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TEST CRICKET : Blackwood hits first ton... But England still in commanding position

 Thursday, April 16, 2015    

NORTH SOUND, Antigua and Barbuda (AFP) — England’s top-order tumbled cheaply again, but the tourists still worked themselves into a commanding position at 116 for three in their second innings, an overall lead of 220, by stumps on the third day of the first Test against the West Indies at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua yesterday. Jermaine Blackwood’s maiden Test hundred lifted the home side to 295 in their first innings with James Tredwell’s off-spin bringing him the excellent figures of four for 47 off 26 overs and ensuring his side earned a significant first-innings lead.

Left with the final session to build on an advantage of 104 runs, openers Jonathan Trott and captain Alastair Cook were prised out in double-quick time by Jerome Taylor. First-innings centenarian Ian Bell was then run out, but at 52 for three, Joe Root (32 not out) joined Gary Ballance (44 not out) in resisting the early threat and then profited against bowlers who quickly ran out of discipline and inspiration.

Defending a first-innings total of 399, English perseverance in the field on another sweltering day’s play eventually paid off. Tredwell made the important breakthrough in the morning by removing Shivnarine Chanderpaul for 46 before adding the wickets of Jason Holder and Kemar Roach as the West Indies lower order failed to show any meaningful resistance, the last four wickets subsiding for 19 runs. Blackwood’s unbeaten 112 was compiled in a stay of almost six hours at the crease, highly unusual for a batsman noted for quick-fire, strokefilled innings. His knock was not without moments of good fortune though. more

Kingston, JAMAICA : Ganja Licence UTech, UWI get greenlight to grow marijuana for research

BY ALPHEA SAUNDERS Senior staff reporter saundersa@jamaicaobserver.com  Thursday, April 16, 2015     

THE University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) and the University of the West Indies (UWI) will be the first two educational institutions to be issued with licences to grow marijuana for research purposes under the new provisions of the Dangerous Drugs Act, which took effect yesterday.

Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell made the announcement yesterday in his presentation in the 2015/16 Sectoral Debate in Gordon House .

He said that, as the country moves to build an industry for medicinal ganja, it is crucial for research institutions such as these to have the required authority to cultivate the plant. "If Jamaica wants to establish itself as a centre of excellence for research in ganja, this should be the home of research and development in ganja," he said.

Paulwell pointed out that, as it stands now, institutions are allowed to use marijuana for research, but under the auspices of the police. The science and technology minister stressed that the licences come with strict conditions. "It's not a free-for-all... or to promote smoking of ganja, it is to recognise that this product has tremendous value," he said.

He also sought to allay apprehension about who would benefit from a local medical ganja industry, stating that the market was large enough to accommodate small and large farmers and urged cooperation and sharing of information to allow sharing of the expected benefits.

The licence will be for a specified period and subject to monitoring of the research activities to ensure that they are in keeping with what was approved. more

2014-15 PALAS TOP PERFORMERS STORY (1 of 5)...MARIA ATTARWALA & Hon. Lisa Hanna at PALAS awards-UWI in Jamaica

Maria Attawarla, PALAS Top 2014-15 performer

Maria Attarwala receives lap top computer
from Hon. Lisa Hanna at PALAS event at UWI

2014-15 PALAS TOP PERFORMERS STORY (1 of 5)...MARIA ATTARWALA, Medical Student at the University of the West Indies (UWI)....Attained 3.96/4.00 GPA, 18 CXC/CAPE Passes with 16 distinctions (Grade ones) & PALAS Gold Star Recipient (Finished first of 140 applicants)...She relates the witnessing, moment of her dad who died only two (2) minutes away from the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Mobay. Read more
http://peaceandlovescholarship.blogspot.com/…/2014-palas-to…

KINGSTON, JAMAICA: Meat illegally dumped at Riverton as people refuse to pay fee

BY CLAUDIENNE EDWARDS Obserever writer edwardsc@jamaicaobserver.com  Wednesday, April 15, 2015    

SEVERAL people have been 'beating' the system that requires the payment of a fee for the proper disposal of meat at the Riverton dump in Kingston.

