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Current News in Jamaica
Revised Victims' Charter coming
JUSTICE Minister Mark Golding says plans are under way to launch a revised Victims' Charter. According to Golding, Cabinet submissions are being finalised to seek approval for the adoption of the amended document. The revised charter, he said, will provide a more balanced framework to guide the development and imp ...more
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Tragedy - 2 students drown on school trip
Saturday, February 04, 2012
THE board of St Andrew College is to next week decide if sanctions are to be imposed on four teachers who were on a school field trip that ended in tragedy when two fourth form students drowned at a beach in Bryan's Bay, Portland on Thursday. The fo ...more
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The anatomy of a fabricated statement
Saturday, February 04, 2012
IN September of 2006, Detective Sergeant Michael Sirjue was faced with a scenario that most homicide investigators across the island face: A murder, a hesitant eyewitness, and the possibility that the suspects may not be brought to justice. But Sirj ...more
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203 more local nurses for public health sector
Saturday, February 04, 2012
TWO hundred and three locally trained nurses are expected to join the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) as of Monday to boost the staff complement in several hospitals across the region. Minister of Health Dr Fenton Ferguson made the anno ...more
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No new chair yet for UDC, says OPM
Saturday, February 04, 2012
JAMAICA House says appointments of members to the various boards of entities under the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), including the Urban Development Corporation (UDC), have yet been finalised. Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller said the proc ...more
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JAS Chamber to assist agri stakeholders
Saturday, February 04, 2012
THE Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) has moved to facilitate greater dialogue among the sector's stakeholders by establishing its Chamber. This is expected to facilitate the hosting of regular fora among sector interests, thereby accommodating an ...more
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Mayer Matalon dies
Saturday, February 04, 2012
PATRIARCH of the prominent Matalon family, Mayer Matalon, died yesterday after ailing for some time. The business mogul would have been 90 on March 3. Yesterday, his son, Joseph M, who is president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, was ...more
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Martelly says he won't meddle in Duvalier case
Saturday, February 04, 2012
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haitian President Michel Martelly says he won't interfere in the case of former dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier, the National Palace said yesterday. The office of the president issued a statement saying he respects t ...more
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This Day in History - February 4
Saturday, February 04, 2012
Today is the 35th day of 2012. There are 331 days left in the year. Today's Highlight 1962: A rare conjunction of the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn occurred. Other Events 1783: Britain's King George III proclaimed a formal c ...more
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Tax sugar to protect public health, say researchers
Saturday, February 04, 2012
PARIS, France (AFP) — Sugar should be identified alongside alcohol and tobacco as a health danger, and governments should tax sweetened drinks and food as part of their efforts to combat it. So says a commentary, published on Thursday in the j ...more
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US study finds Alzheimer’s spreads like infection
Saturday, February 04, 2012
WASHINGTON, USA (AFP) — A new US study has found that Alzheimer’s disease spreads from one part of the brain to another like an infection, a discovery that could aid the development of treatments to slow its progress. The Columbia Univer ...more
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Sudan military bombs US-funded Bible school
Saturday, February 04, 2012
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Sudan’s military bombed a Bible school built by a US Christian aid group, prompting students and teachers at the school to run for their lives in the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan state. The US ambassador to the ...more
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Romney poised to win another state today
Saturday, February 04, 2012
LAS VEGAS, USA (AP) — Republican front-runner Mitt Romney seemed poised to pick up another state in the race to challenge President Barack Obama this fall, as candidates made a last push yesterday before the caucuses in Nevada this weekend. Wh ...more
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11:39 AM
Cops false statement makes Stone Crusher gang members walk free
Friday, February 03, 2012
ELDON Calvert, the reputed boss of the notorious Stone Crusher gang, and two of his co-accused, Gleason Calvert and Michael Heron, walked free from the Home Circuit Court this morning due a falsified statement by a policeman who fled the country yest ...more
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JLP Portmore councillors get impatient
Friday, February 03, 2012
JAMAICA Labour Party (JLP) councillors in the Portmore Municipality are expected to say by today what action they intend to take to put pressure on Local Government Minister Noel Arscott to lift a stop order on more than $14 million worth of road wor ...more
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'I will fight'
Friday, February 03, 2012
FORMER Commissioner of Customs Danville Walker yesterday said that he would fight any frivolous charge against him in relation to allegations that he obstructed the Office of the Contractor General's (OCG's) probe into a breach of the scrap metal ban ...more
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Dudley Thompson is back home
Friday, February 03, 2012
