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 12/30/2015 10:02 am ET A prosecutor in Pennsylvania announced criminal charges against Bill Cosby on Wednesday. Bill Cosby Cosby has been charged with aggravated indecent assault, according to Kevin Steele of the Montgomery County district attorney's office. While Steele did not mention the victim by name, The Associated Press reported that the charges relate to the alleged drugging and sexual assault of Andrea Constand in 2004.  Though the accusations are not new, Steele said the case was reopened after authorities saw evidence in previously sealed court documents and heard of allegations against Cosby from other women.  "Reopening this case was not a question. Rather, reopening this case was our duty," Steele said.  The charges were brought against Cosby just days before a 12-year statute of limitations ran out. Attorneys for Constand said Wednesday that they had "the utmost confidence" in the prosecutor's office. More than 50 women hav...

TAYLOR… scored 340 runs in nine matches Sunday, December 27, 2015   — Sanjay Myers S TAFANIE Taylor says winning the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s Twenty20 (T20) Cricketer of the Year Award is as satisfying as receiving global accolades in previous years. Taylor, the 24-year-old West Indies captain, was declared the top individual in that category at the ICC Annual Awards for the period September 18, 2014 to September 13, 2015. During that time the Jamaican scored 340 runs in nine matches. “Winning such an award is great, so it’s a wonderful feeling,” said the top-order batter and off-spinner. “This is a category award, but for me it’s the same feeling as winning Cricketer of the Year,” Taylor, who was the ICC Women’s One Day International Cricketer of the Year in 2011 and in 2012, told the  Jamaica Observer .  The highly talented player added that “training hard” and self encouragement have contributed to yet another stellar season in inter...

  Friday, December 25, 2015   NEVER one to shy away from controversy, Bounty Killer has hit out against Billboard Magazine for naming British singer Joss Stone Reggae Artiste of The Year. The fiery deejay also had some harsh words for Jamaica’s Government. Bounty Killa He took to Instagram after reading a story published in the Jamaica Observer on December 22 about Stone’s latest accomplishment. Addressing the Jamaican government, Bounty Killer (given name Rodney Pryce) ques- tioned their seriousness about preserving reggae. “What measures are implemented for a genre birthed on the island which is widely celebrated elsewhere, giving others the chance to benefit more than us? How many more Matisyahus, Eddy Murphys and Josh Stones will there be to benefit more than our people who do not fall short on talent?” He implored the Government to desist from chastising reggae/dancehall and defend what is Jamaican. “The Marley boys as internationally recognised as they...

BY TANESHA MUNDLE Staff reporter mundlet@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, December 21, 2015     LESS than a week after surrendering to Christ, the once raunchy deejay Lady Saw hit the infamous ‘Back Road’ in Portmore St Catherine, a strip known for open prostitution and cheap motels, to deliver a message from God to a particular lady of the night. Lady Saw The popular entertainer, who’s been a talking point since getting baptised last Monday, told the  Jamaica Observer  after Sunday morning worship at Emmanuel Apostolic Church on Slipe Road in Kingston, yesterday, that God has already started to use her. The 43-year-old, whose given name is Marion Hall, said she was in bed Saturday night when God gave her a message to give to a prostitute on Back Road (Port Henderson Road), whom she was informed recently got saved and is planning to get baptised. “...I went by Back Road ’cause that’s where He sent me and He gave me a name. For God to give me a name out...

Monday, December 21, 2015     BY the time Sidney Brown shot and killed his ex-lover Verona Clarke in front their two-year-old child at a day-care in Linstead, St Catherine, ingredients for the murder-suicide had already been in place, given how flawed a character Brown was. CLARKE... was shot dead by her obsessed ex in front their  two year old son, Thursday. BROWN... killed the mother of his child before turning the gun on himself. (Photos: Paul Henry) By then, the 36-year-old Brown had been a rejected lover, having been kicked to the curb close to two weeks prior by the woman over whom he obsessed. He had been seething, stewing in his anger over the break-up and he spoke angrily about Clarke in public in the days leading up to the shooting. He had been a jealous and possessive man, so much so that during their relationship he forbade Clarke, 33, from talking to other men and even policed her use of social media. When the relationship ended, she was moving on,...