Riverton Dump (FILE PHOTO)

This short cut causes hundreds of pounds of spoilt meat sent to the dump returning to the streets where it is sold to unspecting consumers at low prices, with purchasers apparently unaware of the threat to their health.

Dr Debbie Carrington, medical officer at the Kingston and St Andrew (KSA) Public Health Department, told the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) council meeting yesterday.

Meat deemed to be unsuitable for human consumption is supposed to be denatured by treatment with a substance to render it unsuitable for consumption, then buried at the Riverton disposal site under the supervision of the Public Health Department, Dr Debbie Carrington of the KSA Public Health Department told yesterday's council meeting of the KSAC.

Percy Stewart, the acting executive director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), told the meeting that persons who refused to pay the NWSMA for the proper disposal of rotten meat have been taking it to the dump where it is improperly disposed of.

He told the council that persons, when caught dumping meat illegally at the dump, are ticketed, but did not say how often perpetrators are caught.

Outlining the procedure for dumping unsuitable food, Stewart said that the first step is for the Public Health Department to contact the NWSMA. more

Aaron Hernandez, Ex-Patriots Star, Convicted Of Murder Of Odin Lloyd

The Huffington Post |  By Andres Jauregui Email Posted: 04/15/2015 10:49 am EDT 

A jury has found Aaron Hernandez guilty of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd.

On Wednesday, Judge E. Susan Garsh sentenced Hernandez, the former New England Patriots tight end, to life without the possibility of parole for killing Lloyd on June 17, 2013. The sentence was mandatory.

The jury found that the ex-NFL player merited the conviction by “reason of extreme atrocity or cruelty.” From the Boston Globe:

Hernandez, 25, and two accomplices picked up Lloyd, 27, a landscaper who played semiprofessional football, at his home on the pretext that they would party together. Instead they drove through the darkness to an industrial park in North Attleborough near the football player’s spacious home, where Hernandez shot Lloyd several times with a .45-caliber Glock pistol, including two kill shots to Lloyd’s chest as he writhed in pain on the ground.

The jury also convicted Hernandez on weapons and ammunition possession charges.

MORE: Key Moments From The Aaron Hernandez Murder Trial

Hernandez's fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins, wept openly in court after hearing the verdict.

In a statement read after the judge handed down the conviction, Ursula Ward, Lloyd's mother, called her son the "backbone" of her family.

"My heart stopped beating [when he died]," Ward said. "I wanted to go into the hole [with Odin]." more

Video Of Chicago Police Shooting Of Teen 16 times Won't Be Released: Police $5 million settlement with the family...The family was seeking $16.0 million (VIDEO)

AP |  By DON BABWIN and MICHAEL TARM Posted: 04/15/2015 8:43 pm EDT 

CHICAGO (AP) — Months after a teenager was shot 16 times by a Chicago police officer, the city is still refusing to release the dash-cam video of the fatal shooting and didn't even show it to aldermen Wednesday before they approved a $5 million settlement with the family.

The October 2014 shooting death of Laquon McDonald hasn't generated the same kind of national attention as other recent high-profile confrontations involving officers. After some, in such places as South Carolina, Oklahoma and Arizona, video was released that quickly went viral.

Laquon McDonald

In approving a settlement even before McDonald's family filed a lawsuit, some members of the Chicago City Council disagreed on whether releasing the video could spark the kind of angry protests seen elsewhere. While Danny Solis said making it public could "fan the flames," fellow Alderman Howard Brookins said fear of demonstrations or riots shouldn't drive the decision. "I need this to stop, (and) if you don't show the video and this continues to happen then we're still heading down that path," he said.