AMBASSADOR Dudley Thompson landed on Jamaican soil early yesterday to conclude his journey on a land that he loved and cherished for all his 95 years. The body, which arrived 30 minutes before the scheduled time, was saluted by his son, Anthony, twic ...more
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Crawford Street residents protest police killing
Friday, February 03, 2012
MOUNT SALEM, St James — Scores of irate residents of Crawford Street yesterday afternoon mounted a peaceful demonstration over what they claimed to be the cold-blooded killing of a member of the community by the police. The deceased has been i ...more
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Elephant Man gets bail
Friday, February 03, 2012
DANCEHALL artiste Elephant Man was on Wednesday offered bail in the sum of $400,000 when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court on sex charges. This is the artiste’s first appearance in court since his arrest on Monday f ...more
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Employment agency operators on fraud charge to return to court
Friday, February 03, 2012
MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Giadrius Mazurka, a man of Scandinavian origin on fraud charges, and his co-accused Juliet Campbell had their bail extended when they appeared in the Mandeville Resident Magistrate's court on Wednesday. They are on cha ...more
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Digicel suit against FTC set for February 28
Friday, February 03, 2012
THE suit filed by telecoms giant Digicel challenging the legal standing of the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) to oppose its merger with telecoms provider Claro will be heard in the Supreme Court on February 28. The new date was set when the parties a ...more
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Pepper Pot - February 3
Friday, February 03, 2012
Warming up... global or national? Word is that Everald Warmington is the man with a bigger plan. They say he’s barking here and there ’cause he wants a bigger bite somewhere. Thing is, some may only focus on the itty bitty bark and not w ...more
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Gov’t to step up fight against drug, human traffickers
Friday, February 03, 2012
THE Government has vowed to keep pressure on drug and human traffickers in its fight against trans-national organised crime. Karl Hamilton, director of the International Relations Coordination Unit in the Ministry of National Security, said the cont ...more
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Caring Cop
Friday, February 03, 2012
Nahara Rainford's curious eyes are fixed on our camera as she drinks juice from a straw while being held by Corporal Fitz Ridge. Both were at yesterday's opening ceremony of the LIME/INSPORTS 2012 Primary League at the Anthony Spaulding Sports Comple ...more
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Locked in embrace
Friday, February 03, 2012
Mayor of Kingston Lee Roy Clarke is warmly greeted by Joyce Mungaroo, a resident of the Vineyard Town Golden Age Home in Kingston, during a tour of the facility on Tuesday. Sharing the moment, at left, is Adina Bailey, another resident. (Photo: JIS) ...more
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JFJ 'elated' after cop charged with manslaughter for 2007 killing
Friday, February 03, 2012
RIGHTS group Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ) has hailed the Coroner's Inquest verdict that a special constable be charged with manslaughter for the shooting death of Trevor Anderson along Hagley Park Road, in 2007. However, the group has taken issue wit ...more
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US-Jamaican group starts accident victims fund
Friday, February 03, 2012
NEW YORK, USA -- A non-profit group run by Jamaican nationals from the St Catherine community of Spring Village, has launched a fund here to assist with the victims of the January 4 accident which claimed the lives of four members of a family with co ...more
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Race to stop lethal yellowing disease
Friday, February 03, 2012
GOVERNMENT says it is moving speedily to tackle the lethal yellowing disease, which has the potential to wipe out Jamaica's lucrative coconut industry. Lethal yellowing results in the premature shedding of the fruits and causes the leaf to become ye ...more
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Business Council on HIV/AIDS gets $1-M boost from LIME
Friday, February 03, 2012
THE Jamaica Business Council on HIV/AIDS (JABCHA) National Foundation yesterday received a major boost with a $1-million contribution from the LIME Jamaica Foundation. The foundation, which was launched last year with a mandate to secure financing t ...more
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Minors on extortion rap in Manchester
Friday, February 03, 2012
MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Five young boys charged with extortion appeared in front of Resident Magistrate Oswald Burcheson with their parents and attorneys, when the case was mentioned in the Family Court Division of the Mandeville Resident Magi ...more
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4:31 PM
CDA admits deficiencies in its operations
Friday, February 03, 2012
THE Child Development Agency (CDA) has admitted to deficiencies in its operations in a report on the agency's handling of the report on Baby Jeshrun, the child whose body was found inside a suitcase in his parents' home on Clifton Road in Kingston la ...more
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2:48 PM
Ex-Stanford exec tells jurors of secret account
Friday, February 03, 2012
HOUSTON (AP) — The ex-chief financial officer for Texas tycoon R. Allen Stanford's businesses says the financier funneled millions of dollars from investors to a secret Swiss bank account that he used to pay for personal expenses, bribes to reg ...more
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2:37 PM
Second teacher pulled from school
Friday, February 03, 2012
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A second teacher has been pulled from a classroom at Miramonte Elementary School and the number of molestation complaints to the district has increased since a teacher was charged this week with photographing children for sex ...more
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1:53 PM
