Michael Dunn Found Guilty Of First-Degree Murder In Killing Of Jordan Davis.... loud-music trial

Jacksonville, Florida (CNN) --The Huffington Post

Jurors found Michael Dunn guilty of first-degree murder Wednesday in the 2012 shooting death 17-year-old Jordan Davis.

Dunn's parents were in the courtroom for the verdict. Davis' parents, Ron Davis and Lucia MacBath, both let out a quiet gasp upon hearing the jury forewoman's words and then hung their heads and cried. Dunn did not appear to have an immediate reaction, but later, he turned around and somberly shook his head toward his father.

Duval County Judge Russell Healey set a tentative sentencing hearing for October 17 but said he would wait until Tuesday to ensure the date worked for Dunn's defense attorneys.

"This has been going on for two years, and everyone has acted graciously. I ask that you continue to do that," Healey said before the verdict was read. "Remember, we must respect the verdict of the jury. They did not volunteer to do this." more

THE RACE TO TRACE : Texas Ebola Patient Was In Contact With Children... At Least 12 To 18 People... Identified As Liberian Native... Vomited On Way To Hospital... REPORT: Hospital Made Huge Error In Diagnosis...

DALLAS , Texas (AP) — 

The first Ebola patient diagnosed in the United States told health care workers on his initial hospital visit that he had recently been in an area affected by the deadly disease, but that information was not widely shared, a hospital official said Wednesday.

Thomas Eric Duncan went to a Dallas emergency room Friday and explained that he was visiting the U.S. from Liberia. He was sent home with antibiotics, according to his sister, Mai Wureh.

A man walks up the stairway leading to the Texas Health
 Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014.
 | ASSOCIATED PRESS

He returned two days later, after his condition worsened, and was admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Mark Lester, who works for the hospital's parent company, said a nurse had asked Duncan whether he had been in any part of West Africa, where Ebola has killed thousands. But that "information was not fully communicated throughout the whole team."

A day after the man's diagnosis was confirmed, a nine-member team of federal health officials was tracking anyone who had close contact with him.

The team from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was in Dallas to work with local and state health agencies to ensure that those people are watched every day for 21 days.

"If anyone develops fever, we'll immediately isolate them to stop the chain of transmission," Dr. Tom Frieden, the CDC director, said in an interview.

Duncan has been kept in isolation at the hospital since Sunday. He was listed in serious but stable condition.

Ebola is believed to have sickened more than 6,500 people in West Africa, and more than 3,000 deaths have been linked to the disease, according to the World Health Organization.

Officials are monitoring 12 to 18 people who may have been exposed to the man, including three members of the ambulance crew that transported him to the hospital and five schoolchildren.

Some of the people are members of his family, but not all, Dallas city spokeswoman Sana Syed said. more

EBOLA VIRUS INFECTION - What you should know! High fever, Headache, Joint and muscle aches, Sore throat, Weakness, Stomach pain, Lack of appetite

Wednesday, October 01, 2014 | 2:11 AM    

OBSERVER ONLINE today begins its national campaign of informing our readers on the deadly Ebola Virus and the Chikungunya virus. The aim of the Jamaica Observer through these articles and graphics is to inform, and hopefully to have Jamaicans become more aware of Ebola and Chikungunya so that the necessary steps can be taken to deal with these ailments. We begin the series with a look at Ebola. Please take the time to read and to view the graphics posted with today's article. With every good wish - Editor

WHAT IS EBOLA?

Ebola is a rare but deadly virus that causes bleeding inside and outside the body.

As the virus spreads through the body, it damages the immune system and organs. Ultimately, it causes levels of blood-clotting cells to drop. This leads to severe, uncontrollable bleeding.

HOW DO YOUN GET EBOLA?

Ebola isn’t as contagious as more common viruses like colds, influenza, or measles. It spreads to people by contact with the skin or bodily fluids of an infected animal, like a monkey, chimp, or fruit bat. Then it moves from person to person the same way. Those who care for a sick person or bury someone who has died from the disease often get it.

