NO PENALTY THREAT Former United States Ambassador to Jamaica Luis G. Moreno has dismissed as “silly” suggestions that Jamaica could face penalties from the US over Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness’ remarks on Cuba’s humanitarian crisis earlier this week. “I think that’s silly. I don’t think anyone would go for that,” Moreno told The Gleaner yesterday.
Shooting suspect nabbed after 20 years Two decades since he allegedly shot a woman in the face in front of her child, disfiguring her features and altering her speech for life, Collin ‘Tumpa Dragon’ Mowatt has been nabbed. On Wednesday, Mowatt, who was in his early 40s at the time, was charged for the 2006 incident, which still sends chills through Lloyds district in St Thomas. Now 61, and after being implicated in another firearm-related matter in St Ann last December, sleuths in the eastern parish moved in, slapping handcuffs on a man whose case preceded computer record storage at their stations.
Defence challenges cop’s account of 2018 operation Proceedings in the trial of alleged Clansman Gang leader Tesha Miller and 24 co-accused intensified Thursday as the 11th prosecution witness, a detective inspector, continued under cross-examination by attorneys for Miller and Micheal Wildman. Miller and Wildman are named in count 14 of the indictment, which relates to a September 26, 2018, robbery in Cross Roads, St Andrew. The witness was grilled about a police operation that same day, which led to the detention of three men in connection with a suspected plan to rob a post office.
‘Nobody can dictate to judges’ The head of the judiciary took a swipe at Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Delroy Chuck yesterday, saying nobody – “regardless of the office they hold” – can “dictate” to judges how the law should be interpreted. Chief Justice Bryan Sykes made the comments a day after Chuck asserted that some judges appeared to be misinterpreting the Child Diversion Act by compelling minors charged with certain crimes to enter a plea of guilty before they are directed to a diversion programme offered by the Government.
Ja equipped to stablilise severe burn cases, says health officials WESTERN BUREAU: Amid public concern over local treatment options for severe burn victims, health officials have insisted that Jamaica’s health system has the capacity to stabilise critical cases during the most decisive phase of care. Survival in severe burn cases depends largely on the first 24 to 48 hours of treatment, a window in which Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) says it is fully equipped to respond through its high-dependency and intensive-care services.
‘Dismantle TVET stigma’ WESTERN BUREAU: Dr Darien Henry, principal of the Montego Bay Community College (MBCC), says stigma against technical and vocational education and training must be end for students to advance in the modern working world after leaving school.
Young Caribbean entrepreneurs urged to stare down obstacles Young Caribbean entrepreneurs are being urged not to fear the challenges in the region but, instead, to use those obstacles to find innovative solutions to problems. The call was made on Wednesday by artificial intelligence (AI) business operator Michael Mullings, guest speaker at this year’s Rex Nettleford Hall Entrepreneurship/Business Showcase at The University of the West Indies, Mona.
T&T backlash Even as Washington, DC in the United States (US) has reportedly eased conditions allowing individuals to apply for licences to supply Cuba with Venezuelan oil, one of the Caribbean’s leaders has been condemned to the “dustbin of history” for her perceived role in the capture of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro, Cuba’s oil lifeline.
US-Caribbean reboot In a clear signal of renewed diplomatic focus, the United States has pledged to “reinvigorate” ties with CARICOM countries, framing the region’s economic stability and security as “intricately tied” to its own national interests. In an address to CARICOM heads of governments yesterday, and on the heels of the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and a partially lifted oil blockade on Cuba, United States (US) Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration is aiming to make the region a magnet for inbound investment.
Guilty pleas not intended ahead of joining child diversion programmes – Chuck Some judges appear to be misinterpreting the Child Diversion Act by compelling minors to plead guilty to criminal charges before steering them to intervention programmes, Justice Minister Delroy Chuck has said. The Child Diversion Programme, which is grounded in the Child Diversion Act 2018, seeks to steer children between ages 12 and 17 years old away from the formal criminal justice system in circumstances where they are charged with specific crimes, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm.