THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS STORIES
HOLNESS WANTS COMPENSATION FOR WINDRUSH GENERATION FROM UK
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness is calling for the United Kingdom to provide “fair and just” compensation to the individuals in the Windrush generation and their children. Holness told the Financial Times that the UK had “deprived many of their rights,” causing them to suffer. He noted that some of the children of Windrush parents were denied entry to the UK after making recent visits to Jamaica. He went on to say that several cases of 2nd-generation Windrush people facing residency difficulties have been brought to his attention.
JAMAICA DEPLOYS PUBLIC CCTV SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM
A national CCTV surveillance program is being implemented through a public-private partnership with the goal of providing greater safety and security for Jamaicans. The program, known as “JamaicaEye,” will use facial recognition and link the Ministry of National Security’s cameras and privately owned cameras to a network monitored by professional security personnel. The program has received strong support from private sector interests. The Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ) will endorse the initiative as a measure for crime reduction and “as an example of participatory democracy,” according to PSOJ president Howard Mitchell. To date, some 180 cameras have been deployed across several Jamaican parishes.
THIS WEEK’S TOP CARIBBEAN NEWS
CUBA HAS NEW PRESIDENT
Miguel Diaz-Canel is the new president of Cuba. In spite of being involved at high levels of the country’s government for over two decades years, Diaz-Canel is not well known. Their lack of knowledge of the new president has not stopped Cubans from being hopeful that the new official will implement reforms that will have a positive impact on their daily lives. Diaz-Canel will be the first Cuban president who was born after the 1959 revolution, but he has spent the past 24 years moving through the ranks of the nation’s Communist Party. He succeeds Raul Castro as the country’s leader.
THIS WEEK’S TOP JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS
NEW HIGH COMMISSIONER TO SOUTH AFRICA APPOINTED BY JAMAICA
Angella Comfort has been appointed the new Jamaican High Commissioner to the Republic of South Africa, according to an announcement by Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade. Comfort, a career diplomate, joined Jamaica’s Foreign Service in 1981. She has been the director of the Caribbean and American Department of the Foreign Affairs Ministry since 2012. Previously, she served as deputy permanent representative of Jamaica to the United Nations and on two occasions at the Jamaican High Commission in London. During her time at the UN in New York, Comfort was chair of the Group of Latin American and the Caribbean Countries (GRULAC); acting permanent representative to the UN; a member of the UN Credentials Committee, and vice-chair of the UN Committee on Conferences. She will assume her new duties in the middle of May 2018.
THIS WEEK’S TOP BUSINESS NEWS SUMMARY
LINSTEAD HOSPITAL TO BUILD NEW PHARMACY
The people who live in Linstead and its neighboring communities in St. Catherine will soon see the benefits of a new pharmacy that will be constructed on the grounds of Linstead Hospital. According to Dr. Christopher Tufton, Jamaican’s Minister of Health, who broke ground for the $31 million facility, the new building is scheduled for completion within eight months and will offer more space for staff to provide better service. Tufton noted there is no doubt about the value the infrastructure will bring to the community. In 2017, the old pharmacy saw 30,000 visits and filled more than 50,000 prescriptions. The government is making the investment in the new facility to provide improved health care services to the people.
THIS WEEK’S TOP ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
RACHEL MANLEY DEBUTS FIRST FICTION NOVEL
Rachel Manley gave the first reading from her debut fiction novel and was invited to be a featured author at the 2018 Calabash “Lit Up” Literary Festival to be held in Treasure Beach from June 1 through 3, 2018. The novel, “The Black Peacock,” tells the stories of two Caribbean writers who experience challenges in their relationship and ultimately confront them when they reunite in the eastern isles. Manley is the granddaughter of Edna Manley, the ‘Mother of Jamaican Art.” Manley is known for her poetic works and for her historical trilogy. She received the Canadian Governor General’s Award for “Slipstream: A Daughter Remembers,” the second part of the trilogy, which follows the political and private life of her father, former Jamaican Prime Minister Michael Manley.
THIS WEEK’S TOP SPORTS NEWS
JAMAICA LEADS CARIBBEAN IN MEDALS AT COMMONWEALTH GAMES
Jamaica won 27 medals at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia to lead the Caribbean region, which came home with a total of 42 medals. Of Jamaica’s 27 medals, seven were gold. Gold medals were won for Jamaica by Ronal Levy in the Men’s 110-meter hurdles, Aisha Praught in the Women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, Janieve Russell in the Women’s 400-meter hurdles, Kimberly Williams in the Women’s triple jump, Fedrick Dacres in the Men’s discus throw, and Danniel Thomas-Dodd in the Women’s shot put. Jamaica also won gold in the Women’s 4×400-meter relay.