Other ways to get Ebola include touching contaminated needles or surfaces. 

You can’t get Ebola from air, water, or food. A person who has Ebola but has no symptoms can’t spread the disease, either.

What Are the Symptoms of Ebola?

Early on, Ebola can feel like the flu or other illnesses. Symptoms show up 2 to 21 days after infection and usually include:

High fever

Headache

Joint and muscle aches

Sore throat

Weakness

Stomach pain

Lack of appetite

As the disease gets worse, it causes bleeding inside the body, as well as from the eyes, ears, and nose.  Some people will vomit or cough up blood, have bloody diarrhea, and get a rash.

How Is Ebola Diagnosed?

Sometimes it's hard to tell if a person has Ebola from the symptoms alone. Doctors may test to rule out other diseases like cholera or malaria.<

Tests of blood and tissues also can diagnose Ebola.

If you have Ebola, you’ll be isolated from the public immediately to prevent the spread.       more

IN JAMAICA: Cabinet Approves Changes To Ganja Law.... Justice Minister Mark Golding announced that among the amendments to the act that Cabinet has approved are provisions for permits to cultivate, possess, import, export, transport, manufacture, sell, and distribute ganja for medical and scientific purposes under licence.

Published: Wednesday | October 1, 2014

Accepting that aspects of the Dangerous Drugs Act prohibit Jamaica from enjoying the economic benefits of medical marijuana and industrial hemp, the Government has made a number of changes to the act.

Ganja plant

Speaking yesterday at a press briefing at Jamaica House, Justice Minister Mark Golding announced that among the amendments to the act that Cabinet has approved are provisions for permits to cultivate, possess, import, export, transport, manufacture, sell, and distribute ganja for medical and scientific purposes under licence.

"While the Dangerous Drugs Act and its regulations and the Food and Drug Regulations, 1975, provide a regime for the use of extracts, tinctures, or preparations made from cannabis, the prohibitions of the Dangerous Drugs Act make any dealing with the ganja plant itself illegal, without exception, and, therefore, do not allow locally grown cannabis plants to be used to produce extracts, tinctures, or preparations for medical, scientific, or any other purpose," he said.

Justice minister Mark Golding

Stating that the terms of the proposed licence are to be determined, Golding said, "We need to now flesh out the specifics of the licence and framework to go hand-in-hand once the amendments have been approved and implemented."

A licensing authority is to be established to govern the licensing processes for participation in the medicinal ganja industry. more

Mother of Jamaican killed, 25 y-o Tremaine Thomas in Trinidad wants answers....Bridgette Johnson wants to go get her son’s body from Trinidad

BY DONNA HUSSEY-WHYTE Observer staff reporter husseyd@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, September 30, 2014  

THE mother of Jamaican actor Tremaine Thomas, who was shot dead in a volatile community in Port of Spain, Trinidad, last Thursday night, is demanding the truth about his killing.

“I know my child, he was no gunman,” Bridgette Johnson told the Jamaica Observer yesterday. “He had a clean police record in Jamaica. And it is upon that premise that I am seeking justice. In my heart I know my child is not a criminal; he was not a gunman.”

Trinidad media reported that five men were in the Laventille area when occupants of a black vehicle fired gunshots on the group, hitting all of them.

One of the dead men, Dillon Skeete, was reported to be a gang leader.

“The newspaper in Trinidad is saying that it was gunmen who murdered my child, but yet eyewitness is saying that it is police; so I don’t know,” Johnson told the Observer. “I am not going to sit here and speculate, but I am in search of justice because I don’t know, and I have to make that clear.”

Twenty-five-year-old Thomas was in Trinidad to shoot a movie.

His mother said that up to yesterday she had not been contacted by the authorities in Trinidad and Tobago and had to be relying on the media to know what was happening.

