LATEST on Vybz Kartel Trial: Judge instructs jury on integrity of cell phone evidence....“The integrity of the phone was compromised between the 3rd and 22nd of October [2010],"Justice Campbell added.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014 | 1:36 PM    

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Justice Lennox Campbell Tuesday morning stepped on the accelerator and is breezing through his summation of the evidence presented in the murder trial of entertainer Vybz Kartel and four co-accused now under way at the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston.

Justice Campbell told the 11-member jury panel about the custody of a cell phone, which was taken from the accused, and asked them to consider whether or not the defence’s claim that there was a gap in the chain of custody was valid.

“Proof of chain of custody is not a legal requirement nor is it fatal to the Crown’s case, unless it compromises its integrity, this is an issue which goes to reliance,” Justice Campbell said.

“The integrity of the phone was compromised between the 3rd and 22nd of October [2010],"Justice Campbell added.

He told the jury that Sergeant Patrick Linton admitted that the phone was accessed on the ninth, 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th, and 15th of October.

“If there is a gap in continuity. If the jury is not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the phone was compromised it can still be admitted. But bear in mind, the longer the phone was compromised the lower the value as evidence.” more

MYSTERY: PHANTOM JET VEERED WEST? Malaysia Airlines Jet Missing: Military Says Plane Changed Course....RADAR: Plane Went Hundreds Of Miles Off Course After Last Contact... Men With Stolen Passports ID'd... No Terror Ties... Search Area Expands... Plagued By False Leads... Security Flaw Exposed... CLAIM: Co-Pilot Previously Entertained Guests In Cockpit... Still No Sign Of Plane... LATEST UPDATES.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The Malaysian military has radar data showing the missing Boeing 777 jetliner changed course and made it to the Malacca Strait, hundreds of kilometers (miles) from the last position recorded by civilian authorities, according to a senior military official.

The development injects more mystery into the investigation of the disappearance of Saturday's flight, and raises questions about why the aircraft was not transmitting signals detectable by civilian radar.

Local newspaper Berita Harian quoted Malaysian air force chief Gen. Rodzali Daud as saying radar at a military base had detected the airliner at 2:40 a.m. near Pulau Perak at the northern approach to the strait, a busy waterway that separates the western coast of Malaysia and Indonesia's Sumatra island. "After that, the signal from the plane was lost," he was quoted as saying.

A high-ranking military official involved in the investigation confirmed the report and also said the plane was believed to be flying low. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

Authorities had earlier said the plane, which took off at 12:20 a.m. and was headed to Beijing, may have attempted to turn back to Kuala Lumpur, but they expressed surprise that it would do so without informing ground control. The search for the plane was initially focused on waters between the eastern coast of Malaysia and Vietnam, the position where aviation authorities last tracked it. No trace of the plane, which was carrying 239 people, has been found by than 40 planes and ships from at least 10 nations searching the area.

Earlier Tuesday, Malaysia Airlines said in a statement that search and rescue teams had expanded their scope to the Malacca Strait. An earlier statement said the western coast of Malaysia was "now the focus," but the airline subsequently said that phrase was an oversight. It didn't elaborate. Civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said the search remained "on both sides" of the country. more

JAMAICA SPORTS: Dr. Andrea Bruce, XLCRian, OLYMPIAN, MEDICAL DOCTOR remembers Girls Champs experience as fun 40 years ago....Her singular effort of three gold medals helped to inspire the school to their fourth consecutive title in 1973..

IT has been 40 years since Excelsior High School (XLCR) last won the ISSA Girls' Athletics Championships, and by all indications, the Mountain View-based school does not appear set to do so anytime soon.

However, the school will be lifted by the legacy Dr Andrea Bruce and her generation left behind.

Dr Bruce remembers Champs
 experience as fun

Her singular effort of three gold medals helped to inspire the school to their fourth consecutive title in 1973.

Dr Bruce, now a family physician at the Covington County Hospital in Mississippi, USA, won the Class One high jump with a record 5ft, 6 3/4 inches and the long jump also in a record 18ft, 8 3/4 inches. She then completed her triple gold performance by winning the Class One 100m hurdles in 15.4 seconds.

Those performances propelled XLCR to a record 141 points, well ahead of second-placed St Hilda's High with 62.5 and Mannings third with 56 points.

That same year, she was later named Jamaica's Sports Woman of the Year, as she did again in 1975.

"At the time we didn't really prepare. We just went out on talent. You run around for a couple of weeks and you said, Champs coming up. There was no real preparation in there. Most of the time we performed on talent, sheer talent. We were just talented," Dr Bruce told the Jamaica Observer via telephone from Mississippi.

