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Sunday, January 31, 2016 | 10:21 PM   ST ANDREW, Jamaica — Jamaicans will go to the polls on February 25, 2016. Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller made the announcement a short while ago at a People’s National Party (PNP) mass rally in Half-Way-Tree, St Andrew. Nomination day is set for Tuesday, February 9. This will be the country’s 17th general election since Universal Adult Suffrage in 1944 and the PNP leader’s second time making the announcement.  Seeking her own mandate, Simpson Miller in 2007 sent Jamaicans to the polls on August 27. The PNP went on to lose to the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) having secured 27 of the 60 seats in Parliament. Four years on, Simpson Miller is seeking to make this election the PNP’s 10th win. The JLP has won elections seven times....DEVELOPING.

Sunday, January 31, 2016 Excerpt from the Jamaica Gleaner  THE Brayton Hall Auditorium at British West Indies Collegiate (BWIC) erupted in ear-splitting cheers when it was announced at a special event two Thursdays ago that the University of Cambridge International Examination Board had named sixth form student Achsah Wildish “Top in the World” for her performance in Advanced Subsidiary-Level mathematics. Jamaican-born Achsah Wildish scored the highest GCE AS-Level maths grades in the world for 2015. AS mathematics is an advanced course that is equivalent to three modules of the complete six at the Advanced Level. “She not only scored 100 per cent in her AS mathematics examinations, but she has officially topped the world in mathematics,” vice-principal Anthony Wilkinson announced. Achsah, the daughter of well-known Jamaican building contractor John Wildish, was kept in suspense until the moment her name was called and confessed that she was in shock.  “I p...

BY RICHARD JOHNSON Observer senior reporter johnsonr@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, January 31, 2016  VP Records is preparing to release an album featuring songs by Dennis Emmanuel Brown, covered by a number of young Jamaican artistes. Music industry insider Junior Lincoln told the Sunday Observer that the project came about as a younger generation is discovering the music of the ‘Crown Prince of Reggae.’ “I can’t tell you who is on the album just yet, but what I can say is that it is an incredible job that VP has has done with some of our younger artistes and the music of Dennis Brown. The album is set to be released in April... that’s all I’m willing to share at this time.” Lincoln did, however, add that a number of the acts will be performing on this year’s Dennis Brown Memorial concert scheduled for February 21 on the Kingston Waterfront.  The event, which was shelved last year due to sponsorship issues, returns in celebration of Brown’s birthday which is Febru...

BY HG HELPS Editor-at-Large helpsh@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, January 31, 2016  Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller will tonight end the agony and anxiety of millions of Jamaicans at home and in the Diaspora by announcing the date for the island’s 17th general election since voting began in 1944. If all goes well, Simpson Miller, who will deliver the main address when the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) cranks up its election machinery in Half-Way-Tree square, St Andrew, should convey the vital information by 9:00 pm. By or before that time, the nation will hear whether or not they will vote in late February or early March of this year in an election that could have been held in a year’s time, based on constitutional provisions, but which the present Administration insists on calling early. Already, mouths — wayward and controlled — have been busy projecting February 29 as the likely date, seeing that it coincides with the PNP’s famous election victory 44 years ...

Steve Connor Science Editor @SteveAConnor Published 1/30/16 The controversial theory that the “seeds” of Alzheimer’s disease may have been transmitted between patients during surgical procedures involving the use of donated human tissue has been supported by the discovery of new evidence.  Scientists have found a link between patients who received nerve-tissue grafts several decades ago and the presence of a protein in the brain that is normally seen in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease.  The study supports findings published last September  suggesting that people who had been injected with human growth hormone when they were children were harbouring the same seeds of Alzheimer’s disease at the time of their death several decades later. "This should prompt a critical re-evaluation of the  decontamination procedure for surgical instruments"  Getty The latest study was carried out on the stored brain samples of eight patients who had undergone tiss...

Thursday, January 28, 2016     DESPITE issuing a news release yesterday, which gave no indication that the date for the next general election will be announced, the Jamaica Observer understands that Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller will on Sunday tell the people of the nation when they may vote. The long-awaited announcement is set for Half-Way-Tree Square in St Andrew, and should end ongoing speculation about when Simpson Miller will ‘call it’. Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller “The People’s National Party will be hosting the first in a series of national meetings on Sunday, 31st January, 2016 in Half-way-Tree Square, starting at 6:00 pm,” the party said in a statement late yesterday. “The meeting is part of the party’s national mobilisation effort as it prepares itself for general election.  “The party leader and prime minister, the Most Honourable Portia Simpson Miller, along with other officers will address supporters,” the news release said. I...

