Middle East fuel shock With the price of oil and gas now surging on the global market amid the United States’ (US) and Israel’s military offensive against Iran – and Tehran in turn bombarding the oil- and gas-producing Gulf states – one local economist is of the view that small island developing countries like Jamaica, with a heavy dependence on imports, are set to be disproportionately affected.
Thunder over Dubai A Jamaican man who awoke to the sound of “thunder-like” explosions in Dubai on Sunday, following a United States (US)-Israeli attack on Iran and its retaliation, says much of what is happening in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is not being televised. Twenty-five-year-old Van Creed, who is pursuing a music career in the city, said loud explosions from missile strikes and interceptions rocked Dubai, causing panic among nationals and foreigners.
Opposition members chastise Clarke cover ‘intemperate’ outburst at PAAC Edmond Campbell/Senior Parliamentary Reporter Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Heroy Clarke received a sharp rebuke from his colleagues last Wednesday for disrupting the proceedings of an oversight committee with “intemperate” remarks. Clarke, a third-term member of parliament (MP), was seemingly agitated by questions posed to the National Water Commission on infrastructure-related matters. He indicated that such queries were misplaced and should be directed to the Infrastructure and Physical Development Committee.
Base ready, but CRH’s medical dome yet to arrive Western Bureau: A 10,000-foot medical dome, which was slated to be installed on the grounds of the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) in Montego Bay, St James, last month, creating space for approximately 100 additional beds, has still not been installed though the base is ready for use. In his last update on the plan for the dome, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton had told The Gleaner that it would be flown in once work on the base is finished.
Cornwall Bar joins chief justice in paying tribute to late Judge Sasha-Marie Ashley WESTERN BUREAU: The Cornwall Bar Association (CBA) is in mourning after it lost one of its stalwarts yesterday with the death of Judge Sasha-Marie Ashley, the senior parish judge for Hanover. Ashley passed away after a period of illness. Attorney-at-law Michael Hemmings, the president of the CBA, said Ashley, who he described as a friendly and engaging person both inside and outside the courtroom, would be sadly missed.
Melissa halts Petersfield by-election plans WESTERN BUREAU: The Petersfield Division in Westmoreland Central will remain without elected representation for now, as Hurricane Melissa’s Category 5 winds have forced a delay in naming a date for the by-election. Danree Delancy, chairman of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation (WMC) and mayor of Savanna-la-Mar, disclosed that more than 95 per cent of polling stations in the division are unusable owing to extensive infrastructural damage.
Issa defends traditional media, recalls why journalism mattered after hurricane WESTERN BUREAU: In an age when news breaks first on social media and credibility is often the casualty, Jamaican hotelier Christopher Issa delivered an unexpected but forceful defence of traditional journalism on Sunday while speaking at a media event in Montego Bay, St James. Standing before members of the Western Jamaica Media Association (WJMA) at the western city’s Hotel 39, Issa spoke not as a businessman, but as a citizen who is concerned about the future of credible information.
‘I did not see him attacking any of the officers’ A key prosecution witness in the trial of six policemen charged in the 2013 Acadia Drive triple killing testified yesterday that she saw police personnel firing at a man who ran from a vehicle and jumped over a wall during the incident. The woman, who said she was watching from her third-floor apartment on Acadia Drive, told the Home Circuit Court that after hearing what sounded like gunshots, she went to her window and observed a police vehicle parked in front of a blue Mitsubishi with four policemen present. She said her partner was by her side as the incident unfolded.
RJRGLEANER moves to accelerate corporate integration The RJRGLEANER Communications Group is streamlining several of its subsidiaries in a move to improve corporate efficiencies. In a statement, the group noted that the Supreme Court on February 19 sanctioned a scheme of arrangement, involving several of the media operation’s subsidiaries, which will take effect when the court order is filed with the Registrar of Companies.
Light after death Residents of Denham Town in west Kingston received a massive upgrade of street lights in the community last week, a move some residents welcomed but believed came a little too late following the murder of three-year-old Jace Pinnock and his father two weeks ago. The macabre slaying of the two and the wounding of Jace’s eight-year-old sibling is being noted as the tipping point – the catalyst for the erection or repair of some 40 defective and non-existent street lights that left residents in the dark and vulnerable at night.