“But even if they don’t contact me directly, they can contact the Jamaican Government so I can know what is happening. I want to know how I can get my child’s body. I need answers as to what happened,” the mother pleaded. more

PRIME Minister Portia Simpson Miller has cautioned students against using the tablet computers, provided to them by the Government's $1.4 billion Tablets in Schools pilot programme, to post on YouTube and other social media sites.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014 by Jamaica Observer

PRIME Minister Portia Simpson Miller has cautioned students against using the tablet computers, provided to them by the Government, to post on YouTube and other social media sites.

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller (second right) and Minister
 of Education Ronald Thwaites (right) applaud as Minister of Science,
 Technology, Energy and Mining, Phillip Paulwell presents a tablet
to Haile Selassie High School student Tarique Salmon. Occasion
 was the handing over of tablets to students of the school yesterday,
under the Government’s $1.4 billion Tablets in Schools
 pilot project. Tarique’s mother, Vinnel Lawson,
shares in the moment. (PHOTO: JIS)

Simpson Miller, who was addressing yesterday's distribution of the tablets at the Haile Selassie High School in her South West St Andrew constituency, said that the devices "are for educational purposes, nothing else". She also advised parents to monitor their children's use of the tablets.

Haile Selassie is the third institution to be issued with tablet computers under the Government's $1.4 billion Tablets in Schools pilot programme and the first secondary level institution.

Salt Savannah Primary and Infant School in Clarendon and Cavaliers All-age School in West Rural St Andrew are the schools that have already received devices.

The 840 students of Haile Selassie will be presented with the devices over two days. Tablets were previously distributed to teachers from participating schools across the island.

The prime minister, in hailing the project, said with the tablets in hand, students will now have the opportunity to improve on their school work.

Noting her commitment to education, the prime minister said her administration has provided some $8 million in tertiary support, each year, for students in her constituency. more

11-year-old deejay Wayne J single, Chikungunya Virus (chik-V) is airborne....he and his mother are recovering from the illness, while his father has fully recovered. There are 35 confirmed cases and estimated thousands of transmittal in Jamaica

THE outbreak of chikungunya virus (chik-V) has certainly been Jamaica's hot-button topic in recent weeks. And, 11-year-old deejay Wayne J has added his voice to the discourse.

His single, Chikungunya, has been doing the rounds. Produced by Ikation Records, the track was officially released on Sunday.

"I thank the disc jocks for playing it. It really makes me feel good," Wayne J told the Jamaica Observer.

Wayne J

A student of Pembroke High School in St Andrew, Wayne J (given name Wayne Smith Jr) said he hasn't heard the single yet.

"I've never heard it. People tell me about it," he said.

According to Wayne J, the song was written by his father and "with some input from me".

Ironically, he and his mother are recovering from the illness, while his father has fully recovered.

"I never knew I could have gotten it," said Wayne J, who lives in the Waterhouse community of St Andrew. He also knows that he can only get it once.

The Ministry of Health put the number of confirmed cases at 35. However, some estimate it in the thousands.

Chik-V is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito and causes fever, joint paint and rashes. more

Jamaican singer, Anita Antoinette blew away all 4 judges on the Voice Season 7. Will you be supporting Anita ? (Video)

Published September 30, 2014

Could this amazing soulful, roots artist be following in the footsteps of Tessanne Chin? Well, based onher performance on the blind audition of the Voice on season 7 last night she could very well be. 
Anita Antoinette, who currently lives in Boston, Mass was born in Jamaica, her dad is reggae icon, Clinton Fearon. All four judges spun their chairs around and gave her a standing ovation after she sang Bob Marley's "Turn Your Lights Down Low".
Jamaican Facebook fans will certainly be coming together to support this excellent artist on Season 7 of the Voice. Anita was eliminated in Season 5 when she tried out for the event.
Wish her luck.....Go Anita.

ICONS of SOUL AWARD: Honour for Sister Nancy along with Robert 'Bobby' Clarke, Alma 'Mama Alma' Campbell, Frano Francis, Winston 'Merritone' Blake, Winston 'Wee Pow' Powell and radio broadcaster Jeff Barnes.