BY TANESHA MUNDLE Observer staff reporter mundlet@jamaicaobserver.com  Wednesday, January 27, 2016     The prosecution yesterday told the May Pen Resident Magistrate’s Court that the young woman accused of killing her 10-year-old neighbour, Juvea Cooper, in Portland Cottage, Clarendon, had confessed to her mother that she committed the crime because she was “fed up” with him. Eighteen-year-old Lanie Lewis also reportedly took her mother, 40-year-old Glenda Wright, to the spot where she left the boy’s body. Wright, who is accused of trying to conceal the boy’s murder, was arrested and charged with misprision of felony, while Lewis was charged with murder.  Cooper’s rotting body was found behind a house on January 23 with its throat slashed and left arm severed. The special needs child was reportedly killed after he smashed a window at the accused’s home on January 13. Lewis reportedly told the police that Cooper had also broken another window at her hous...

Monday, January 25, 2016   The first murder-suicide for 2016 rocked the usually quiet community of Park Hall near Frankfield, Clarendon, before dawn Saturday. Police confirmed allegations that 35-year-old Junior Wallace, a lance corporal of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) shot his wife, Christina Dawkins, 28, a second-year business student at the University of Technology, Jamaica, and then turned the gun on himself at their home in Park Hall. Wallace and Dawkins, who had a 10-year-old son together. According to one of Wallace’s elder sisters, Dorreth, who was not present at the time of the incident, the two were found by a niece who lived on the same property in a house beside the couple’s unfinished two-storey home. The couple had a 10-year-old son who was not at home when the incident happened. It is thought that the tragedy took place around 2:00 am Saturday. However, the bodies were not found until later in the afternoon when family members started wonde...

KINGSTON, Jamaica  — The ambitious young men sat for hours at a restaurant here to map out plans for a business venture that could make them millions. David Panton, left, with Ted Cruz while they were students at Princeton University. (Daedre Levine) In a group that included three Jamaican entrepreneurs, one participant seemed out of place — a 27-year-old former U.S. Supreme Court law clerk of Cuban descent who was visiting from Washington. Ted Cruz had been invited by his roommate from Princeton and Harvard Law, David Panton, who was eager for the group to win the rights to manage a new Caribbean-focused investment enterprise launched by one of the island’s most prominent executives. The idea was modeled after U.S. private equity companies that made fortunes by using investor dollars to remake underperforming companies. The Caribbean concept came with a twist — the investor dollars would be drawn in part from governments, including from the United States, leveraging fun...

Friday, January 22, 2016     A 50-year-old man was Wednesday night fatally shot during a joint police-military operation in Golden Heights, Denham Town, Kingston. File Photo The dead man has been identified as Thomas Gordon, alias ‘Jimmy’. Two others, a man and a woman, were injured during the shooting. The police’s Corporate Communications Unit reported that the man was killed during a confrontation with members of the military. Police claimed that a Smith and Wesson 9mm pistol and a fake firearm were seized during the incident. more

BY JAVENE SKYERS Observer staff reporter skyersj@jamaicaobserver.com  Friday, January 22, 2016     P resident  of the Western Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventist Churches Glen O Samuels yesterday urged the nation’s political, public and private sectors to help restore righteousness and social order in the nation. Pastor Samuels’ message, delivered at the 36th National Leadership Prayer Breakfast (NLPB) at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel, was in keeping with the theme for this year’s staging – ‘Righteousness Exalts The Nation’. Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and Opposition Leader Andrew Holness (right) light a candle as a symbol of national unity, while Governor General Sir Patrick Allen looks on  at the National Leadership Prayer Breakfast yesterday. (Photo: Collin Reid) Before the message, attendees were treated to various gospel musical presentations and given information about the NLPB’s social project for 2016 — the Eira Schader Home for t...

 By Howard Walker Observer senior reporter walkerh@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, January 19, 2016  Having already achieved his legendary status, Usain Bolt could become an immortal if he achieves his goals of a third Olympic “triple triple” and lowering his 200m record, unbelievably, to under 19 seconds. BOLT…it’s one of my goals that I have had over the years to dip under 19 seconds “I think that is a side note really because the aim is always to win the championship. But it’s one of my goals that I have had over the years to dip under 19 seconds,” said Bolt after collecting his sixth RJR National Sportsman of the Year award. “So it would be great if I could accomplish that this season and if it’s in the Olympics, it would be greater,” said Bolt, who was dapperly dressed in his Brioni suit, the preferred choice of James Bond. Bolt set the current 200m record of 19.19 seconds in 2009, shaving 0.11 off his own previous record of 19.30 from the previous year. B...

KIMMO MATTHEWS Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, January 19, 2016    BEFUDDLED residents of Portland Cottage in Clarendon were yesterday still trying to piece together the puzzle behind the brutal slaying of a 10-year-old boy in their community. The body of Juvea Cooper was found with its throat slashed and one of its arms severed. The rotting body of Juvea Cooper was found Sunday morning buried behind a house in a shallow grave — with its throat slashed and one of an arm severed — four days after the boy was reported missing. The boy’s severed arm was found in a separate grave at the front of the house. His death has left the community in shock, with concerned residents questioning what could have motivated someone to carry out such a heinous act. “A from last Thursday him go missing and mi go mek a report to the police. All during that time I was hoping and praying that nothing had happened to my child,” Juvea’s mother, Tamieka...