"We didn't have hurdles. We didn't have high jump pits. We just went out on talent," she reiterated. more

Colorado Recreational Weed Sales Top $14 Million In First Month...... putting about $2 million of tax revenue into state coffers in the process.

During the first month of recreational marijuana sales, Colorado's licensed dispensaries generated a total of more than $14 million, putting about $2 million of tax revenue into state coffers in the process.

The state Department of Revenue released the figures on Monday, which showed how much Colorado has taken in from both medical and recreational marijuana taxes and fees. The medical marijuana sales for January generated an additional $900,000 in sales tax, for a total tax revenue of $2.9 million for both sides of the state's marijuana dispensary market. Including fees, the figure jumps to $3.5 million.

"The first month of sales for recreational marijuana fell in line with expectations," Barbara Brohl, executive director of the department, said in a statement. "We expect clear revenue patterns will emerge by April and plan to incorporate this data into future forecasts."

The figures represent the tax returns from 59 businesses around Colorado, according to the department. The recreational marijuana tax numbers come from two levies that state voters approved last November -- a 10 percent special sales tax and a 15 percent excise tax. more

Should you be worried about that headache? Your Health Your Wealth...HEADACHE, also known as cephalgia, is a pain in the head, which is the area above the eyes, ears and the posterior neck.

HEADACHE, also known as cephalgia, is a pain in the head, which is the area above the eyes, ears and the posterior neck.

 It may be categorised as primary or secondary headache. Primary headaches, such as migraine, tension and cluster headaches, have no serious underlying pathology and pose no threat to life.

 Ultimately the aim of treatment for primary headache is to relieve the pain and prevent further recurrence.

 For secondary headaches, the types of headache that have serious underlying disease, the aim is to find the underlying cause and treat promptly.

 Types of headache

1.Migraine headaches are commonly one-sided throbbing that vary in intensity and worsen during routine activities. They may present with nausea or vomiting and pain increases with loud sounds or bright lights. It can also be associated with visual and speech problem, which precede the headache, tremors, numbness and weakness in the face and limbs.

 Migraine may be familial for some, while for others, it may be linked to their menstrual cycle, use of oral contraceptives, pregnancy, menopause, long periods of hunger or missed meals, eating certain foods, odors, disrupted sleep, or stressful life events. more 

ST. ANDREW, JAMAICA: 53 y-o man chopped to death, woman stabbed in Papine market attack....."Vendors who were in the area reported hearing screams and raised an alarm,"

Tuesday, March 11, 2014   

A 53-year-old man was chopped to death and a woman stabbed and injured by criminals early yesterday morning at Papine Market in St Andrew.

A vendor cleans a section of Papine Market,
 St Andrew, where a man was chopped
 to death, yesterday.
(PHOTO: BRYAN CUMMINGS)

Police report that at about 2:00 am the man, identified only as 'Cyril' up to press time, was getting ready to clean up an area inside the market when masked men entered from the roof and attacked him.

"Vendors who were in the area reported hearing screams and raised an alarm," said Venesha Phillips, councillor for the Papine Division, who visited traumatised vendors yesterday.

A female vendor, said to be in her 60s, went to the man's aid and was attacked and stabbed. She managed to escape, but Cyril was not so lucky. Police, who were called to the scene, said Cyril was found suffering from multiple chop wounds and was rushed to hospital where he was declared dead. The Matilda's Corner Police are probing the matter. more

BREAKING NEWS: Vybz Kartel jury urged to review evidence against each accused separately...."I must, therefore, warn you to be very careful to convict anyone on eyewitness evidence. There have been wrongful convictions in the past," he said..

BY KARYL WALKER Editor -- Crime/Court Desk walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, March 11, 2014    

JUSTICE Lennox Campbell yesterday instructed jurors to examine the evidence in the murder trial against entertainer Vybz Kartel and his four co-accused separately so as not to summarily convict or acquit the men.

Entertainer Vybz Kartel (in shades) arrives at
the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston,
yesterday. (PHOTO: BRYAN CUMMINGS)

With more than 60 days of the trial gone, the 11-member panel of jurors seemed at times jaded yesterday but after a late start due to the absence of one of their number, Justice Campbell began to sum up the evidence.

"You are the sole judges of the facts in this case. It is not the judge's verdict that is asked for, but yours and yours alone. Your verdict need not be the same for all. Review the evidence against all separately," Justice Campbell said, as he continued his summation of the high-profile murder case in the High Court in downtown Kingston.

