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Tuesday, March 31, 2015     HEALTH Minister Fenton Ferguson has described yesterday's attack on two Cuban nurses assigned to the Buff Bay Community Hospital as a "disgusting and vicious act undertaken by a coward". The nurses who were brutally attacked and injured by a gunman while at their residence yesterday morning, were said to in stable condition in hospital. Some of the residents who protested yesterday against the  assault of two Cuban nurses are about to enter the Buff Bay  Hospital compound as they heard that the police had taken  the suspect there for treatment. A group of Buff Bay residents took to the streets early yesterday to protest against the attack on the nurses. The protesters, during the rain, walked to the hospital after being informed that that police had taken the suspect in the attack to the facility for treatment. They were, however, not not allowed inside the building. "... To enter the residence of two females and attack ...

The Huffington Post |  By Kim Bellware Email Posted: 03/30/2015 7:50 pm EDT Glenn Ford was imprisoned nearly half his life for a murder he didn't commit. Now, the 65-year-old has been denied restitution for his nearly 30 years on Louisiana's death row. Glenn Ford Caddo Parish District Judge Katherine Dorroh on Friday denied Ford compensation, saying that while Ford did not commit the murder that led to his wrongful imprisonment, he was "proven to be guilty of lesser crimes and was not an innocent man." The judge said Ford knew about plans for the robbery that led to the killing and didn't stop it. Further, he attempted to destroy evidence by pawning items taken in the robbery and tried to find buyers for the murder weapon used by men Ford implicated in the murder. "While Mr. Ford does not have the blood of Isadore Rozeman on his hands, he did not have clean hands," Dorroh wrote  in her nine-page order.  Ford's attorney, Gary Clements,...

BY HORACE HINES Observer staff reporter hinesh@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, March 31, 2015 BARRETT TOWN, St James — There was mourning yesterday at the Barrett Town All-Age School, as well as in the wider community, after a grade six student was fatally stabbed by his classmate shortly after break in the morning. Jacinth Johnson, mother of 12-year-old Shyheim Lewis who was  fatally stabbed by his classmate, is comforted yesterday by her spouse  Linton White outside the Barrett Town All Age School as Police  Superintendent Gary Francis looks on. (PHOTO: PHILLIP LEMONTE) The deceased has been identified as Shyheim Lewis, also called Chin, 12, of the Jenkins Corner neighbourhood here in Barrett Town. The child's alleged killer, who is reportedly from the Vietnam section of Barrett Town, was taken into custody by the Barrett Town police. It was alleged that about 10:30 am a fight broke out between Lewis and one of his classmates over a seat, during which a ...

Monday, March 30, 2015     The Moon Palace Jamaica Grande Hotel in St Ann says it is expending $150 million to upgrade the former Sunset Jamaica Grande into a five-star property. Kathy Halpern (right), vice-president of sales and marketing  of Palace Resorts has the attention of other team members  (from left) Robert Martinez, senior account executive; Public Relations Director Cessie Cerrato and General Manager Clifton Reader. And despite the hotel missing its April 11, 2015 completion date, following recent industrial unrest at the construction site, General Manager Clifton Reader said all is set for the grand opening to take place soon. Reader and members of his team were addressing journalists at a press launch held at Evita's Italian Restaurant in Ocho Rios, last week, to officially introduce the Mexican brand to Jamaica. The Moon Palace Jamaica Grande is the first hotel in the Palace Resorts brand to open outside of Mexico. When completed, the pr...

BY KIMMO MATTTHEWS Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, March 30, 2015     THE police say they have made a disturbing discovery in their investigation of an upsurge in robberies taking place on the streets of downtown Kingston. The crimes are being committed by teenagers under the command of their parents. "We have been carrying out investigations, and what we have found is disturbing," said one policeman close to the development. "We have found that some parents are sending these youngsters out in the streets to carry out these illegal acts." According to the cop, who declined to be named, many of the robberies are being carried out by boys between the ages of 15 and 18 who, when caught, reveal that they are acting on the parents' orders. "In the last month we have apprehended more than seven of these youngsters and brought them before the court. But this is a small percentage of the overall robberies that take place,...