Authorities say McDonald was wielding a knife and refused to drop it when officers followed him for several blocks. Another officer who responded to a call for backup fired the fatal shots. That officer, who hasn't been identified, has been stripped of his police powers and put on desk duty, but no decision has been made on whether he'll face criminal charges. more

WAR CORKER: I've Got The Votes to over ride the Prez Veto... House Readies Its Own Iran Bill... Lawmakers Who Seem To Have Forgotten About Iraq Insist They're Right About Iran... Cotton: Deal Could Lead To Nuclear War...

WASHINGTON -- Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) said Monday he's confident his bill to restrict President Barack Obama's ability to reach a nuclear agreement with Iran can survive a threatened presidential veto.

"Look, I don’t ever want to overcommit and under-deliver,” Corker told reporters Monday evening. “We are moving in a very positive direction, and we’ve worked through some issues that I think have given me a lot of hope. ... I think that this weekend has been very productive.”

Corker's bill, scheduled for markup in the Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday afternoon, would grant Congress the final vote on any nuclear agreement the U.S. and its five negotiating partners reach with Iran. Congress would have two months to review the deal, and du“It’s really a resolution of disapproval,” Corker said of the nuclear talks, which face a June 30 deadline.

The bill is roughly three votes short of the 67 needed to override a veto. However, members of the committee have filed at least 52 amendments to the legislative text, meaning that the results of the markup may drastically alter the vote count in either direction.

ring that time the president would be prevented from easing economic sanctions on Iran. more

ALL WOMAN Written by Nicole Nation PALAS Scholarship Recipient and Medical Student at UWI: Dr Ayanna Ennis and Jamaican chef....The St Andrew High School graduate did a first degree in biochemistry at the University of the West Indies before going on to study medicine in Cuba.

Tuesday, April 14, 2015 , By NICOLE NATION
When anaesthetist Dr Ayanna Ennis is not busy in the operating theatre seeing to the needs of her patients, you can catch her in the kitchen cooking up a storm.

Dr Ayanna Ennis

The 36-year-old Kingstonian started out small by catering to family and friends and has since then mushroomed to include companies and small parties.

From her Jamaican Christmas cake cheesecake to her smooth spiced pumpkin cheesecake, Dr Ennis has definitely managed to find a niche when it comes to her offerings.

Growing up, she could never pinpoint what it was that she actually wanted to be.

The Docs doing 2

“First I wanted to be a I lawyer then I changed my mind to veterinarian and then changed again to physician. I actually never really thought about becoming a chef,” she laughed. Her passion for the culinary arts is understandable, though, especially since her entire family loves to cook.

Desert 4 u

The Docs doing 1

“I grew up in a very health-oriented family; my mom used to make our baby food from scratch, my dad used to bake bread and grandma was always showing me how to cook something. So definitely if I look back in my life, cooking was always there. And so it was only natural that I continued to pursue it along with whatever else I was doing at the time.” The St Andrew High School graduate did a first degree in biochemistry at the University of the West Indies before going on to study medicine in Cuba.

“My experience in Cuba I would say exposed me to a different world from the one I was used to. It gave me an appreciation for the differences in people around me. Because of that experience I have many friends worldwide who I will never forget, and great food experiences too!” Dr Ennis recalls spending her weekends in open markets looking for fresh produce to make the various dishes. more

DAAAANG ! Mother Of 13, Annegret Raunigk Pregnant With Quadruplets At Age 65.... she is now 21 weeks into her pregnancy with quadruplets. Raunigk gave birth at age 55 to her now youngest daughter (VIDEO)

The Huffington Post |  By Yagana Shah Email Posted: 04/13/2015 9:03 am EDT 

Many women over 50 are reveling in the joys of having an empty nest. Not Annegret Raunigk. The 65-year-old mother of 13 had been trying to get pregnant by artificial insemination for around a year-and-a-half when her attempts finally saw success.

Germany's Bild newspaper reports that Raunigk is now 21 weeks into her pregnancy... with quadruplets.

Though pregnancy over age 35 is considered to be higher risk, according to the Mayo Clinic, Raunigk gave birth at age 55 to her now youngest daughter. In fact, it was reportedly at her youngest daughter's urging for a little brother or sister that the grandmother of seven decided to try for a pregnancy again.