Mayer Matalon is dead
Friday, February 03, 2012
BUSINESSMAN Mayer Matalon is dead. The 87-year-old Matalon had been ailing for some time. He is the father of Joseph, the president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica. Matalon was also the deputy chairman of the ICD Group. more
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1:48 PM
JUTC bus, minivan collide in Portmore
Friday, February 03, 2012
PASSENGERS traveling on a Jamaica Urban Transport Company (JUTC) bus this morning narrowly escaped serious injury following a motor vehicle collision close to the Portmore Community College in St Catherine. The collision occurred about 10:30 am. The ...more
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12:27 PM
Accused ganja smuggler granted bail
Friday, February 03, 2012
ANDREW Sinclair, who is accused of attempting to smuggle marijuana in a box labelled 'National Water Crackers' was today granted $600,000 bail with surety when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court. Police report that the bo ...more
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10:42 AM
Man pushed to ground, hits head and dies
Friday, February 03, 2012
A man who was involved in a dispute with another at the Nashville Bus Park in Manchester died when he hit his head after being pushed to the ground yesterday. He has been identified as 40-year-old Rolan Lovelace, a sales representative of Grey Groun ...more
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10:37 AM
Cops kill 'man Voice' in Mount Salem
Friday, February 03, 2012
THE Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI) is probing yesterday’s fatal shooting of a man by the Police in Mount Salem, St James about 12:53 pm. He has been identified as 32-year-old Orlando Smart, otherwise called ‘Man Voice’, of ...more
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9:47 AM
Three ganja fields destroyed in Old Harbour
Friday, February 03, 2012
THREE fields of fully-grown ganja were destroyed at Bois Content in Old Harbour, St Catherine yesterday. The fields, which together amount to about four acres, were cut down and burned during an operation by members of the Transnational Crime and Na ...more
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9:44 AM
Cops seize gun in Spanish Town
Friday, February 03, 2012
POLICE in Spanish Town have seized a Smith and Wesson 9 mm pistol during an operation at Pittsburg Road in the old capital yesterday. About 4:50 pm, the Spanish Town Police and members of the Mobile Reserve Division conducted an operation in the are ...more
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9:17 AM
Two students drown in Portland
Friday, February 03, 2012
BRYANS BAY, Portland — Two students of the St Andrew College drowned in Portland yesterday. The marine police, assisted by local divers have called off a search for the body of one of the teenagers at the Shan Shay Beach in Bryans Bay, Portlan ...more
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9:03 AM
Cop who fabricated evidence against murder accused flees island
Friday, February 03, 2012
A Police sergeant who has been implicated in perverting the course of justice and uttering forged documents has fled the island leaving Commissioner of police Owen Ellington, wringing his hands. The cop, identified as detective Sergeant Michael Sirj ...more
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Two US missionaries slain at ransacked Mexico home
Friday, February 03, 2012
EL CERCADO, Mexico (AP) — The bodies of John and Wanda Casias came one last time to the Baptist church they founded in a violence-plagued region of northern Mexico, as mourners paid homage yesterday to the Texas couple who were discovered stran ...more
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Cuban officials shown video warning on corruption
Friday, February 03, 2012
HAVANA, Cuba (AP) — Cuban authorities are summoning Communist Party members and government officials to watch a video about corruption investigations. A person who has seen the video says it shows suspects confessing to crimes and other detail ...more
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This Day in History - February 3
Friday, February 03, 2012
Today is 34th day of 2012. There are 332 days left in the year. Today's Highlights 1894: The Dirigo, first steel sailing ship, is launched at Bath, Maine, in United States. Other Events 1690: The first paper money in America is issued by the colo ...more
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Canadian police arrest 60 in child porn sweep
Friday, February 03, 2012
ONTARIO, Canada (AP) — Police across Ontario have arrested 60 people in a child pornography sweep described as one of the largest in the Canadian province's history. Detective Seargeant Frank Goldschmidt says 22 victims were identified, and mo ...more
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Trump endorses Romney
Friday, February 03, 2012
WASHINGTON, USA (AP) — The captivating and chaotic Republican presidential race was briefly sidetracked by an almost farcical diversion yesterday, with conflicting reports about whether Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich was in line for the endorseme ...more
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Snow paralyses northern Japan; 3 die in avalanche
Friday, February 03, 2012
TOKYO, Japan (AP) — An avalanche has killed three bathers at a hot spring in northern Japan, where heavy snow also paralysed traffic and forced schools to close. The deadly avalanche hit Wednesday in Akita. Officials said yesterday that snowst ...more
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Senegal's aging president spends $200k to lobby US
Friday, February 03, 2012
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Several months before a Senegalese court was due to rule on one of the most divisive issues facing the nation, the country's aging president took extra care to ensure that his interpretation of the law would prevail not on ...more
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Big push to rid poor countries of tropical diseases
Friday, February 03, 2012
NEW JERSEY, USA (AP) — Thirteen major pharmaceutical companies, government groups and health charities will work together in a push to eliminate or control, by 2020,10 tropical diseases that affect more than a billion people in poor countries. ...more