The judge yesterday spent considerable time summing up the evidence of the prosecution star witness who he reminded the jurors was the only eyewitness in the case.

He told the jurors that the witness' evidence had changed under cross-examination as it related to a light on a cellular phone, which he first told the court was constant but recanted to say it was flashing during cross-examination from defence attorney Pierre Rodgers.

He informed the jurors that eyewitness and voice identification evidence were very fragile and they had to consider a number of factors when considering the evidence in those two areas.

"I must, therefore, warn you to be very careful to convict anyone on eyewitness evidence. There have been wrongful convictions in the past," he said.

He said the jury must consider the length of time the witness had to see, the kind of lighting available, distance, and how long the witness knew the accused men.

"Voice identification poses the same type of danger. People sound like people. The danger is more acute," Justice Campbell said.

He also told the jurors that the only evidence entered against Shane Williams was a voice identification on a video, which was tendered into evidence by the prosecution.

The judge also mentioned the witness' testimony that he was invited to fly to Guyana with Kartel and Shawn Campbell to avoid being questioned and his refusal at one point to embark on the flight.

"He had never travelled overseas before with Mr Palmer so you may well ask yourselves why? Why that invitation?" he said.

Justice Campbell also spoke to claims by the defence that the star witness had concocted a story with the police to avoid a firearm-related charge.He said the first statement given to the police by the witness was done eight days after the alleged murder on August 16, 2011.

"The question I ask myself, Madame foreman, and your members, is when that statement was given how would the police know? Eight days after the police gave the witness a statement and answer it? How did the police know that 'Lizard' would not be seen again?" he said.

Earlier in the proceedings, before the jurors were ushered into the courtroom, defence attorney Tom Tavares-Finson and Justice Campbell briefly faced off after Tavares-Finson asked the reason two notes were handed to the court registrar by the prosecution during his summation last week. "What notes would that be?" Justice Campbell said.

"The notes were handed to me by the registrar. Maybe you can ask him," Justice Campbell said.

"The registrar is right here maybe your lordship could make the request?" Tavares-Finson asked.

"I will make no such request," Justice Campbell said sternly. "The notes contained corrections to your summation," a defiant Tavares-Finson continued. "This is very unusual, Mr Finson. I would have thought that after the judge's summation he would ask the defence if anything [was] left out?" The judge said. more

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: James Degorski, Man Who Killed 7 At Brown's Chicken Restaurant, Awarded $451,000 In Civil Suit

This undated photo released by the Palatine (Ill.)
 Police Department on Oct. 5, 2009, shows James Degorski
 Degorski, 37, was convicted in the 1993 slayings
 of seven people at a suburban Chicago
 restaurant. (AP Photo/Palatine Police Department)

CHICAGO (AP) — A former handyman serving life in prison for the 1993 murder of seven people at a suburban Chicago restaurant has been awarded nearly a half-million dollars in a civil lawsuit in which he alleged a jail guard punched him in the face.

Victims' relatives Sunday criticized jurors' decision for James Degorski, who, with an accomplice, shot and stabbed two restaurant owners and five workers at Brown's Chicken and Pasta during a botched robbery. Their bodies were found in a walk-in cooler and freezer.

Degorski, now 41, accused a Cook County Jail guard of punching him and breaking his cheekbone and eye socket in 2002 — just after Degorski's arrest in what had been one of the most notorious, unsolved murder cases in Illinois history. "If broken bones are worth a half-million, then how much are seven lives worth? This just doesn't feel right," said Ann Ehlenfeldt, a sister of Richard Ehlenfeldt, one of the owners who was killed.

But Degorski's attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, hailed the jury's decision, which came Friday after a three-day trial. more

Police release sketches of suspects in Dunkirk double murder....The victims are Demar McKenzie, otherwise called ‘Biggs’, and 17-month-old Threjan Harvey who were shot and killed about 10:00 pm in the community also known as Dunkirk.

Monday, March 10, 2014 | 8:08 PM    

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- The Kingston and St Andrew Major Investigations Taskforce (MIT) has released composite sketches of two men who are suspects in a double murder committed on Friday February 14, at McIntyre Villa in east Kingston.

The victims are Demar McKenzie, otherwise called ‘Biggs’, and 17-month-old Threjan Harvey who were shot and killed about 10:00 pm in the community also known as Dunkirk.

The police are asking anyone with information that can assist in locating these individuals to contact them at 967-3377, 948-1329, Crime Stop at 311, Police 119 emergency number or the nearest police station. 

