaica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade.
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CARIBBEAN NEWS SUMMARY provided by Caribbeantopnews.com
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WYCLEF JEAN WANTS TO ALLOW DUAL CITIZENSHIP—08/15/10
FRANCE SHOULD REPAY “INDEPENDENCE DEBT” TO HAITI—08/16/10
CARIBBEAN AIRLINER CRASHES, ALL PASSENGERS BUT ONE SURVIVE—08/17/10
WYCLEF JEAN’S ELECTION ELIGIBILITY IN QUESTION—08/18/10
STORM DAMAGE IN CARIBBEAN COULD INCREASE WITH GLOBAL WARMING—08/19/10
HAITI REBUILDS EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM—08/20/10
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BUSINESS NEWS SUMMARY
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JAMAICA TO GET AIR AMBULANCE SERVICE—08/14/10
Medserv Jamaica Ltd. has started to provide air ambulance service to the island under the name of JamaicaMed. Michael Stern, junior industry minister, says the new service will provide affordable access to air ambulance service for nearly everyone who needs it. The company will introduce a new era of affordable, high-quality services, says Stern, and this will enhance the quality of life for average Jamaicans.
WORLD BANK WANTS JAMAICAN PARTNERS FOR RESEARCH PROJECT—08/15/10
The World Bank is looking for Jamaican professionals to partner in a project to provide information used in its Doing Business report. According to Dahlia Khalifa, senior strategy advisor for the report, the groups is looking for qualified and experienced Jamaican professionals to provide information to the pro bono project. The group is looking for lawyers, auditors, accountants, judges, engineers, architects, and freight forwarders, among others.
CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT RELEASES SEIZED VEHICLES—08/19/10
The Jamaican Customers Department has released a number of motor vehicles that were seized in an operation conducted at Key Motors Ltd. The vehicles were seized when an audit of the firm’s operations found that about 50 autos were illegally removed from its warehouse and sold illegally to unsuspecting customers. This activity denied the government some $40 million in customs duties. The cars were released to mitigate the hardship experienced by the owners of the vehicles and to minimize job losses among employees of Key Motors.
DEAL BETWEEN JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AND BARCLAYS BANK APPROVED—08/20/10
A judge who previously questioned whether Barclays Bank PLC was “getting off” too easily has decided to approve a deal that will allow it to avoid prosecution on alleged illegal transactions conducted with banks in Cuba, Iran, Libya, Sudan, and Burma. Under an agreement made with the United States Department of Justice, the bank will pay US$298 million, half of which will go to the U.S. and half under agreement with the Manhattan district attorney’s office. Two criminal charges faced by the bank will then be deferred and dropped as long as the institution complies with U.S. laws.
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TECHNOLOGY NEWS SUMMARY
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JAMAICA HAS SOFTWARE MARKET POTENTIAL—08/16/10
Daryl Vaz, Minister for Information, Telecommunications and Special Projects, believes that Jamaica has the potential to obtain a competitive advantage in the development of software applications for worldwide use. Vaz made his remarks while praising the success of Team Xormis from Northern Caribbean University, which won the Microsoft Image Interoperability world award in Poland.
DIGICEL PRESENTS CONSUMER ELECTRONICS SHOW—08/17/10
The Digicel Jamaica Consumer Electronics Show will be presented by new owners Creative Media and Events at the Wyndham Hotel in New Kingston. The event is celebrating its tenth anniversary and will honor innovation in technological areas. The show offers exhibitors a chance to display consumer technology products, serving as a way to encourage awareness of the technology industry in Jamaica and the growth and use of technology in the modern world.
FACEBOOK PLACES PROVIDES PLATFORM FOR TOPGUEST—08/19/10
Topguest, a startup which seeks to make partnerships with hotel chains, restaurants, airports and other travel-related venues, is taking advantage of new Facebook features to grow its business. Within 24 hours of Facebook’s launch of its geolocation and “check in service,” Topguest had worked the service into its hotel loyalty points offering.