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Bunting to consider non-lethal weapons for security forces
Thursday, February 02, 2012
SECURITY Minister Peter Bunting says he will be looking to develop the necessary policy on the use of non-lethal weapons for the security forces. The policy, he said, would be developed as the ministry seeks to reduce the incidents of police-linked ...more
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5:03 PM
‘Tommy’ wanted for absconding bail
Thursday, February 02, 2012
DETECTIVES attached to the Kingston Eastern CIB are seeking the public’s assistance in locating 29-year-old Kawain Stephenson, otherwise called ‘Tommy’, who absconded bail yesterday. He was charged for a murder which occurred in Jan ...more
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4:35 PM
OPM says no UDC chairman appointed
Thursday, February 02, 2012
THE Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) in a press release issued today, said there have been no appointments of members to the various boards of management of entities, including the Urban Development Corporation (UDC). Prime Minister Portia Simpson ...more
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1:06 PM
Man’s body found in van
Thursday, February 02, 2012
CHALKY HILL, St Ann – The body of a man was reportedly found in a vehicle at Chalky Hill in St Ann this morning. The St Ann police have not yet released any details surrounding the incident. However, residents in the area reported hearing l ...more
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12:38 PM
Curfews in St Catherine
Thursday, February 02, 2012
SEVERAL curfews have been imposed in sections of the St Catherine North and South divisions. They began at 7:00 pm yesterday and will remain in effect until 6:00 pm tomorrow. The boundaries of the curfews are as follows: Ellerslie Pen: North: alon ...more
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12:31 PM
‘Crime’ killed; INDECOM launches probe
Thursday, February 02, 2012
THE Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) has launched a probe into the death of an unidentified man who is only known as ‘Gary’ or ‘Crime.’ The police reported that they received certain information and as a res ...more
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12:25 PM
Man stabbed and killed in Old Harbour
Thursday, February 02, 2012
THE Portmore Police are probing the circumstances surrounding the death of 32-year-old truck driver, Oniel Henry, of Germaine Road, Bridgeport in St Catherine. He was found dead in Brampton Farm, Old Harbour yesterday. The police report that about ...more
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11:01 AM
Suitcase baby probe findings today
Thursday, February 02, 2012
THE findings of a probe into whether the Child Development Agency (CDA) was negligent in the case involving a two-year-old who was found dead in a suitcase are to be released today. Director of Programmes at the CDA, Audrey Budhi, said yesterday tha ...more
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10:49 AM
Health ministry to ramp up immunisation coverage
Thursday, February 02, 2012
THE Ministry of Health will begin a Measles Mumps Rubella (MMR) immunisation campaign shortly, as it seeks to ramp up coverage for this vaccine, which is now at only 88 per cent. This move comes as Jamaica seeks certification from the World Health O ...more
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10:42 AM
FBI cuts down wrong door in raid
Thursday, February 02, 2012
MASSACHUSSETS, USA (AP) — A Massachusetts mother says the FBI used a chain saw to cut through her door and held her at gunpoint for at least 30 minutes before agents realised they were conducting a raid at the wrong home. Judy Sanchez, of Fitc ...more
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10:24 AM
Dudley Thompson’s body comes home
Thursday, February 02, 2012
THE body of the late Ambassador Dudley Joseph Thompson was flown home on a Caribbean Airlines jet this morning. Thompson’s funeral service will held Friday, Feb 10 at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kingston, starting at 2:00 pm. The body will ...more
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9:13 AM
Civics to be reintroduced in schools
Thursday, February 02, 2012
THE subject of civics is to be re-introduced to the school curriculum at the start of the new academic term in September 2012. This was disclosed by Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites during a statement Tuesday in the House of Representatives. H ...more
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8:54 AM
203 local nurses for South East Region
Thursday, February 02, 2012
AS part of efforts to address the shortage of nursing staff in some of the country’s public hospitals and health care centres, Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson said 96 locally trained nurses will be taking up employment at the Kingston Public ...more
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Sally in, media out
Thursday, February 02, 2012
KING'S House yesterday apologised for an embarrassing episode in which the media was barred from the swearing-in ceremony for Sally Porteous as custos of Manchester, saying the situation was the result of a "breakdown in communication". Media person ...more
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JEEP high on agenda of Cabinet retreat
Thursday, February 02, 2012
THE Portia Simpson Miller-led Government is expected to provide specifics, at the end of a two-day Cabinet retreat which begins today at Jamaica House, how the much-touted Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP) will be rolled out. Minister wi ...more
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Warmington wants political ombudsman's post chopped
Thursday, February 02, 2012
MEMBER of Parliament for South West St Catherine Everald Warmington has urged Parliament to consider whether or not there is still need for a political ombudsman, arguing that the original mandate of that office has already been met. Making the case ...more
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8:51 AM
Curfew in Westmoreland
Thursday, February 02, 2012
A curfew has been imposed in the Westmoreland community of Hertford. The curfew began at 7:00 last night and will remain in effect until 7:00 pm tomorrow. The boundaries of the curfew are as follows: NORTH: Along an imaginary line from the end of ...more