Information may also be submitted at www.tipsubmit.com, through Twitter @JamaicaConstab, or The Jamaica Constabulary Force Facebook Page at www.facebook.com/JamaicaConstabularyForce. more 

Mutabauka on Religious HARD TALK. RELIGIOUS DISCUSSION AND DEBATE HOSTED BY IAN BOYNE WITH GUESTS MUTABARUKA AND CLINTON CHISHOLM.....HAILE SELASSIE WAS NOT BLACK. WAS A CHRISTIAN.

Mutabaruka

Michael Jackson's Alleged Son, You Can't Get MJ's Money.......Brandon Howard says he has no interest in going after the Estate, and that's a good thing, because Michael made sure he and everyone else in the world -- except Prince, Paris and Blanket -- could not lay a hand on MJ's assets.

3/10/2014 4:30 AM PDT BY TMZ STAFF   

Michael Jackson's newly-proclaimed alleged son will be fending for himself for the rest of his life, because there's NO WAY he can touch the money in MJ's estate.

Brandon Howard says he has no interest in going after the Estate, and that's a good thing, because Michael made sure he and everyone else in the world -- except Prince, Paris and Blanket -- could not lay a hand on MJ's assets. 

According to Michael's will ... Michael's 3 kids, along with some charities, ultimately get his money.  Michael also made sure that Katherine was supported during her lifetime. We just dug through Michael's 2002 will -- in which he explicitly wrote, "Except as otherwise provided in this Will or in the Trust ... I have intentionally omitted to provide for my heirs."

Under the law, that's all she wrote, because MJ had every right to disinherit anyone he wanted ... even his own kids.  What he did was provide for Paris, Blanket and Prince ... and even if someone else could prove they were sired by the singer ... tough luck. Bottom line ... Michael beat it, even in death. more 

Uninsured Rate Drops, Thanks To Obamacare....roughly to 3 million to 4 million people getting coverage....found that 15.9 percent of U.S. adults are uninsured thus far in 2014, down from 17.1 percent for the last three months

WASHINGTON (AP) — With just three weeks left to sign up under President Barack Obama's health care law, a major survey tracking the rollout finds that the uninsured rate keeps going down.

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, released Monday, found that 15.9 percent of U.S. adults are uninsured thus far in 2014, down from 17.1 percent for the last three months — or calendar quarter— of 2013.

That translates roughly to 3 million to 4 million people getting coverage. Gallup said the share of Americans who lack coverage is on track to drop to the lowest quarterly level it measured since 2008, before Obama took office. The survey found that almost every major demographic group made progress getting health insurance, although Hispanics lagged.

With the highest uninsured rate of any racial or ethnic group, Latinos were expected to be major beneficiaries of the new health care law. They are a relatively young population and many are on the lower rungs of the middle class, holding down jobs that don't come with health insurance.

But the outreach effort to Hispanics got off to a stumbling start. The Spanish-language enrollment website, CuidadodeSalud.gov, was delayed due to technical problems. Its name sounds like a clunky translation from English: "Care of Health." A spot check of the Spanish site on Sunday showed parts of it still use a mix of Spanish and English to convey information, which can make insurance details even more confusing. more

INTO THIN AIR? Investigators Chase 'Every Angle' In Missing Malaysia Jet....CLAIM: Plane May Have Disintegrated Mid-Flight... Hopes Dashed After Floating 'Yellow Object' Is Identified As Sea Trash... Search Team Can't Find Suspected Jet Door... 'Unprecedented Mystery'... Investigators Probing 'Every Angle'... Interpol: Security Lapse Of 'Great Concern'... LATEST UPDATES

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Rescue helicopters and ships searching for a Malaysia Airlines jet rushed Monday to investigate a yellow object that looked like a life raft. It turned out to be moss-covered trash floating in the ocean, once again dashing hopes after more than two days of fruitless search for the plane that disappeared en route to Beijing with 239 people on board.

With no confirmation that the Boeing 777 had crashed, hundreds of distraught relatives waited anxiously for any news. Thai police and Interpol questioned the proprietors of a travel agency in the resort town of Pattaya that sold one-way tickets to two men now known to have been traveling on flight MH370 using stolen passports.

Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation chief, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, told a news conference that investigators were looking at "every angle" to explain the plane's disappearance early Saturday, including hijacking.

"There are many experts around the world who have contributed their knowhow and knowledge," Azharuddin said. "As far as we are concerned, we are equally puzzled as well." more

Europe hot for Vybz Kartel....charged with the August 2011 murder of Clive 'Lizard' Williams...."I don't know if it's his personality or his controversy, but they love him."