Annegret Raunigk 65-year-old
mother of 13 

Germany's RTL reports that the expectant mother is experiencing a normal pregnancy, though any pregnancy involving quadruplets naturally can be more challenging.

Some medical professionals are criticizing her decision to get pregnant, however. "Any pregnancy of a woman over age 45 has to be considered a high-risk pregnancy; over 60 this is naturally extreme," Dr. Holger Stepan, head of obstetrics at the University of Leipzig said, according to The Associated Press.

"The 65-year-old body is definitely not designed to carry a pregnancy, not of one child and certainly not of quadruplets," Stepan said.

But after so many pregnancies, it seems the mother-to-be is defiant. "How does one have to be at 65? One must apparently always fit some cliches which I find rather tiring. I think, one must decide that for oneself," she told RTL. more

16 y-o JAMAICAN teen suspected to have been ISIS bound in police custody

Monday, April 13, 2015 | 7:56 PM    

KINGSTON, Jamaica - The Police High Command late Monday issued a statement confirming that a Jamaican teen who was denied entry into Suriname and returned to the island on Saturday, April 11, is in custody.

Media reports are that the 16-year-old boy was refused passage through Suriname on Saturday, after immigration officers suspected that he was travelling to join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) through Turkey.

ACP Devon Watkis

Detectives from the Counter Terrorism and Organized Crime Branch (C-TOC), along with other law enforcement agencies, have been tasked to pursue several lines of investigation in relation to the incident, a release from the Corporate Communications Unit said.

“It would be premature to issue any detailed statement on this issue at this time,” head of C-TOC Assistant Commissioner of Police Devon Watkis said, explaining that the investigation is at a delicate stage.

ACP Watkis, however, assured the public that information would be made available as soon as possible. more

PENN RELAY: Calabar's Michael O'Hara and Wolmer's Jaheel Hyde barred from competing at high school section at Penn Relays

BY PAUL A REID Observer writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, April 14, 2015    

Top Jamaican High schools Calabar High and Wolmer's Boys' were dealt massive blows yesterday after Michael O'Hara and Jaheel Hyde were ruled ineligible to compete in the high school section of the Penn Relays Carnival set to be staged at Franklin Field, Pennsylvania, April 23-25.

(L) O’HARA…was expected to play a leading role
 for Calabar High School. (R) HYDE… was down to run
 on Wolmer’s Boys’ 4x100m team.

Both athletes, who signed endorsement contracts for rival telecommunications companies Digicel and LIME, were expected to play crucial roles in their high school teams that will take part at the relay carnival next weekend.

A release from the local high school sports umbrella agency, the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) yesterday said the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletics Association (PIAA), the state High School governing body which sanctions the Penn Relays High Schools events, had ruled both athletes ineligible after getting benefits "not available to all the students in their schools".

The release from ISSA said, "In a communiqué to ISSA, the PIAA said both athletes are deemed to have received benefits related to their athletic skills and performances which are not available to all students at their high schools. On this basis both athletes cannot represent their respective schools at the 2015 Penn Relays."

Hyde, who is the defending champion for the high school boys 400m hurdles and who was down to run on Wolmer's Boys' 4x100m team, is a brand ambassador for LIME, while O'Hara, who attends Calabar High had signed with Digicel.

Additionally, another company had announced this year that they had given O'Hara a scholarship to cover the last two years of his high school education.

Under the rules governing high schools and college sports in the United States, athletes are not allowed to benefit more than their teammates.

In the college system, athletes could lose scholarships if they are found to be in breach of the extra benefits rule and only allowed to take gifts, monetary or otherwise, from immediate family members. more

PALAS PRESS RELEASE: Atlanta Base Non-Profit Organization PALAS, Announces 5th Annual Scholarship Program to Benefit 125 Students in Jamaica and the Caribbean. Online Application Starts May 1, 2015 through June 15, 2015.