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Minister promises help for Marcus Garvey Tech
Thursday, February 02, 2012
ST ANN'S BAY, St Ann — Education Minister Rev Ronald Thwaites has pledged to provide all the necessary resources, including specialist teachers, to help improve the standards at Marcus Garvey Technical High School. Yesterday, Thwaites led a te ...more
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Man accused of bribing police charged
Thursday, February 02, 2012
A 26-year-old security guard of Llandilo, Savanna-la-Mar in Westmoreland was Saturday arrested and charged with breaches of the Corruption Prevention Act on Saturday. The Savanna-la-Mar police reported that on January 24 officers were on patrol when ...more
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All MPs now sworn in
Thursday, February 02, 2012
ALL 21 Opposition Members of Parliament have now been sworn in. Southern Trelawny's Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert, the only Member of Parliament elected in the December 29 general election who had not been sworn in during the opening of the new session ...more
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FROM JAMAICA HOUSE
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Cabinet on IMF CABINET is to begin its two-day retreat today at Jamaica House to examine, among other thing, plans for the engagement of a new economic programme which is expected to form the basis for continued discussions with the International Mo ...more
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March 21 prelim hearing for cop murder accused
Thursday, February 02, 2012
COURTNEY Linton, the police constable who allegedly shot and killed a colleague during a dance on Christmas Day is scheduled to return to the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court on March 21 for a preliminary hearing. The date was set yesterda ...more
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VIDEO: Hinds dismisses container sale claim
Thursday, February 02, 2012
MAYOR of Portmore Keith Hinds says there is no truth to allegations that officers of the council sold containers which were seized from scores of business operators evicted from Government-owned lands in Gregory Park last February and have not accoun ...more
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TVJ's Kay Osborne quits
Thursday, February 02, 2012
KAY Osborne, the general manager of Television Jamaica (TVJ) who steered the station to unprecedented levels of profitability, has resigned from that position. It's understood that Osborne handed in her resignation late last month. However, TVJ's pa ...more
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Businessman Barclay Ewart dies at 76
Thursday, February 02, 2012
PROMINENT businessman Barclay Ewart died yesterday from what medical personnel believe to be a heart attack. Ewart, 76, collapsed while he jogged in the early morning at the Constant Spring Golf Club in St Andrew. One of the leaders of industry in ...more
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Condolences to Dudley Thompson
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Sharon Wolfe, director of alumni and development services at the Mico University College in Kingston, signs the condolence book for Dudley Thompson, a past student of the college and a former minister of government. Thompson, who has died last month ...more
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4:58 PM
LIME gives $1m to AIDS foundation
Thursday, February 02, 2012
THE Jamaica Business Council on HIV/AIDS (JABCHA) national foundation has received a major boost to their fundraising efforts with a $1 million contribution from the LIME Jamaica Foundation. The JABCHA national foundation was launched last year with ...more
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3:39 PM
Curfews in St Andrew
Thursday, February 02, 2012
The boundaries are as follows: MARVERLY: NORTH: Along Marverly Avenue, from Marverly Drive to No. 5 Marverly Avenue (#5 Lane) vicinity the betting shop; EAST: Along No. 5 Marverly Avenue (#5 Lane), vicinity the betting shop, from Marverly Avenu ...more
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3:01 PM
Curfews in St James
Thursday, February 02, 2012
SEVERAL curfews have been imposed in the communities of Flankers, Granville, Rose Heights and Johns Hall in St James. The curfews began at 7:00 last night and will remain in effect until 6:00 pm tomorrow. The boundaries of the curfews are as follows ...more
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2:55 PM
Security ministry to focus on service delivery
Thursday, February 02, 2012
MINISTER of National Security, Peter Bunting, says the ministry will be seeking to improve the delivery of service in all its agencies, through the establishment of standards and benchmarks. In a message to the diplomatic corps yesterday at the Cour ...more
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11:14 AM
Nobel peace prize jury under investigation
Thursday, February 02, 2012
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — Nobel Peace Prize officials were facing a formal inquiry over accusations they have drifted away from the prize's original selection criteria by choosing such winners as President Barack Obama, as the nomination deadlin ...more
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11:08 AM
Programme in place to ensure farm workers' safety
Thursday, February 02, 2012
MINISTER of Labour and Social Security, Derrick Kellier, said that training programmes have been put in place to raise awareness about health and safety issues among workers participating in the Overseas Employment Programme. The move comes in the w ...more
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This Day in History - February 2
Thursday, February 02, 2012
Today's Highlight 1999: Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias takes office as the 61st Venezuelan president, seven years after he tried to overthrow the government in a military coup. Other Events 1535: Argentine city of Buenos Aires is founded by Pedro de Men ...more
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Wikileaks' Assange fights extradition in UK Supreme Court
Thursday, February 02, 2012