Entertainment

BY HOWARD CAMPBELL Observer senior reporter  Monday, March 10, 2014

AS the Vybz Kartel murder trial winds down, the distributor of a multi-song album containing some of the deejay's biggest hit songs, says interest in his music continues to grow.

Kartel

Tad Dawkins, owner of Tad's Record, told the Jamaica Observer that Kartel Forever: Trilogy, the 60-track album released by the company last September, has sold well in Europe where the flamboyant Kartel has a strong base.

"People in that part of the world still love their roots-rocking reggae but there's something about him (Kartel) that they love," said Dawkins. "I don't know if it's his personality or his controversy, but they love him."

Kartel (given name Adidja Palmer), Shawn Campbell, Kahira Jones, Shane Williams and Andre St John are charged with the August 2011 murder of Clive 'Lizard' Williams. The incident allegedly took place at Kartel's home in Havendale, St Andrew.

The five men have pleaded not guilty to the charge. Today, High Court judge Justice Lennox Campbell, who is presiding over the case, will continue his summation.

Since he was arrested and jailed almost three years ago, the lanky Kartel's mystique has grown among diehard supporters. Many of them show up for his dates at the Home Circuit Court in downtown Kingston. more

West Kingston residents march for peace......"We are tired of the crime; enough is enough,"..... The peace march, which started at the intersection of Slipe Pen Road and Hannah Street, Denham Town, and ended at the neighbouring Tivoli Gardens Police Post

BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, March 10, 2014  

MORE than 1,000 residents from communities in and around West Kingston yesterday took to the streets with placards as they called for peace in the violence-torn section of the Jamaican capital.

"We are tired of the crime; enough is enough," said Kageeh Thomas, who noted that it had been almost three years since he was able to walk through some sections of the area because of violence.

The 20-year-old man was among the large group of men, women and children who, during the march, said that their lives had been placed on hold because of gang violence and that they were desperate for a change.

The peace march, which started at the intersection of Slipe Pen Road and Hannah Street, Denham Town, and ended at the neighbouring Tivoli Gardens Police Post, saw Security Minister Peter Bunting, members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, led by Commissioner Owen Ellington, and officials from churches from several communities in West Kingston walking the streets to show their support.

"The children of this [and other] communities deserve peace; they deserve to grow up without being molested, they deserve to grow up the normal way children all across the world are allowed to grow up," said Minister Bunting as he addressed a large crowd of men, women and children gathered at the intersection of Regent Street and North Street — one of several stops made through the more than three-hour-long march.

He was supported by Ellington, who challenged residents to join the police in the fight against crime. more

IN JAMAICA: Education......PALAS hopes to help 100 students this year....has provided 115 scholarships and 12 computers valued at over US$50,000 to needy high school and tertiary level students in Jamaica.....also very active trying to help raise funds for cancer patient Kirby Campbell who is currently a student at UWI, as well as once homeless medical student Yemalla Edwards.

Jamaica Observer I Sunday, March 09, 2014    

THE demand for help usually surpasses what they are able to give each year, but Peace and Love Academic Scholarship (PALAS) Inc hopes to help 100 students get closer to academic success this year by offering them financial assistance.

Students at the 2013-2014 PALAS awards ceremony
at the UWI, Mona campus

Since being launched in 2010, the international organisation has provided 115 scholarships and 12 computers valued at over US$50,000 to needy high school and tertiary level students in Jamaica. The scholarship was launched in honour and memory of Jamaican student Vanessa Campbell, an aspiring artiste who was found with her throat slashed behind the Greater Portmore Post Office in St Catherine a few years ago.

Founder and Executive Director Rula Brown said 60 new scholarships were awarded last year to 16 high school and 44 university students. The selection committee had chosen these students from 87 females, and 41 males between the ages of 12 to 32..

In order to qualify for the scholarships, students need to write a 300 to 500 word essay to say why they should be selected, must maintain at least a B average or 75 per cent grade, and should "be positively active in their communities such as school, church, hospitals, youth services and Rotary clubs or volunteering".

In light of the growing requests for financial assistance, Brown said those who make a minimum donation of US$350 will be able to have a scholarship awarded in their name, family or business. Donations can be made online prior to July 30 at www.PALAS1.org.

"The response to having a scholarship in someone's name, their loved one or company has been tremendous. For example in 2013, of the 60 scholarships awarded, 42 were by partnering with others. The individuals are very excited to know that they are helping their fellow countrymen in this endeavour," Brown said.