PALAS Goal Is To Award 125 scholarships in 2015

IN JAMAICA (UPDATE): 3 y-o child kills his 28 y-o mom Rhea Ricketts in CLARENDON....Policeman whose gun involved in shooting death taking it rough - relatives say...

BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, April 13, 2015    

Agony

Relatives of the policeman whose gun was reportedly used by his three-year-old son to shoot the boy's mother to death, are giving him unlimited support as he bears the grief that rocked a Clarendon community on Saturday.

The bizarre incident shook up the Nairne Castle community of North Clarendon, when it emerged that the boy had taken his father's gun from under a pillow and shot his mother fatally while the law enforcer slept.

Now, one relative of the bereaved policeman told the Jamaica Observer that the family was standing by his side, as he had been going through enormous emotional pressure.

Rhea  Ricketts

"Since the incident, things have not been going well for him and as a result we have to be monitoring him to make sure that he is alright," the relative said.

The Frankfield Police said that about 2:45 pm, mother-of-two Rhea Ricketts, and her common-law-husband were at a house belonging to her mother when the policeman was awakened by a loud explosion.

(L) Another daughter consoles Delcia Ricketts, 60-year-old
 mother of the woman who was fatally shot in Clarendon.
(PHOTOS: JOSEPH WELLINGTON) (R) Sherilee Ricketts
fights hard to hold back the tears as she speaks
about her sister Rhea.

"He later discovered that Ricketts was shot," a news release from the Corporate Communications Unit of the Jamaica Constabulary Force later stated.

Police said the injured woman was taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead.

No further details were given, apart from the fact that a three-year-old child was also present in the room at the time of the incident.

The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), which has launched its own investigation, stated that the report it received from the police is that Ricketts was allegedly shot and killed, under circumstances that appear to be accidental, by her three-year-old son with the service firearm of her partner who is a member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF). The policeman is attached to the Mobile Reserve. more

'Rant unlikely to hurt Chronixx' : SINGJAY Chronixx's controversial 'waste man' Instagram reference to American President Barack Obama is unlikely to harm his career in the United States, says music industry veteran Gary 'Doctor Dread' Himelfarb, The founder of RAS Records

BY HOWARD CAMPBELL Observer senior writer  Monday, April 13, 2015    

SINGJAY Chronixx's controversial 'waste man' Instagram reference to American President Barack Obama is unlikely to harm his career in the United States, says music industry veteran Gary 'Doctor Dread' Himelfarb.

‘RANT UNLIKELY TO HURT CHRONIXX’

Obama, who arrived in Jamaica last Wednesday, was on a one-day working visit. He had bilateral talks with the Jamaican Government and Caricom leaders as well as addressed youth leaders at a forum held at the University of West Indies Mona Campus in St Andrew.

The founder of RAS Records told the Jamaica Observer that Chronixx could have been more 'diplomatic' in his post, but ultimately it is his opinion.

"There are many injustices in the world and those that speak out publicly against them are often chastised, ridiculed or even persecuted," says Himelfarb.

"His intention for what he said was to have Marcus Garvey pardoned. Maybe he could have gone about it more diplomatically, but he has the right to express himself."

Chronixx, 22, came off a strong 2014 with some influential music industry players predicting his imminent breakthrough in the US. He appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in July and headlined the Summerstage event at Central Park days later.

Himelfarb, who ran RAS for nearly 30 years in his native Washington DC, warns that misinformed statements can hurt rising stars.

"I believe that certain beliefs a man has can be reasoned with amongst brethren and sistren but not let out into the public. The public can massacre you."