BY CECELIA CAMPBELL-LIVINGSTON Observer reporter livingstonc@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, September 30, 2014       

ROOTS reggae artiste Sister Nancy is among four persons being honoured at the 13th staging of Icons of Soul slated for the Rochdale Community Centre in Queens, New York, on Saturday, November 8.

Sister Nancy

The younger sister of deejay Brigadier Jerry, Sister Nancy first connected with hits such as Bam Bam, One Two and Cocaine at a time when Jamaica's music business was still dominated by males.

Nancy's version of Bam Bam was recently featured in a Reebok TV commercial.

Event conceptualiser Mikey Sterling said it has always been his desire to recognise those who have made a big impact on the music industry.

"We are talking about contributions from the soul, that's the best place any real giving or service can come from," he told the Jamaica Observer. "There are some who will never get recognised until after they are gone, I don't believe in that. I want to honour them now while they are alive."

Others receiving awards are: concert promoter Robert 'Bobby' Clarke, who will be getting the Man of the Year Award; Alma 'Mama Alma' Campbell The Queen of Promotions award; while Frano Francis will be getting The King of Promotions award.

Recipients of the Icon of Soul Award include Winston 'Merritone' Blake, Winston 'Wee Pow' Powell and radio broadcaster Jeff Barnes.

TESSANNE CHIN & RULA BROWN - "Heavens Knows" (Big Chuneeeeeee)

Ernie, Pluto For Keesing Live : On Saturday, October 18, it will be all about the legends

Shereita Grizzle, Gleaner Writer Published: Monday | September 29, 2014

The most recent staging of Keesing Live brought the 'Fyah and Ice', as Donald 'Iceman' Anderson and reggae band Raging Fyah stole the spotlight. On Saturday, October 18, it will be all about the legends in the next installation of the concert series at Keesing Avenue in St Andrew.

File Ernie Smith (left) and Pluto Shervington.

Alternative Music Ltd has managed to secure a duo who has contributed considerably to Jamaica's musical legacy. Ernie Smith and Pluto Shervington are the headline acts for the next staging of Keesing Live. The organisers anticipate that the pair will pull a large crowd.

Ernie Smith enjoyed the earliest success in his musical career in the 1960s and '70s. Some of his earliest hits include Bend Down and Ride On Sammy. One of his most popular songs in Jamaica however, was the 1974 hit Duppy Gunman.

FOLK-STYLE MUSIC

Born Leighton Shervington in Kingston, Pluto Shervington is best known for his humorous folk style of music. His catalogue includes the classics I Man Born Ya and Ram Goat Liver.

Kelissa

Keesing Live's official Facebook page describes the event as one not to be missed, especially with a line-up that also includes One Third, Kelissa and Kimiela 'Candy' Isaacs. Fae Ellington, who is this year celebrating her 40th year in media, will do emceeing duties, which in itself should be a treat. more

Historical Background Of Coffee In Jamaica: Coffee production began in Jamaica in 1728 when the then governor of Jamaica, Sir Nicholas Lawes, brought approximately eight coffee seedlings from Martinique. Governor Lawes planted those seedlings at Temple Hall in St Andrew, one of his many properties.

Published: Monday | September 29, 2014

Coffee production began in Jamaica in 1728 when the then governor of Jamaica, Sir Nicholas Lawes, brought approximately eight coffee seedlings from Martinique. Governor Lawes planted those seedlings at Temple Hall in St Andrew, one of his many properties. At about the same time, an unnamed gentleman from Vere in Clarendon also imported a number of berries, also from Martinique.

Coffe Beans

Within a decade, there was a rapid expansion of the local coffee industry. This was due, in part, to the influx of refugees from the Haitian Revolution. The Haitian masters and their slaves brought with them their experience and expertise in coffee production.