Sponsors are also given a certificate from PALAS with the picture and credentials of each student that they sponsor. Brown said that so far in 2014, 30 persons have come on board to partner with the organisation. more

Puma to launch largest campaign with swagger of USAIN BOLT......dubbed 'Forever Faster' which will embody the swagger of Jamaican sprinter Bolt....the thrill, the fun, and the swagger of Usain Bolt himself, the man who best personifies this new strategy and ambition,"

BY STEVEN JACKSON Business reporter jacksons@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, March 09, 2014   

GLOBAL sports brand Puma will launch its largest campaign in a decade dubbed 'Forever Faster' which will embody the swagger of Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.

The campaign will take off in Autumn 2014 and is aimed at positioning Puma as the fastest sports brand in the world.

Usain Bolt

"The phrase simultaneously references the emotional benefit of owning speed — the thrill, the fun, and the swagger of Usain Bolt himself, the man who best personifies this new strategy and ambition," accoridng to Puma chairman Jean Francois Palus in the just-released 2013 annual report.

Puma needs the campaign — its sales are flat at (euro) 2.98 billion and it recorded a (euro)5.3-million profit or 92 per cent decline in year on year. The slash was due to special items relating

to a(euro) 129-million impairment based on reduced goodwill from expected earnings in individual markets; and also the closure of a Product Development Centre in Vietnam.

"In 2014, Puma will reposition itself to become a true Sports Brand and give credible proof that it is indeed Forever Faster," Palus added in the statement accompanying the financials. "Puma is excited to launch its new brand statement 'Forever Faster' through a global media campaign in the Autumn/Winter season 2014 - the company's biggest media campaign in the last decade. This re-ignition of the brand heat was kicked off by extending the partnership with the fastest athlete on the planet, Usain Bolt, and was further fuelled by signing one of the world's top football clubs, Arsenal FC, and Italian superstar Mario Balotelli." more

IN JAMAICA: Five arrested at Norman Manley Airport for drugs......24-year-old Kemar Taylor was taken to the Kingston Public Hospital where she expelled 32 pellets containing cocaine, weighing half-a-pound.

Saturday, March 08, 2014 | 9:34 PM    

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Detectives from the Transnational Crime and Narcotics Division (TCND) arrested four men and a woman for breaches under the Dangerous Drugs Act on February 27 and March 3.

Forty-eight-year-old Gilbert Cousins of Hamstead in St Catherine was arrested on February 27 after he attempted to leave the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) headed for Curacao with 2.86 pounds of ganja that he had ingested, the police report.

And on the same day, 24-year-old Kemar Taylor of 19 Miles, Sandy Bay in Clarendon was arrested after arriving at the NMIA on a flight from Curacao. Reports are that after Taylor was interviewed by the TCND she was taken to the Kingston Public Hospital where she expelled 32 pellets containing cocaine, weighing half-a-pound.

Meanwhile, on March 3 TCND detectives took three men into custody after they attempted to enter the island with cocaine.  The men have been identified as 46-year-old Christopher Douglas of Sunflower Avenue in Clarendon, 26-year-old Kevin Boothe of Mineral Heights, Clarendon, and 46-year-old Jonathan Fontanelle of George Town in Guyana.

The men arrived at the NMIA on a flight which originated in Curacao. They were taken to the Kingston Public Hospital where they expelled a total of 174 pellets of cocaine weighing approximately 3.47 pounds.

All the accused individuals will be placed before the Half Way Tree Resident Magistrate’s Court next week, the police say. more

CANCER BREAKTHROUGH: JAMAICAN scientist Dr. HENRY LOWE on Friday confirmed that he and his research team have uncovered two major developments related to Guinea Hen Weed's ability to fight cancer.... New anti-cancer discovery from Guinea Hen Weed....attacks and destroys cancer cells is by inhibiting a particular type of protein (called a Kinase) .

Sunday, March 09, 2014    

Jamaican scientist Dr Henry Lowe on Friday confirmed that he and his research team have uncovered two major developments related to Guinea Hen Weed's ability to fight cancer and that the findings will be published in a respected peer review journal next month.

LOWE… Guinea Hen Weed is recognised
 locally and internationally as one of the
most interesting and important medicinal
 plants in the world

Lowe told the Sunday Observer that his research team at the University of Maryland School of Medicine discovered that one of the ways by which Dibenzyl Trisulfide (DTS) — the major bioactive molecule in Guinea Hen Weed — attacks and destroys cancer cells is by inhibiting a particular type of protein (called a Kinase) which exists in cancer cells and which promotes cancer development.