LONDON, England (AP) — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange yesterday launched a final attempt to persuade British officials not to force him to go to Sweden to face sex crimes allegations. A lawyer for the 40-year-old Australian told Britain's hi ...more
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Romney wins big in Florida, sets sights on Obama
Thursday, February 02, 2012
WASHINGTON, USA (AP) — Mitt Romney looked toward Nevada on Wednesday, heading to the next Republican nominating contest with a fat campaign bankroll and a renewed sense of inevitability as the challenger to President Barack Obama. The former Ma ...more
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Pythons said wiping out Everglades mammals
Thursday, February 02, 2012
FLORIDA, USA (AP) — A burgeoning population of huge pythons — many of them pets that were turned loose by their owners when they got too big — appears to be wiping out large numbers of raccoons, opossums, bobcats and other mammals i ...more
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Sally to be sworn in today as custos of Manchester
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
MANDEVILLE, Manchester — After months of dissatisfaction in Manchester about the appointment of former Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) councillor for the Mandeville Division, Sally Porteous, as custos of Manchester, King's House announced yesterday ...more
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2:53 PM
Fuel prices go up
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
ALL categories of fuel have been increased this week. The prices of 87 and 90 gasoline have been increased by 23 cents per litre and will sell for $99.31 and $100.96 respectively. Automotive diesel oil will sell for $102.88 after being raised by 94 ...more
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8:38 AM
Barclay Ewart is dead
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
PROMINENT Jamaican businessman Barclay Ewart died this morning at the Constant Spring Golf Course in St Andrew. The Observer learnt that Ewart, who was 76, collapsed during his regular morning jog at the golf course. See tomorrow’s Observer f ...more
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Financial sponsorship for immigrant visas
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Q: I had an appointment at the United States Embassy yesterday to apply for an immigrant visa. I was told that I need to find a joint sponsor for my application. What does this mean and what should I do next? A: In order to receive an immigrant visa ...more
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Bellevue challenge
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
A shortage of critical staff, infrastructural mishaps, challenges in controlling patients and the inability of reformed mentally ill patients to secure jobs, were just a few of the complaints that greeted Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson during a t ...more
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Assamba going to London
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
FORMER People's National Party (PNP) parliamentarian and Cabinet minister Aloun N'Dombet-Assamba is Jamaica's next high commissioner to London. Assamba will replace former Senator Anthony Johnson, who took up the post in 2010 after being transferred ...more
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AJ begs for help
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
FOREIGN Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister AJ Nicholson wants Jamaica's status as a middle-income country to be revised on the ground that the World Bank classification has resulted in a cutting of critical concessionary financing to the island. Nic ...more
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Nominations open for 2012 National Honours and Awards
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
MEMBERS of the public have been invited to nominate outstanding citizens for admittance to the national honour societies, Jamaica House said Monday. Categories to which members of the public have been invited to make submissions are: The Order of Me ...more
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The world at our doorsteps
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
NON-RESIDENT ambassadors, high commissioners and their designates to Jamaica Monday made the traditional trek to present Letters of Credence to the foreign minister, an annual rite of passage marking the start of Diplomatic Week and putting the spotl ...more
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Former bank employee, hubby sentenced to 30 months
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
A former National Commercial Bank (NCB) supervisor and her fiancé were each sentenced to 30 months' imprisonment on Monday after admitting to fleecing more than $15 million from the bank. Carol Ferguson — who worked as a supervisor in t ...more
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Elephant Man to face court today
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
POPULAR dancehall entertainer Elephant Man is expected to appear in the Half-Way-Tree Resident Magistrate's Court today to answer charges of grievous sexual assault and rape. The entertainer, whose real name is Oneil Bryan, was arrested at his St An ...more
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Jamaica appoints first ambassador to Brazil
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
CAREER diplomat Alison Stone Roofe has been appointment Jamaica's first ambassador to Brazil, signalling a deepening of relations within the hemisphere. Brazil, the largest South American country, is a member of what is globally accepted as the grou ...more
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New website offers opportunities to residents of St Elizabeth
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
MONTEGO BAY, St James — The recently established website to promote tourism and other offerings in the parish of St Elizabeth has stirred the interest of many residents who see the initiative as a positive for education and business promotion. ...more
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Police move to counter One Order gang's resurgence
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