Sunday, March 29, 2015 | 10:50 PM   FALMOUTH, Trelawny - The Trelawny Police have taken two men into  custody in connection with the recovery of 10 illegal firearms, and a grenade launcher and over 300 rounds of assorted ammunition which were hidden in a barrel which was found inside a motor vehicle. Guns, Guns, Guns! (File Photo) According to Deputy Superintendent of Police Odean Dennis, crime officer for the Trelawny Police Division, yesterday at approximately about 10: 00 am, members of the Trelawny Highway Patrol were on a stop and search operation along the Scarlett Hall main road in the parish, when the driver of a motor vehicle was ordered to stop. During a search of the vehicle, a total of 11 firearms and 330 rounds of assorted ammunition were found hidden inside a barrel. The firearms include: one 40 mm Grenade racket launcher; three rifles, including a M-16, AK-47 and a sniper rifle; Whole heap a gun three handguns, including two 9mm and a .4...

Sunday, March 29, 2015     PORTLAND, Jamaica-born Lana Patterson has been named 'Broward County Mathematics Teacher of the Year 2014-2015 for Middle Schools'. Lana Patterson with her award Broward is a county in the US state of Florida. Award-winning Lana Patterson and her sons Alton (left) and Christopher Patterson, who teaches at William Dandy Middle School in Fort Lauderdale, copped the top prize from a field of 50 aspiring nominees and was awarded on March 18. It was her second time vying for the coveted award, having been nominated in 2013-2014, the same year she won Teacher of the Year at William Dandy. Before emigrating to the US in 1992, the St Joseph's Teachers' College alumna taught for 18 years, 14 of which were spent at her high school alma mater Titchfield High in Port Antonio. She has since furthered her studies at Florida Atlantic University. Patterson's sons Alton and Christopher attended the award function with their mother and...

 BY HOWARD WALKER Observer senior reporter walkerh@jamaiacaobserver.com  Sunday, March 29, 2015     His story is similar in some ways to that of Usain Bolt's. Some say his long legs remind them of the legendary Arthur Wint. Most believe he is destined for greatness. He is Akeem Bloomfield -- the rising star of the 400m. Akeem Bloomfield,  the 17-year-old Kingston College phenomenon Bloomfield, the 17-year-old Kingston College phenomenon, created history by becoming the first Jamaican schoolboy to run the 400m under 45 seconds with an astonishing 44.93 seconds to win the event in Class One at the GraceKennedy/ISSA Boys' and Girls' Athletics Championships at the National Stadium yesterday. Just last year, the promising Javon Francis ran what was then an unbelievable 45.00 seconds to break Usain Bolt's 400m record, just failing to dip below the 45-second mark. In fact, after Francis' run, the clock flashed 44.98 before settling at 45.00 seconds. A yea...

Saturday, March 28, 2015 | 10:34 PM     KINGSTON, Jamaica - OBSERVER ONLINE brings you a breakdown of the points amassed by each school in the 105th staging of the GraceKennedy ISSA Boys' and Girls Athletics Championship. KINGSTON, Jamaica - Defending champions Calabar High secured their fourth consecutive hold on the GraceKennedy InterSecondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Boys' and Girls' Athletics Championship and gained their 25th lien on the Mortimer Geddes trophy at the National Stadium a short while ago. Calabar amassed 280.5 points, 15.5 ahead of Kingston College with 265, with Jamaica College third some way back with 200 points. St Jago High with 183 finished fourth ahead of ST Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) on 132 points. How did your school do? Boys Champions Boys - Team Rankings - 41 Events Scored                 1) Calabar High 280.50 2) Kingston College 265 3) Jamaica C...

Saturday, March 28, 2015 | 4:34 PM   KINGSTON, Jamaica – World Youth 200m champion Michael O’Hara of Calabar High ended the World Youth 110m hurdles champion Jaheel Hyde of Wolmer’s Boys’ unbeaten run in the Class One 110m hurdles, winning in 13.49 seconds with Hyde second with 13.52 seconds. O'Hara completed the feat at the 105th staging of the GraceKennedy ISSA Boys' and Girls' Championship now under way at the National Stadium in Kingston. Howard Walker