This rapid expansion was, however, short-lived, chiefly due to poor land preparation and agronomic practices which resulted in severe landslides and the loss of the productive soils. Things got worse after Emancipation as the slaves deserted their plantations, resulting in large-scale abandonment of coffee farms, with some being rented or sold to small farmers. This resulted in coffee becoming a small-scale peasant crop as opposed to the plantation crop it was previously.

Tree

The industry continued to decline, reaching a low point in 1943 when Canadian importers refused to buy Jamaican coffee due to its poor quality. This led to Government intervention with the appointment of the then governor for agriculture in the West Indies, A.J. Wakefield, being asked to make recommendations for the rehabilitation of the coffee industry. more

IN JAMAICA: Car thieves now operating in large groups.... Police say mechanics included.... "We have learnt that in these groups you will have two or three persons who are placed at strategic positions to watch the surroundings,"

BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, September 29, 2014  

THE police are reporting that motor vehicle thieves are now operating in groups, some as large as 10, on each criminal mission, in an effort to minimise the risk of being caught.

Police and Thief

"Gone are the days when one or two criminals would go to steal a car; what we are now seeing is that members of these criminal networks, to avoid detection, are working in larger groups and each person in the group is given a designated duty," said a police officer, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

"We have learnt that in these groups you will have two or three persons who are placed at strategic positions to watch the surroundings," added the cop. "Some of these lookout persons will even drive around the area to ensure the coast is clear."

According to the policeman, other individuals in the group are mandated to follow the owner of the targeted vehicle and inform the rest of the gang as to how much time they have to carry out their illegal act after the owner leaves the vehicle.

Included in the gang of car thieves, the Jamaica Observer was also told, are mechanics, whose job it is to check the engine to determine if the vehicle is worth stealing.

Yesterday, a senior official at the Island Traffic Department confirmed the development.

"We have received information about this illegal scheme," he said. "A high-level probe has been launched as we suspect that a number of used car dealers are linked to this development."

Detectives in Spanish Town say they were able to foil an attempt by one of these groups at a popular plaza in the old capital last week. more

WESTMORELAND, Jamaica: Shotgun found in passenger bus, pistol in car

Sunday, September 28, 2014 | 11:01 AM

WESTMORELAND, Jamaica – Police here have seized a shotgun during the search of a minibus bus heading to Kingston on Saturday.

A type of the shotgun found by
the Westmoreland
police on a passenger bus Saturday 

OBSERVER ONLINE has been informed that the weapon was found in the bus that was travelling along the Ferris main road.

No arrests have been made.

Meanwhile, police in St Ann’s Bay, St Ann this morning recovered a 9mm pistol with serial number erased. Three men were taken into custody over the find.

The gun was found in a car along the St Ann’s main road after the occupants of the vehicle tried escaping on foot when the police signalled the driver to stop. The three were subsequently held.

MADNESS: Pastor gives Church congregation gasoline to drink....and they did (CRAZY! CRAZY) Where is the sanity?

Post by Jamaica IS Nice.

IN JAMAICA: 19 y-o student, Georgia Lindsay with 20 CSEC/CAPE subjects needs desperate help to attend Medical School....Manchester father puts family house up for sale to send daughter to medical school.....Desperate dad (READ FULL STORY)

BY DONNA HUSSEY-WHYTE Sunday Observer staff reporter husseyd@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, September 28, 2014    

A Manchester father, desperate to raise $1 million to send his daughter to medical school in China, has put his family house up for sale, saying that he would do anything to prevent her from experiencing the hardships he endured growing up.

"Is because it never sell at the time why you come here and see it now," George Lindsay told the Jamaica Observer on Friday.

Georgia and her proud dad George Lindsay at their
 New Forest home in Manchester last Friday.

"I put up the sign out at the front of the road and quite a few people came and look at it. But I never had the registered title. If I had the registered title, I would be a happy man, because it would have been sold and her schooling taken care of," he said.

"When I told people I was selling my house and sending her to school they told me they would not do it, because pickney may not turn 'roun and look back on them. But I said 'how would you know? I will run the risk'. And it is still up for sale," he insisted.