01/17/2016 07:02 pm ET All the money in the world is growing ever more concentrated in the hands of just a few people, a report released Sunday night makes clear. Just 62 ultra-rich, mostly white men -- a  list  that includes Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, the Koch Brothers and the Walmart heirs -- have  as much wealth  as the bottom half of humanity. Five years ago, it took 388 rich guys to achieve that status.  The wealth of the richest 62 has increased an astonishing 44 percent since 2010, to $1.76 trillion. Meanwhile, the wealth of the bottom half of the world dropped by 41 percent. “This is terrible,” Gawain Kripke, Oxfam's Policy Director, told The Huffington Post. “No one credible will say this is good for the world or good for the economy.” While the wealthy might argue that their rising wealth is just a fabulous sign of economic prosperity (the "you're just jealous" rationale), the disproportionate growth at the top is keeping those on the bott...

Posted: 01/16/2016 4:04 pm EST  Dear President Obama, I am writing this to you from the place where I was born -- Flint, Michigan. Please consider this personal appeal from me and the 102,000 citizens of the city of Flint who have been poisoned -- not by a mistake, not by a natural disaster, but by a governor and his administration who, to "cut costs," took over the city of Flint from its duly elected leaders, unhooked the city from its fresh water supply of Lake Huron, and then made the people drink the toxic water from the Flint River. This was nearly two years ago. This week it was revealed that at least 10 people in Flint have now been killed by these premeditated actions of the Governor of Michigan. This governor, Rick Snyder, nullified the democratic election of this mostly African-American city -- where 41% of the people live below the "official" poverty line -- and replaced the elected Mayor and city council with a crony who was instructed to take all...

BY PENDA HONEYGHAN Observer writer honeyghanp@jamaicaobserver.com  Sunday, January 17, 2016     AT a time when global career demands are changing to reflect an increasing need for students to be trained in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, Glenmuir High School in Clarendon appears to be ahead of the curve, as is evidenced by the school’s performance at the 2015 sitting of the Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate (CSEC). Delano Francis explains why it is important for teachers to encourage and believe in  their students. Two of its students earned the highest grades in building technology construction in the Caribbean, with five others placing third, fourth, and sixth. Delano Francis and Glendon Taylor shared first place; Jeremy Anderson was third; Norris Redhi and Gillian Thompson tied for fourth; and Irinski Crooks and Elvisovara Francis placed sixth. Glendon Taylor discusses the value of acquiring a technical  ...

Sunday, January 17, 2016     A mere 17 days into 2016 and the signs are everywhere that this is going to be one of those memorable leap years. Our list has been edited drastically with a mere 25 left standing. SO presents the Ones to Watch for 2016. CHRONIXX & PROTOJE The so-called reggae renaissance is poised to further expand in 2016 when the genre’s musical marquis Chronixx and his Zincfence Redemption brethren Protoje feature at the revered Coachella festival in April. It’s yet another international milestone for the former, who quickly catapulted into the realm of reggae royalty with the release of his Dread and Terrible EP, the corresponding European tour, and let’s not forget that brilliant performance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Not to be outdone, Protoje’s star is steadily rising. The son of Breakfast in Bed crooner Lorna Bennett, the young artiste describes his music as “new-age reggae” that pays homage to legendary influences like...

KUSA – The winning numbers for the more than $1.58 billion Powerball are: 4, 8, 19, 27, 34 and Powerball: 10. While there were no winning Powerball tickets in Colorado,  we can say a winning ticket was sold in Chino Hills, California.  That's according to a tweet from the California Lottery.  All hope isn't lost though for folks in the Centennial State. The Colorado Lottery says five Coloradans won $100,000, and 10 won $50,000. The drawing was held at 9 p.m. on Wednesday. At its peak, more than $3,000 of Powerball tickets per minute were sold in Colorado. From Sunday to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Powerball ticket sales reached $19,042,145, according to the Colorado Lottery. There was a 1 in 292 million chance of winning – but that didn’t deter folks from buying the tickets anyway across the country. The Colorado Lottery website was down for part of the night on Wednesday due to an influx of traffic from people who wanted to know if they were suddenly billionai...

BY KIMMO MATTHEWS Observer staff reporter matthewsk@jamaicaobserver.com  Tuesday, January 12, 2016  Angry Raymond Pryce supporters and the hierarchy of the governing People’s National Party (PNP) ended a stormy meeting at PNP headquarters in Kingston yesterday in a Mexican stand-off of sorts as the party bosses stood their ground, insisting that they would not reverse the selection of Evon Redman to contest the St Elizabeth North Eastern seat in the next general election. “Before mi vote for Redman, mi chop off mi hand,” one Comrade fumed. “Mi can tell you from now, if this decision stands, North East St Elizabeth will become JLP. Wi not voting, none of us, if they don’t change the decision,” said Tyrone Atkinson. The Pryce supporters had travelled from St Elizabeth in at least nine buses to vent their continued anger over the results of a September 26, 2015 selection in the constituency that saw Santa Cruz businessman Redman polling 339 ‘yes’ votes from the 467 delegat...