The Chronixx Instagram rant was triggered by what he considers the US Government's failure to clear National Hero Marcus Garvey of mail fraud in that country. more

EMPRESS TEE with Higher Frequency (#20) - Numerology...Your HEALTH, WEALTH BASED ON BIRTHDATE. Listen to Patrick call in from IMG

Pres. Obama and Prime Minister Portia Simpson at STONE LOVE DANCE in JAMAICA dancing to Montego Bay

#BarackObamainJamaica  #ObamainJamaica  Wednesday, April 08, 2015 | 7:31 PM  
KINGSTON, Jamaica — United States President Barack Obama arrived in the island a short while ago at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.
This historic visit marks the second to the island by a sitting US president. The first saw Ronald Reagan arriving in 1982, with yesterday marking the 33rd anniversary of his visit.
Obama, who arrived on Air Force One, is expected to travel on the Marine One helicopter to the Jamaica Defence Force’s headquarters, Up Park Camp.
He is then expected to travel in the presidential limousine, The Beast, to a hotel where he is expected to stay ahead of tomorrow’s activities.
President Obama will engage in a number of activities tomorrow, including bilateral talks with the Jamaican Government and with Caricom heads of government, a youth forum at the University of the West Indies, and a wreath laying at the Cenotaph in National Heroes Park in honour of the Jamaicans who fought and died in World War I and II.
He will leave Jamaica tomorrow evening for Panama to attend the Seventh Summit of the Americas.
Governor General Sir Patrick Allen and Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller headed the delegation of officials who greeted President Obama on his arrival.
NOTE: This is a spoof.....For Fun ONLY.

VIDEO: Cool It, Chronixx, Advises Lisa Hanna After 'Waste Man' Post

Culture Minister, Lisa Hanna, has advised reggae artiste, Chronixx, to moderate his comments as he seeks to address the impassioned issue of the criminal record for national hero Marcus Garvey.

Chronixx has been receiving public backlash for his ‘waste man’ Instagram post that coincided with the visit of US president Barack Obama.

The post has since been removed.

HERE’S WHAT CHRONIXX HAD POSTED:
"This man ... Still have criminal record on the United States and we glorifying some waste man! This man was hunted and imprisoned by our Jamaican government ... who some years later, paved a peaceful and safe path for the US president to address is a ... "race of good for nothing's". That's why black faces don't mean anything to rasta anymore”

CLARENDON, JAMAICA (SHOCKING) : 28 y-o Mother, Rhea Ricketts Shot Dead Allegedly By Three-Year-Old Son In Clarendon

The Clarendon police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting death of a 28-year-old woman allegedly by her three-year-old son.

The incident happened sometime around 3 o'clock in the quiet rural community of Nairne Castle in James Hill, Clarendon, shattering the usual Saturday afternoon solitude.

File

The deceased, identified as Rhea Ricketts otherwise called 'Lucky', was pronounced dead at the Spaldings Hospital in Manchester. She  had one bullet wound to the forehead.

Ricketts lived in Spanish Town, St Catherine but was in Clarendon to pick up the three-year-old child and his one-year-old brother after spending the Easter holidays with their grandmother. The police say the firearm used in the shooting belongs to the child's father who is a cop based in St Catherine. It's reported that the father, having worked last night, was taking a nap after transporting Ricketts to Clarendon to pick up the children.

He had reportedly placed the gun underneath his pillow before he went off to sleep. Meanwhile, Junior Ricketts, the elder brother of the deceased said he was on his way to the house when he saw a family member overwhelmed with tears.  He said he enquired what was wrong and was told that Rhea had been shot by the three-year-old boy. more

1985 was the Year : 30 Years Of Sleng Teng - King Jammy Recalls Impact Of Digital Breakthrough....The title track, done by Wayne Smith (who died on February 17, 2014), became so intertwined with the singer, that he became known as Wayne 'Sleng Teng' Smith.

As producer and sound system operator, Lloyd 'King Jammy' James dug into his memories at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus, on Thursday, April 2. He eventually - and inevitably - came to the Sleng Teng riddim.

Lloyd 'King Jammy' James

He spoke as part of a series organised by the UWI's Department of Literatures in English, whose Professor Carolyn Cooper did hosting duties. Credited as the country's first computerised beat and a turning point in the production of Jamaican popular music, after speaking about the creation of the Sleng Teng, James added almost casually, "that was 30 years ago".