Lindsay admitted that he got to this point after trying to earn enough money from farming, butchery, chicken-rearing, and operating a small grocery shop.

His daughter, Georgia, graduated from Hampton School this year armed with 12 CSEC subjects and eight CAPE units. But the 19-year-old, who hopes to leave the island next Saturday for China to study medicine, does not yet have enough money to cover the cost of her travel and first-year tuition.

"I have been accepted to start the six-year course at Anhui Medical School in China in the upcoming school year," Georgia told the Sunday Observer on Friday.

She said she was accepted to other universities but opted for Anhui because the tuition fee there was the lowest quoted to her.

"I believe studying in China will yield great opportunities," she said.

"Since grade six, when I was doing GSAT, I knew I wanted to become a doctor, but I just didn't know what kind," said Georgia, who also attended New Forest Primary and Junior High in Manchester. "And after I started Hampton and I did all the sciences the passion just came."

On Friday, Lindsay told the Sunday Observer that he had already given his daughter "about $300,000" and her mother, who is abroad working, had promised to come up with some more money.

Georgia with awards

"That is where we are at right now. We putting on a dinner tomorrow (yesterday) to make some more money to go towards it. Even if we make a $30,000 or $40,000 from it, then I would be thankful because that can buy some more US dollars again to help make up," he said.

"But I definitely don't know where the rest is coming from. And I have to make sure that I put money in her account every month so that she can help out herself," said Lindsay, who now farms escallion and thyme. more

Face your prostate cancer fears.... Dr Belinda Morrison says prostate cancer is the leading cancer in Jamaica. With a death rate of 63.9 per 100,000 men in the population, and an incidence rate of 78.1 per 100,000 men,

FOR many, prostate cancer is still shrouded in some amount of uncertainty, but one thing is definite, early detection is the key to reducing the death rate associated with the condition that has many men cowering in fear.

(PHOTOS: COURTESY JAMAICA CANCER SOCIETY)

According to consultant urologist at the University Hospital of the West Indies and head of urology at the University of the West Indies, Dr Belinda Morrison, prostate cancer is the leading cancer in Jamaica. With a death rate of 63.9 per 100,000 men in the population, and an incidence rate of 78.1 per 100,000 men, according to information obtained from the Jamaica Cancer Society based on a study conducted by the University of the West Indies between 2003 and 2007 for Kingston and St Andrew, the fears of being diagnosed are not entirely unfounded.

However, Dr Morrison told the Jamaica Observer in a recent interview that, with no definitive way of preventing the condition, early detection is key to managing prostate cancer.

"It has been proven that, if a man presents early for prostate cancer, if he is screened, then you can reduce the death rate from the disease," Dr Morrison shared.

Prostate cancer, according to the Mayo Clinic, is "cancer that occurs in the man's prostate -- a small walnut-shaped gland that produces the seminal fluid that nourishes and transports sperms". The prostate surrounds the urethra and is located in front of the rectum and under the bladder.

The Jamaica Cancer Society does screening for prostate cancer and charges $2,000 for the blood test, the PSA and the private consultation with the urologist to have the digital rectal examinination done. However in the last three years, the cancer society has averaged an annual screening total of 600 men. more

Squatters making life hell in Port Royal Robberies, criminality on the rise, say residents

BY KARYL WALKER Editor - Crime/Court Desk walkerk@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, September 28, 2014    

RESIDENTS of the historic town of Port Royal are concerned that despite their outcry several months ago, the squatter community that has sprung up there earlier this year is continuing to grow at a rapid pace.

The Port Royal Health Centre which
residents feel
will not be available to them soon.

In April the residents expressed grave concern that their once sleepy fishing village was being transformed into a den of thieves and runaways who were hell-bent on destroying the peaceful, almost crime-free record of Port Royal, a town in which most persons were either related or whose families have inhabited the area for decades.

Just recently a number of robberies have occurred on the beach.

"The robberies are increasing. Cars are being stolen more often and criminality is on the rise," one resident said.