POLICE in the hotbed old capital of Spanish Town have ramped up their crime-fighting tactics as the town is besieged by the marauding One Order gang. In the last two years, the gang has been relatively quiet but cops in the area report that since th ...more
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No more illiterates for 'farm work'
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
PERSONS who are illiterate will no longer be allowed to participate in the Government's overseas work programme, commonly called 'farm work'. "We have found that many persons applying to participate are not sufficiently literate and numerate," Derri ...more
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Civics coming back to schools
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
EDUCATION Minister Rev Ronald Thwaites says Civics will be reintroduced into the school curriculum come the start of the new school year in September. Thwaites, in a statement to the House of Representatives yesterday, said the subject, however, wou ...more
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This is how it’s done
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Michelle Dermot (right), senior registration officer at the Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR), explains to residents of Clifton Road in Kingston, how to fill out the necessary forms to report child abuse. Representatives of the OCR and th ...more
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5:01 PM
Two more wanted men in custody
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
POLICE are reporting that two more wanted men are now in custody. The have been identified as Kemar Bryan Christopher Hibbert who were listed as wanted by the St Andrew North Police. Bryan was captured in Portland during a Police operation on the w ...more
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4:17 PM
'Scamper' and 'Animal' charged for murder in Westmoreland
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
TWO men were charged for murder by the Westmoreland Police. They are 24-year-old Dave Graham also known as ‘Scamper’ of a Top Lincoln address in Grange Hill and Jermaine Gordon, 18, otherwise called ‘Animal’ of Hudson Street. ...more
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3:43 PM
KPH radiology machine should be up and running next week
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
THE Cobolt radiology machine at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) which has been out of operation for the past six months will be up and running come next week. This information was revealed by Dr Collie Miller, chief medical physicist in the radio ...more
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3:03 PM
Kingston teacher jailed for molesting students
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
A teacher employed to a Corporate Area high school has been jailed in connection with allegations that he had sexual relations with at least three female students. The mathematics teacher, who was reportedly under investigation for several months wa ...more
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2:44 PM
Fire destroys Linstead house
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
The Bog Walk police report that about 9:00 pm, residents saw fire coming from a section of the house. They called the police and a unit from the Linstead Fire Department extinguished the blaze. Loss is estimated at $4 million and no one was injured ...more
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2:42 PM
'Diver' killed in Kitson Town
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
FORTY-ONE-YEAR-OLD Devon Burnett, otherwise called ‘Diver’, of St Johns Road in Spanish Town, St Catherine was shot and killed yesterday morning in Belleview Heights, Kitson Town. Police report that about 8:00 am, residents heard explosi ...more
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2:36 PM
Special Constable to be charged for 2007 killing
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
THE jury in the Coroner’s Inquest into the death of Trevor Anderson has ruled that Special Constable Dwayne Hoilette is to be charged with manslaughter. This inquest lasted more than three and a half years and begins the next chapter in the s ...more
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2:34 PM
Cops kill two in St Andrew and St James
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Police yesterday fatally shot two men, in St Andrew and St James, sparking probes by the Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI). One of the men has been identified as 29-year-old Randy Lewis, who was killed about 6:45 pm, yesterday in Freeport, St J ...more
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2:13 PM
Clifton wanted by Portland police
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
THE police in Portland have named 31-year-old Josephas Clifton Bennett otherwise called ‘Clifton’ as a wanted man. He is wanted for murder which was committed on the 17th of December 2011. He is to turn himself in to the Portland Police ...more
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1:13 PM
JEEP to roll out in weeks
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
THE Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP) should be underway in a few weeks, according to Sandra Falconer, Minster without portfolio responsible for Information. At the Jamaica House press briefing held today, Falconer said Minister of Trans ...more
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1:08 PM
Secret swearing in of Sally boosts controversy — PAJ
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
THE Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) expressed concern over the decision to block journalists from covering the official installation of Custos Sally Porteous this morning. "This ‘secret’ ceremony emphasises the controversy surroundin ...more
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1:00 PM
Marks' replacement already chosen
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
The government will name a replacement for former Ambassador to Washington Audrey Marks in in a few days, according to Minster without portfolio responsible for Information, Sandra Falconer, who spoke to reporters during the Jamaica House press brief ...more
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12:43 PM