CHRISTIAN...to receive Queen’s Young Leaders Award in 2016 Sunday, December 20, 2015     LONDON, England (JIS) — Tijani Christian is among 60 young people from across the Commonwealth being recognised as exceptional leaders in their communities and who will receive the prestigious Queen’s Young Leaders Award in the summer of 2016. He will follow in the footsteps of fellow Jamaicans Jerome Cowans and Nicole Nation who were presented with the award earlier this year. Nicole Nation is a 3-time Peace and Love Academic Scholarship (PALAS, Inc.) recipient. Christian is currently serving as a Jamaica Youth Ambassador - Commonwealth, and has among his litany of achievements, the Prime Minister’s Youth Award for Excellence in the category of Leadership for 2013. He is pioneering an initiative called Plant Jamaica, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) which promotes sustainable livelihoods through community farms. The NGO was formed to encourage people to grow healthy pr...

Sunday, December 20, 2015     SANYA, China (AFP) — Spanish model Mireia Lalaguna was crowned Miss World 2015 after beating out 113 contestants from across the globe last night at a coastal resort city in south China’s Hainan Province. Dr. Sanetta Myrie, Miss Jamaica Finished in Top 5 of Miss World Contest Miss Jamaica World Dr Sanneta Myrie placed in the top five and was congratulated by Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller. Lalaguna, a pharmacy student from Barcelona, claimed the illustrious crown after winning over the contest’s judges during the 65th edition of the world famous pageant in Sanya. “Without the love I have received from all of the people I have met here, and from all of the people wishing me well and supporting me at home, I would never have gotten to this point,” said the beauty queen, according to a statement released by the event’s organisers.  “I want to show them and the world that I am deserving of the Miss World title and I hope to ...

 Published: Dec 17, 2015 3:17 a.m. ET How does oil rebounding to $100 a barrel in 2016 sound? Or the euro surging to $1.23? Or maybe even Brazil staging an Olympic Games-driven comeback out of recession? Oil Sound outrageous? Well, while most analysts keep their crystal-balling for next year in tight ranges, Saxo Bank has complied 10 unlikely events that could rattle the financial markets in 2016 if they were to happen. Of course, they aren’t Saxo Bank’s official calls for 2016. The Copenhagen-based bank has made a tradition out of publishing outlandish outlooks each year, but chief economist Steen Jakobsen notes that the predictions this season particularly stand out for being, well, not outrageous enough. “The irony in this year’s batch of outrageous predictions is that some of them are ‘outrageous’ merely because they run counter to overwhelming market consensus. In fact, many would not look particularly outrageous at all in more ‘normal times — if there even is...

BY RICHARD JOHNSON Senior staff reporter johnsonr@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, December 15, 2015     Lady Saw FEMALE deejay Lady Saw has cancelled all her dancehall events and has declared that she is becoming a Christian. Yesterday, the artiste who is known for her raunchy tracks took to social media and made the revelation. “God has just spoken to he. He did so at J Capri service and finish it off in my house. I’m now a servant of the Lord. All my dancehall shows will be cancelled ‘cause God has call me to work for him now, Glory be to the most high God,” she said on Instagram. Speaking with the Sponsored Links Personal Finance Expert's Powerful 2-Step Card Debt Reduction Method [Review] LendingTree 35 Huge Dogs That Will Make Your Jaw Drop pressroomvip.com Jamaica Observer  she confirmed the social media posting, stating that despite similar utterings from her in the past this time it is real. “This t...