BLACKBERRY MANUFACTURER WANTS MOBILE ADVERTISING—08/20/10
According to reports, Research in Motion, the maker of BlackBerry, is looking to ways to enter the mobile advertising business, following in the footsteps of its rivals, Apple and Google. The maker is looking at Millennial Media, a firm based in Baltimore, and has been in talks with the firm’s representatives. Millennial is asking for between $400 million and $500 million, but Research in Motion has balked at that price.
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SPORTS
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BINNIE EXPECTED TO KEEP SQUASH TITLE—08/14/10
Jamaican Chris Binnie is a strong favorite to retain his title at the 18th Annual Caribbean Area Squash Association Senior Championships in St. Vincent. Binnie won a bronze medal at the CAC games in Colombia and is the top seed entering the 2010 CASA Championships. Binnie’s main competition is Richard Chin of Guyana and Colin Simpson of Barbados.
SPENCER TURNS IN EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE AT GRAND PRIX—08/15/10
Jamaican hurdler Kaliese Spencer continues her excellent season with Jamaica’s only win at the Aviva London Grand Prix meet at Crystal Palace in London. She won the women’s 400 meter hurdles with a time of 53.78 seconds.
JAMAICAN BOY SEEKS TO BE FASTEST YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES—08/17/10
Odane Skeen, 15, wants to emulate the performance of Usain Bolt at the 2008 Beijing Olympics by being the fastest sprinter at the Youth Olympic Games at Bishan Stadium. He believes that Jamaica will be the country to beat at the games. His personal best in the 100 meters is 10.46 seconds, and he is one of the favorites to take the title.
SPENCER WINDS DIAMOND LEAGUE—08/19/10
Jamaican hurdler Kaliese Spencer ran a personal best in the 400 meter hurdles and won the Diamond League trophy at the Weltklasse Zurich Meeting in Switzerland. Her time was 53.33 seconds and brought her to the finish line eight meters ahead of the nearest competitor, Zuzana Hejnova of Czech Republic, who ran the course in 54.54 seconds.
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DEVOTIONAL
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“Eating Habits”
Science and nutrition together have tried to find the ways of eating that is best for us. One way to accomplish this goal is to eat routinely rather than only when you want to eat. Eating balanced meals at regular intervals is one key to long term good health and given rising health risks and costs, financially and otherwise, good health is an excellent goal we should all aim for.
In the same way we have to eat nourishing food to grow healthily, getting into the Scriptures on a daily basis is a good discipline to encourage ongoing spiritual growth. The secret of our future spiritual maturity lies in our daily routine of Bible study. Just as there are times to eat to satisfy the physical man, so we need to ensure we set aside times daily to feed and satisfy the spiritual man. While we can make it through the day by listening to worship music and reading a devotional, it is important that just as we are told to chew our food slowly to facilitate proper digestion, that we read and meditate on (turn over in our minds slowly and methodologically) the Word of God. This we can do several times per day – during our commute, at lunch, as we do housework, wherever we may be.
On the occasion of Him being tempted to turn stones into bread, Jesus affirmed the importance of satisfying the spiritual man when He reminded Satan, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4, KJV). We can get by for a while without food but we cannot get far without the Word of God. It is the lamp unto our feet and the light unto our path (Psalm 119:105). What are some of the benefits of regularly “eating” the Word? Not only do we grow spiritually and experience the blessings of obedience, but we also discover our purpose and principles for victory, power, and guidance in our lives. The food experts encourage us to not miss a meal; how much more can we not afford to miss times of spiritual nourishing.
As we go through the day taking time to satisfy the physical man’s desire for food, let us not ignore the spirit man’s need to be nourished. As the Psalmist spent time in the Word he was led to say of the laws, statues, and fear of the Lord, “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb” (Psalm 19:7-10). What has been your experience?
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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.