"If these Kinases are not inhibited or destroyed, they help the cancer cells to survive as well as to spread throughout the body," Lowe, said.

He also revealed that a study of the anti-cancer potency of the Guinea Hen Weed products on the international market, compared to those available here, found that the local products are "significantly more potent" than their overseas commercial competitors, "by an average of 25 per cent".

The Guinea Hen Weed nutraceuticals
 developed by Dr Henry Lowe and
his research team.

That study, he said, was conducted by his Biotech R&D Institute, and the findings have been accepted for publication in the April 2014 issue of the International Journal of Cancer Research and Treatment.

He said that this is the first time that this particular scientific discovery has been made and reported, thus significantly advancing the potential of DTS as a major anti-cancer agent.

Lowe, who is known for his anti-cancer research using the Jamaican Ball Moss, appeared excited by the findings, given that he has developed nutraceuticals using local plants, including Guinea Hen Weed, and markets them under the Eden Gardens brand.

He said that Guinea Hen Weed, which is also called garlic weed (Petivera alliacea), is recognised locally and internationally as one of the most interesting and important medicinal plants in the world. more

Buju Banton pays tribute to late attorney Kwame Lumumba who died under mysterious circumstances last week......Buju blasted the system which he claimed entrapped and imprisoned him for his beliefs.

BY KARYL WALKER Editor - Crime/Court Desk walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, March 09, 2014    

INCARCERATED Reggae icon Buju Banton has issued a heart-rending tribute to his former lead attorney and late Mayor

of Jackson, Mississippi, Kwame Lumumba, who died under mysterious circumstances last week.

Writing from a federal prison in Miami, Florida, Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie, blasted the system which he claimed entrapped and imprisoned him for his beliefs. Here is the full text of Banton's letter.

BUJU BANTON ... it’s with a deep sense
 of privation that I mourn the passing
 of my friend and another great black
 freedom fighter

Mark Anthony Myrie (86700004) ( Buju Banton) To the family and friends of the late  Chokwe Lumumba: My heart goes out to you all. I share in your grief immensely.

Having been one of the many lives Atty Lumumba has touched, it's with a deep sense of privation that I mourn the passing of my friend and another great black freedom fighter. Atty Chokwe Lumumba, a warrior just like the great leader Patrice Lumumba who fought for the liberation of the Congo in Africa.

Atty Lumumba fought for many who could not stand up against a profaned system that is filled with injustice. A well-disciplined and principled man.

We first met while I was going through the litigation process stemming from the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal's decision to reinstate a gun charge. A charge that was previously dismissed by the district court judge.

This tall, dignified black man walked into the visiting room at the FCI Miami, introduced himself and got right down to business. Atty Lumumba had already done his homework concerning my case and clearly saw that something was amiss. He never tried to sugar-coat his thoughts. more

These 20 Countries Have No Law Against Domestic Violence.....Nearly 40 percent of all murders of women worldwide are carried out by an intimate partner, according to the World Health Organization.... 1 in 3 women across the globe has experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of her partner....And in the United States, some 1.3 million women are assaulted by their partner each year, according to CDC statistics.

It is a startling fact that one of the most dangerous places for a woman is her own home.

World Health Organization

Nearly 40 percent of all murders of women worldwide are carried out by an intimate partner, according to the World Health Organization. One in three women across the globe has experienced physical or sexual violence at the hands of her partner. And in the United States, some 1.3 million women are assaulted by their partner each year, according to CDC statistics.

A Woman in Niger digs a ditch to
collect to collect rainwater on
May 28, 2012

Despite the prevalence of violence against women in their own homes, dozens of countries around the world do not have specific laws against domestic violence. For example Kenya has no provision to outlaw domestic abuse and according to the U.S. State Department, police in the country generally refrain from investigating cases of domestic violence, treating it as a private family matter. In Lebanon, debate rumbles on about finally passing a law to criminalize domestic violence, after a series of horrendous abuse cases hit the country's headlines this year.

Liesl Gerntholtz, Executive Director of the Women's Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, explained to The WorldPost why it has been so important for countries to adopt specific legislation that targets domestic abuse. Gerntholtz pointed out that while ordinary criminal law does outlaw violence, and therefore domestic abuse should be treated as a crime, the issue has historically been ignored by governments and underreported by women. "Because the violence is so invisible you needed laws to enroll judges, police and other authorities to look for it and prosecute it," she said.