Saturday, March 28, 2015 | 3:59 PM     MANCHESTER, Jamaica – The Manchester police have confirmed a shooting incident in the Spalding area of Manchester last night, which left one man dead and another in hospital. The dead man has been identified as 28-year-old Kirk Porter. Reports are that Porter and the another man were having drinks at a bar about 9:15 pm when two gunmen entered and opened fire hitting them. Porter reportedly ran from the scene and subsequently fell into an open water tank. According to the police, they are now awaiting post-mortem reports to determine his cause of death. The injured man is reportedly in critical but stable condition at hospital. Police told OBSERVER ONLINE that they are investigating reports that the incident was “scamming-related.” Alicia Sutherland

BY HOWARD WALKER Senior Staff Reporter walkerh@jamaicaobserver.com  Saturday, March 28, 2015     WORLD Junior 400m hurdles champion Jaheel Hyde of Wolmer's Boys turned in a scintillating performance setting a new national junior record of 49.01 seconds at the GraceKennedy/ISSA Boys' and Girls' Athletics Championships at the National Stadium last night. Jaheel Hyde of Wolmer’s Boys on his way to winning the Class One 400m hurdles in a new national junior record of 49.01 seconds during the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ Championships at the National Stadium last night. (PHOTO: BRYAN CUMMINGS) Hyde's time is the second best in the world and is only bettered by Michael Stigler of the University of Kansas, who ran 48.44 yesterday. Up to press time last night, defending champions Calabar High held the lead with 104 points, opening a 25-point lead over Kingston College (KC) on 79 points after 15 finals. St Jago High are third with 69 points, while early leader Jamaica Col...

PAUL A REID Observer writer reidp@jamaicaobserver.com  Saturday, March 28, 2015     ST Jago High girls showed their sprinting pedigree, winning three of the four 100m titles on yesterday's penultimate day of the ISSA/GraceKennedy Girls' Championships at the National Stadium. St Jago’s Natalliah Whyte (left) beats Wolmer’s Girls’ Shauna Helps  to the line in the Class One 100m finals of the ISSA/GraceKennedy Girls’ Championships last night at the National Stadium.  (PHOTO: BRYAN CUMMINGS) Natalliah Whyte in Class One, Kimone Shaw in Class Three and Joanne Reid in Class Four rose to the occasion as only Edwin Allen's Shellece Clarke in Class Two managed to break their dominance at the short sprint. The points helped to boost the Spanish Town school's tally after they struggled in the first few days of the five-day Championships. Action in today's final day starts at 1:00 pm. After 20 finals yesterday and before the 100m races, defending champions E...

Italy's highest court on Friday overturned the guilty verdicts against Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito in the 2007 murder of British student Meredith Kercher. Amanda Knox The court acquitted Knox and Sollecito in the murder of Meredith Kercher, a 21-year-old exchange student who was found dead in the home she shared with Knox and two other roommates in the Italian city of Perugia. In November 2007, Meredith Kercher  was discovered  stabbed in the neck on her bed in the Perugia apartment. Investigators alleged that Knox, then 20 years old, and Sollecito killed Kerchner along with Rudy Guede, an Ivory Coast national raised in Perugia. Knox and Sollecito have always maintained their innocence. This is the second time Italy's highest court has looked at the case, and the verdict ends a long series of legal twists and turns. The Supreme Court declined to order another trial, making the verdict the final ruling in the case. The Associated Press rep...

Friday, March 27, 2015 | 7:14 AM     PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (Trinidad Express) – What would you do if you woke up one morning and found TT$100 million in your account? That’s the reality facing Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF) soldier Jason St John, who says he has no clue how the money ended up in his account. Soldier Jason St John (Photo: Trinidad Express/ Kitty Kowlessar)  St John, 34, said he got the surprise of his life on March 19, upon checking his account balance at the RBC Royal Bank ATM (automated teller machine) in Chaguanas. The balance read ninety-nine million, nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine dollars and ninety-nine cents (TT$99,999,999.99). John said only the day before, his balance read zero on his account. He explained: “I had a TT$20,000 credit-card limit which I am trying to clear, and my RBC branch in Cha¬gua¬ramas suggested I take a loan to clear the amount owed while they held my salary ...