One couple, who originated in the town but spent a number of years abroad before returning, said their lives are being made hell by the new residents.

The couple was adamant that a shanty that was being built very close to the residential area would not be allowed to be erected. They said, though, that they are facing the wrath of the squatters for their principled stance.

"It is not right. They have been throwing bags of faeces on our lawn and have threatened me because I hit out against them. This town has been peaceful for too long and with all our cries we feel ignored by our political representatives who seem content not to act until somebody gets seriously hurt or killed," the male half of the couple said.

He said the squatters have threatened to burn down his house as well. more

IN JAMAICA: Five UTech Students Get Scholarships From Chinese Embassy

Sheldon Williams, Staff Reporter

Nadeisha Greene, a future dentist, was one of five students at the University of Technology (UTech) who had difficulty meeting thetuition and other financial requirements of her degree programme. 

But like four of her cohorts, her excellent academic performance earned her a Chinese Ambassador Scholarship, an inaugural scholarship funded by the Chinese Embassy in Kingston.

Greene, who is in her third year of study in the doctor of medical dentistry programme, was thrilled at the assistance received from the Chinese government, valued at US$ 8,000. "I applied for the scholarship because my course is very expensive and I do not have adequate funding because student loan alone cannot cover the fee. It's almost $2 million a year for the school fee. This year, it is $1.93 million," she said.

INVOLVED IN COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES

She emphasised that her time isn't restricted to academia as she is also involved in community activities. "I am part of the Top Range community development committee, a community-based organisation," she said. more

No Ebola in Jamaica — The Ministry of Health says there is no truth to information circulating about a case of Ebola in Jamaica..

Saturday, September 27, 2014 Jamaica Observer

THE Ministry of Health says there is no truth to information circulating about a case of Ebola in Jamaica..

"We are not investigating a suspected case, and we have no reason to consider that anyone in the country at this time is suspected of having Ebola," acting permanent secretary in the ministry, Dr Kevin Harvey, told journalists at an impromptu press briefing in New Kingston yesterday.

A Nigerian port health official uses a thermometer
 to screen Muslim pilgrims for Ebola at the Hajj camp
 before boarding a plane for Saudi Arabia at
the Murtala Muhammed International Airport
in Lagos. (PHOTO: AP)

According to Harvey, the rumours started when a doctor, who had recently returned to the island from Trinidad and Tobago, was admitted to the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) on Thursday with a reported case of bleeding.

He said the 65-year old senior physician has fully recovered and "there is no consideration of a diagnosis of Ebola."

"He has been comprehensively investigated by our medical team, has recovered, has had investigations including a computerised tomography (CT) scan, which shows that the person had a fracture to the skull due to a fall, which resulted in the bleeding," Dr Harvey disclosed.

He noted further that the doctor had not travelled to any Ebola-affected country and there was no possibility of contact with any infected person.

At the time that the doctor was admitted to UHWI, an Ebola planning meeting and training for medical officers was underway at the facility, and this, Dr Harvey surmised, may have led to the rumours.

"So, maybe that is what heightened the suspicion yesterday (Friday)," he said.

A 55-year-old British woman dies after car falls over Flat Bridge

Saturday, September 27, 2014

    

A  55-year-old British resident died Thursday night as a result of injuries she received when the vehicle in which she was travelling fell into the Rio Cobre in St Catherine.

A police report said Mary Gwendolyn and two friends were in a Toyota Sprinter motor car about 9:30 pm when the driver reportedly misjudged the turn to enter the Flat Bridge and the car plunged into the river.

The occupants of the vehicle were assisted by people at the scene and rushed to hospital where Gwendolyn was pronounced dead.

BREAKING STORY: Woman beheaded in Oklahoma

Woman beheaded
in Oklahoma

'This guy was not going to stop'

A just-fired employee returned to work with a knife and attacked two women before he was shot by the company's chief operating officer -- an off-duty deputy -- authorities say.FULL STORY

• Police: Deputy stopped attack