"Violence against women is frighteningly simple and complex. Violence will stop when perpetrators stop," she added. more

IN JAMAICA: Governor General's I Believe/Monroe College Scholarship launched..... Gov’t gets closer to business incubator in digital economy......"In essence what we will have is a six-month programme where candidates will be given coaching and mentorship guidance to the point where they can develop a business plan".....

Saturday, March 08, 2014    

GOVERNMENT is now a step closer towards the setting up of a national business incubator that will seek to help local and international players to stay in the island and develop their skills and business plans in a digital economy.

Governor General Sir Patrick Allen (third left) and Lady Allen (centre)
are joined by entrepreneur James Goren (second right);
Dr Geneive Brown Metzger (right), director of government relations
 and outreach for the Caribbean region, Monroe College;
Pamille Shaw-Blair, assistant marketing and communications
 manager of the Jamaica Observer, which has helped
to promote the IBI scholarship; and entrepreneur Manuela Goren
 pose for a photo following Thursday’s launch of the
 IBI/Monroe College Scholarship at King’s House.
 (PHOTO: BRYAN CUMMINGS)

"Basically, it will be an incubator where persons who have ideas or who want to develop a business will be able to come in," said Julian Robinson, minister of state, Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining.

He was speaking Thursday at the launch of the Governor General's I Believe Initiative (IBI) Monroe College Scholarship at King's House in St Andrew.

The state minister said people who are interested in, among other things, the building of applications for phones and software, as well as people who are in animation, will be targeted as the focus will be to reach out to persons who are in the digital economy. The centre, he said, is to be launched in the third quarter of the year. He, however, declined to disclose the planned location of

the centre.

"In essence what we will have is a six-month programme where candidates will be given coaching and mentorship guidance to the point where they can develop a business plan, a prototype and can venture out to seek funding. So it's moving from an idea, to where you are close to a business," said Robinson.

"The primary target will be Jamaicans, but it will be open to anybody because one of the major benefits of the incubator is to have cross- fertilisation of ideas," he said. more

GREETINGS, SATURDAY MARCH 22ND, 2014. OLDIES BUT GOODIES WITH DJ CARLTON ~ NATURAL VIBES AND DJ COLD RICE. IT'S THE "IMMORTAL EDITION" PLAYING MUSIC FROM SOME OF OUR PAST SINGERS. AT THE JVC EVENT HALL, 1580 E PARK PL. BLVD. STONE MOUNTAIN GA. 30087 $30.00 INCLUDES MEALS. ALSO LOT'S OF GIVE PRIZES AND SURPRISES

KINGSTON, Jamaica: Justice Lennox Campbell, the judge presiding at the Vybz Kartel murder trial has told jurors that "something happened" at the entertainer's gate in Havendale, St Andrew on August 16, 2011.

KINGSTON, Jamaica:
Justice Lennox Campbell, the judge presiding at the Vybz Kartel murder trial has told jurors that "something happened" at the entertainer's gate in Havendale, St Andrew on August 16, 2011. 

In continuing his summation in the case of the murder of Clive 'Lizard' Williams, Campbell reminded the jurors that one of the accused, Shawn Campbell, admitted that he went to the gate and left. 

He also noted that another accused, Andre St John, said he was on his way out of the yard when the main witness came and a dog rushed him. Kartel was allegedly bitten by the dog after trying to protect the main witness. 

Justice Campbell has told the jurors that the defense has claimed that the main witness was lying because he couldn't remember what happened on August 16, 2011. At the same time, he reminded jurors that the main witness and the murder victim were scared because of the situation they were in. 

However, he pointed out that the men were not weak-kneed, but ones who "locked" guns. And, the judge has asked the jury to refer to text messages in the case sent by Lizard to his girlfriend. He said the jurors should follow the sequence of the time in the case. According to the judge, there has been much scrutiny of the timing of the events including the time when the text messages were sent. 

The High Court judge said some of the messages sent by the witness, Lizard, and others would not make sense. However, Justice Campbell said the jurors have to decide whether the text messages are genuine. He also sought to assure the jurors that this is their last weekend in court. 

Campbell has so far reviewed the evidence of eight of the 24 witnesses called by the prosecution. 
Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, is charged jointly with fellow entertainer Shawn Campbell, also called Shawn Storm, Kahira Jones; Shane Williams and André St John. When the case adjourned today, the judge was reviewing the evidence of the main witness. The main witness has told the court that on the night of August 16, 2011, he saw Clive 'Lizard' Williams lying motionless on the floor of Kartel’s Havendale, St Andrew house. 

The Crown is alleging that Kartel and his four co-accused killed Williams over two missing guns on August 16, 2011. more