Gov't moving to stem Lethal Yellowing Disease
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
EXPERTS from the Coconut Industry Board have been conducting research to stem the Lethal Yellowing Disease, which affects coconut trees. At the first Jamaica House press briefing by the People's National Party administration, Dr Wayne Myrie, from th ...more
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12:03 PM
Kartel remanded until May
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
CAGED dancehall Deejay Vybz Kartel, was again remanded in custody when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court this morning to answer to a charge of perverting the course of justice. His co-accused Vanessa 'Gaza Slim' Saddler a ...more
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11:10 AM
Prank calls dousing fire department
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
BOGGED down by a deluge of prank calls, the Fire Department is calling on Jamaicans to desist from the practice. Public Relations Officer for the department Emelio Ebanks, said the calls are potting the department under severe pressure as it is alre ...more
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10:23 AM
Toothless bank robbery suspect needed dentures
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
WAYNESBURG, USA (AP) — Police say a woman who appeared to not have any teeth in surveillance photos from a bank robbery last month has confessed, apologised and said she planned the heist because she needed the money for dentures. Forty-nine-y ...more
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10:06 AM
Media denied access to Sally's swearing in
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
REPORTERS who turned up at Kings House to cover the swearing ceremony for Sally Porteous as Custos of Manchester were barred entry and prevented from covering the event. Despite displaying their media credentials to police officers manning the entry ...more
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9:24 AM
TVJ general manager resigns
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
KAY Osborne has resigned as general manager of Television Jamaica (TVJ). Osborne reportedly submitted her resignation at the end of December. However, the Observer was unable to ascertain what led to her decision. TVJ is a member of the RJR Communi ...more
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6:24 AM
Five juveniles charged with extortion
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
FIVE juveniles from Manchester and Clarendon were last week charged for Breaches of the Corruption Prevention Act. The charges laid upon them were Extortion and Conspiracy to extort. The juveniles were accused of demanding $15,000 from a female tee ...more
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Tech companies team up to combat growing e-mail scams
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
NEW YORK, USA (AP) — Google, Facebook and other big tech companies are jointly designing a system for combating e-mail scams known as phishing. Such scams try to trick people into giving away passwords and other personal information by sending ...more
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This Day in History - February 1
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
Today is 32nd day of 2012. There are 334 days left in the year. Today's Highlight 1991: South African President F W de Klerk announces that he will scrap all remaining laws that uphold apartheid. Other Events 1587: England's Queen Elizabeth I sig ...more
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South Africa recalls 1.35 million condoms
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) — Some condoms burst. Others leaked like sieves. South Africa's leading anti-AIDS group said yesterday that allegedly faulty condoms are among more than 1.35 million handed out at the African National Congress' 1 ...more
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Kansas agri secretary seeks waiver for illegal immigrants
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
TOPEKA, Kansas (AP) — Facing pressure from large dairies and feedlots desperate for workers, Kansas Agriculture Secretary Dale Rodman is seeking a federal waiver that would allow companies to hire illegal immigrants. Rodman has met several tim ...more
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Top Nigerian politician cleared of fraud charges
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A judge yesterday dismissed fraud charges against a top Nigerian politician and his former deputy who were both accused of diverting more than $244 million in bank loans. The case comes weeks after protests decried govern ...more
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Senegal anti-gov’t protest remains peaceful
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — An anti-government protest in the Senegalese capital got off to a peaceful start yesterday, a day after two civilians were killed by paramilitary police in a similar demonstration. Several hundred people gathered, holding ...more
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Romney poised to retake lead after Florida polls
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
FLORIDA, USA (AFP) — Mitt Romney was poised to retake the lead in the Republican White House race as Florida polls opened yesterday after days of brutal campaigning in which he pounded chief rival Newt Gingrich. A big win anticipated by polls ...more
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Homeless hard hit in Eastern Europe cold spell
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) — Dozens of homeless people have died in an Eastern Europe cold snap, and some analysts blame a Soviet-era legacy of viewing the homeless as those who need to be punished instead of helped. Temperatures have plunged to -27 C ...more
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Gunmen kidnap 4 aid workers in Yemen
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
SANAA, Yemen (AFP) — Gunmen in Yemen kidnapped four aid workers yesterday — a Colombian, a German, an Iraqi, and a Palestinian — along with their two Yemeni drivers, state news agency Saba said. "An armed group in Wadi Ahjar," 30 m ...more
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