The title of the all-Sleng Teng riddim album, 1985 Master Hits, Sleng Teng Extravaganza, confirms the anniversary.

Landmark Beat

Noel Davey with the Casio keyboard
 used in making the Sleng Teng rhythm

The title track, done by Wayne Smith (who died on February 17, 2014), became so intertwined with the singer, that he became known as Wayne 'Sleng Teng' Smith. He had been associated with James before the beat was made, as the producer said that he recorded artistes like Smith and John Wayne before making a return trip to England in 1979 to shop his music.

Wayne "Sleng Teng' Smith

It was in the following decade that Smith, along with keyboard player Noel Davey, approached James with what was developed into the landmark beat. "Wayne Smith and Noel Davey came to me and say Jammy, we have a riddim a play on the Casio (MT-40 keyboard) and it sound wicked." James listened with his producer's ear. "They start to play the riddim. I say it no have no melody. Is just a fast drum beat ... . I slow the tempo down ... . I say play the piano part," Jammy said. With the adjustments made, James told them, "we going into the studio to record this now." more

Barack Had A Blast! ‎- Ackee And Salt Fish, Jerk Chicken Among Local Dishes That The US President Enjoyed.....JAMAICA NOW: Barack on the rock! ... What Obama visit really means ... Bus conductor arrested

His appreciation for Bob Marley music and Red Stripe Beer is well known, and he proved during his short visit that he is comfortable with the Jamaican Patois. But a little-known fact about United States President Barack Obama is that he really loves Jamaican food.

According to US Ambassador to Jamaica Luis G. Moreno, the president was given a sampling of 12 of Jamaica's more famous dishes on his first night in the island. Although Moreno is not sure exactly what the president ate, it is believed that ackee and salt fish, jerk chicken and fried plantains were on the menu.

"He had prepared for him a sampling of Jamaican cuisine the first night he was here, which the chef at the hotel prepared," Moreno said in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Gleaner. "The plates were completely clean when they came to pick up the dishes, so he must have enjoyed it immensely," added Moreno.

Obama, who stayed at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel during his nearly 24-hour stop in the island, was very impressed with the meals and conveyed his appreciation to the chef. "I don't know exactly what the chef did, although I did speak with him and he told me that the feedback that he got was excellent," noted Moreno.

SERIOUS BUSINESS

The US president was in the island for some serious business, including bilateral talks with Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and discussions with 14 Heads of Government from the Caribbean Community, but made time to visit the Bob Marley Museum in St Andrew less than two hours after disembarking Air Force One at the Norman Manley International Airport. more

50-YEAR THAW : THEY MEET... Raul Castro Delivers Stunning Defense Of President In Speech... 'I Apologize To Obama'... Calls For Reopening Of Embassies...Barack Obama And Cuba President Raul Castro Make History With First Sit-Down Meeting

The Huffington Post |  By Igor Bobic Email Posted: 04/11/2015 4:23 pm EDT

WASHINGTON -- U.S. President Barack Obama sat down with Cuban President Raul Castro on Saturday, the first substantial meeting between the countries' leaders in more than 50 years.

According to a White House pool report from the Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Obama and Castro, the brother of former Cuban President Fidel Castro, met in a small room in the convention center, and were seated next to each other in "the same set up as when world leaders are hosted in the Oval Office‎."

"This is obviously an historic meeting," Obama said. After 50 years of U.S. embargo toward Cuba, "it was time for us to try something new, that it was important for us to engage more directly with the Cuban government and the Cuban people. And as a consequence, I think we are now in a position to move on a path towards the future, and leave behind some of the circumstances of the past that have made it so difficult, I think, for our countries to communicate." Following Obama's remarks, Raul Castro said the two nations could have differences "with respect of the ideas of the others."

Raul meets Obama

"We could be persuaded of some things; of others, we might not be persuaded," Castro said. "But when I say that I agree with everything that the president has just said, I include that we have agreed to disagree. No one should entertain illusions. It is true that we have many differences. Our countries have a long and complicated history, but we are willing to make progress in the way the president has described." more