BY HOWARD WALKER Observer senior reporter walkerh@jamaicaobserver.com  Friday, March 27, 2015     CALABAR High's jumper Lamar Reid broke the first boys' record and propelled the champions to the top of the GraceKennedy ISSA Boys' and Girls' Athletics Championships with 48 points yesterday. After six finals, early leaders Jamaica College (JC) were relegated to second on 34 points ahead of Kingston College with 28. St Jago High with 18 points are fourth ahead of Edwin Allen High on 16 points. Calabar's Lamar Reid leaps to 1.99m to break the Class  Three high jump record on day three of the GraceKennedy  ISSA Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics Championships at the  National Stadium yesterday. (PHOTO: COLLIN REID) Reid, who is actually a Class Four athlete, broke a 22-year-old high jump record of 1.98m set by his schoolmate Ryan Chambers in 1993, clearing the bar at 1.99m on his second attempt, sending the Calabar fans into a frenzy. Vanderleer Palmer of ...

BY BALFORD HENRY Senior staff reporter balfordh@jamaicaobserver.com  Friday, March 27, 2015     THE Government failed to negotiate the first hurdle on its way to a new labour agreement with its rank and file employees yesterday when an initial five per cent pay increase offer was rejected by trade unions. No Way JA The Jamaica Observer was told that the Ministry of Finance made an initial offer of three per cent in the first year, and an additional two per cent in the second year, of a new two-year deal, which Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips had said should be concluded by next Tuesday. Observer sources also said that the unions are demanding that a number of outstanding items from their 2012/2015 Heads of Agreement should be resolved, prior to signing a new agreement. The 11 unions have jointly submitted claims for improvements in the workers' wages/salaries and working conditions, ending some six years of a wage freeze in the public sector. The new agree...

SIXTEEN persons, including students sitting the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), were yesterday left homeless after a fire destroyed four one-bedroom houses along Paisley Road in Kingston. Fire Victims Reports are that about 10:00 am residents saw smoke coming from premises, located off Slipe Road near the Blood Bank, and raised an alarm. "I was in my house when I heard a little girl screaming," said one of the fire victims. The woman said she ran outside to investigate what was happening and realised that several houses were on fire. The woman said all of her belongings were destroyed. These included items belonging to her daughter who is currently sitting the GSAT. The final papers of the two-day examination, which is used to place primary school students into secondary schools, will be administered today. "Have mercy! Mi lose every thing! All mi daughter items destroyed. She at school now doing her exams," said the woman as she cried. There wer...

St Jago High and Ardenne High will contest the 2015 finals of TVJ's Schools' Challenge Quiz competition. Quiz master, Marlene Stephenson Dalley, announced after the last semifinal match this evening that the live finals will take place next Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.  St Jago secured their place in the finals this evening with a convincing 46-32 victory over Campion College, last year's beaten finalists. On Wednesday, Ardenne, from St Andrew, held their nerve to hold off defending champions, Kingston College.  They won 27-24.  Ardenne last won the title in 2013, their fifth. The St Catherine-based St Jago last won the title in 2010, their fourth.  Sixty-four schools entered the annual competition which started in January.

Posted: 03/26/2015 5:09 pm EDT Say goodbye to the Olsen twins-- and hello to these sibling pairs, who are bringing their own unique vision to the world of African-influenced fashion. You may not know their names yet, but it won't be long until you do, because these young people are talented and creative. They are twins, of African descent, bloggers for the most part, and they are part of a group of "elite  influencers" who are blazing a trail in fashion. Twins have always fascinated most people -- and the Internet is no exception. Thanks to this inherent power,  these twins have managed to make a name for themselves, acquiring incredible amounts of followers. Praised by acclaimed publishers such as  Vogue  and  The Coveteur  for some. Approached by brands such as Diesel, Adidas and And Other  Stories for others. Collaborations continue raining down for these stylish doubles. However, we must not forget the point: these young people represent our...

By  Roberto A. Ferdman   March 25 at 8:23 AM Rice, the lifeblood of so many nations' cuisines, is perhaps the most ubiquitous food in the world. In Asia, where an  estimated 90 percent  of all rice is consumed, the pillowy grains are part of almost every meal. In the Caribbean, where the starch is often mixed with beans, it's a staple too. Even here in the United States, where people eat a comparatively modest amount of rice, plenty is still consumed. Rice is popular because it's malleable — it pairs wel l with a lot of different kinds of food—and it's relatively cheap. But like other starch-heavy foods, it has one central flaw: it isn't that good for you. White rice consumption, in particular, has been linked to a   higher risk  of diabetes.   A cup of the cooked grain carries with it roughly 200 calories, most of which comes in the form of starch, which turns into sugar, and often thereafter body fat. But what if there...