Did you know…that  baking soda  has been shown to  fight cancer, stave off colds and flu, and even treat  radiation poisoning … all for just pennies a day ? Vernon Johnston has a very important question for you: “ do you want to live ?” That was the question he asked himself when he was diagnosed with stage IV prostate cancer in 2008. His answer was a resounding “ yes !” Despite the fact that the doctor who diagnosed his cancer told him there were no treatment options, Johnston is still alive today, thanks to sodium bicarbonate, more commonly known as  baking soda . One Man’s “Dance with Cancer” By the time Johnston’s cancer was diagnosed, it had already spread to his bones. When his doctor delivered the news, Johnston remembers thinking,  Stage IV ?  There is no stage V . But his online research led him to a website promoting the  Baking Soda And Cancer Cure .  This became the cornerstone of Johnston’s self-applied treatment program...

BY ALPHEA SAUNDERS Senior staff reporter saundersa@jamaicaobserver.com  Thursday, December 10, 2015     Hanna, in a statement to the House of Representatives on Tuesday, said she was outraged at the behavior of the CDA officers, which first came into question after a complaint was lodged with the Office of the Children’s Advocate (OCA) against the CDA over the incident which occurred in March this year. A troubling report from the OCA’s probe into the matter was also laid before the House. Hon. Lisa Hanna- PALAS File Photo Asked at a Jamaica House press briefing yesterday whether the employees would face any penalties right away, notwithstanding the upcoming hearing, Hanna stressed that due process must be followed. “One could hypothetically say the person should be fired, based on what I have seen in the report, but at the end of the day…all of us understand that sometimes we have to be merciful and understanding [but] due process has to be followed.We will a...

Tuesday, December 08, 2015     SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — Joy reigned in this south-central town early yesterday as St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) celebrated their fifth hold on the ISSA/Flow daCosta Cup, the symbol of rural schoolboy football supremacy. STETHS took the 2015 title on Saturday when Neville Morgan’s second-half goal gave them a 1-0 victory over Dinthill Technical High in the daCosta Cup final at the Montego Bay Sports Complex. Members of the student population of St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) celebrate their team’s victory in the ISSA/Flow Manning Cup in Santa Cruz yesterday. (Photo: Ainsley Clarke) STETHS are also champions of the Ben Francis Cup knockout competition following victory over Manchester High two weeks ago. STETHS have won the Ben Francis Cup six seasons in a row.  Yesterday, ecstatic celebrations started on the school’s campus at the start of the school day, and soon expanded to the centre of Santa Cruz b...

Monday, December 07, 2015     SECRET Laboratory, the Switzerland studio of legendary music producer Lee 'Scratch' Perry, was destroyed by fire last Thursday. Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry in his burnt out studio in Switzerland last week. Perry said he lost recording equipment, costumes, books and other personal items. The Grammy-winning producer blamed the fire on negligence. "I forgot to out a candle and my whole Secret Laboratory burned out...Everything gone!!!! I am so sad and my wife is so mad," Perry wrote on Facebook. He added: "My whole life collections, arts, my magic hats, my magic boots, ally my crazy show outfits and costumes: King Pope, General, Magician...All my electronics and studio equipment and my magic mic, books, musik, CDs..."  The 79-year-old Perry was born in Kendal, Hanover. He made his name in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s as a producer of cutting-edge music by revolutionary artistes. His Upsetter label produced some ...

BY RENAE DIXON Observer staff reporter dixonr@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, December 07, 2015     THERE were loud cheers for Clifford ‘Narado’ Clarke as he ascended the steps of the Gloria Johnson Multipurpose Building at the Moneague College recently to collect his Bachelors in Business Administration, Human Resource Management major. His batchmates and members of the audience attending the college's graduation ceremony were visibly impressed that Clarke did not allow his disability to prevent him from achieving his goal. A beaming Clifford Clarke poses for a photo after graduating from  Moneague College with a Bachelors in Business Administration. (PHOTO: RENAE DIXON) A very confident Clarke climbed the stairs with the aid of the crutches he uses to get around, to receive the evidence of his accomplishment from principal Howard Isaacs. The 25-year-old Clarke, who does not thrive on self-pity, says he has never seen his disability as a deterrent to succ...