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THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS  STORIES
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20-YEAR-OLD STUDENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ENDED—09/20/15
The Jamaican government has ended a program aimed at helping Jamaican students in Trinidad train in veterinary medicine and dentistry. For 20 years, 85 percent of tuition costs for Jamaican students attending Mount Hope to study veterinary medicine and dentistry has been covered under an arrangement with the St. Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies. In May 2015, the government decided it would no long provide this financial assistance, beginning with the 2015-2016 school year, but student were not informed of its decision until early in September 2015.
UK PRIME MINISTER DAVID CAMERON TO VISIT JAMAICA—09/23/15
David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, will make an official visit to Jamaica, addressing a joint session of the Houses of Parliament on September 30, 2015. According to sources in the government, the Prime Minister is expected to address getting Jamaicans who are in prison in the UK to be incarcerated in Jamaica while serving their sentences instead. In 2014, the UK Ministry of Justice attempted to convince the Jamaican government to allow the approximately 700 prisoners to return to the island to serve out their sentences. While both countries’ governments had made an agreement in 2007 concerning the prison transfers, legislators in Jamaica have yet to ratify it.
HENRY INSISTING ON REPARATIONS DISCUSSIONS WITH CAMERON—09/24/15
Member of Parliament for Central Clarendon, Mike Henry, is urging fellow Members to shun David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, during his visit to Jamaica unless he agrees to discuss reparations for the impact of slavery on Jamaica. Henry noted that Jamaica’s Parliament has given its approval for the nation to seek reparations from the UK. If the issue is not on Cameron’s agenda, Henry says he will not attend any of the functions involving Cameron and wants other Members to join him in this action.
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THIS WEEK’S TOP JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS
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JAMAICANS DEPORTED FROM U.S. AS CHILDREN RETURN AS CITIZENS—09/22/15
Devon and Donna Cameron, siblings who were deported from the United States on drug-related charges 25 years ago have now returned to that country as its citizens. Two Jamaican attorneys, Joan Pinnock and Wayne Golding, helped the Camerons in their case under the Immigration Assistance project, which has its beginnings in the first Diaspora Conference. The attorneys are members of the Diaspora board in the U.S. According to Pinnock, the attorneys met with another 40 deportees in Kingston, determining that four were also eligible to return to the U.S. as citizens.
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THIS WEEK’S TOP BUSINESS NEWS SUMMARY
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CARIBBEAN-AMERICAN BRAND NEEDED, SAYS COMMUNITY LEADER—09/19/15
Kwayera Archer Cunningham, a Jamaican-American, believes that individuals from the West Indies who live in the United States should establish a Caribbean Diaspora brand. According to Archer Cunningham, the success of the 48th West Indian American Labor Day Carnival Parade in New York shows that the time has come to build such a brand. Archer Cunningham wants the initiative to begin in Brooklyn, New York, which is known as “Caribbean Central” in the U.S. Archer Cunningham is a nonprofit executive who is involved with strengthening communities through the creation of sustainable philanthropic networks that ensure resources are provided to those most in need.
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THIS WEEK’S TOP ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
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DEATH OF ANTHONY WINKLER MARKED BY INSTITUTE OF JAMAICA—09/22/15
The Institute of Jamaica is mourning the passing of Anthony C. Winkler, noted Jamaican-born author. Winkler died on September 18, 2015, in Atlanta, Georgia. He received the Musgrave Gold Medal for his contributions to the field of literature in 2014 and the Musgrave Silver Medal for literature in 2013. According to Anne Marie Bonner, executive director of the Institute of Jamaica, Winkler “lifted the standard” for Jamaican literature and was known worldwide for his writings. He has been characterized as “Jamaica’s Mark Twain.” Winkler also received the Townsend Prize for Fiction for “God Carlos,” a book that explored the brutality of the Spanish toward the Taino in Jamaica during the early 16th century.
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THIS WEEK’S TOP SPORTS NEWS
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FLORIDA STATE RECRUITS SEVERAL JAMAICAN HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETES—09/21/15
Florida State University (FSU) hopes to improve its performance at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) champions by recruiting a number of Jamaican high school athletes. Among the top picks are Shauna Helps, sprinter; Peta Gaye Williams, hurdler, and Safia Morgan, high jumper Morgan was the winner of the Under-20 girls’ high jump at the 2015 CARIFTA Games, while Helps is leaving her final year in high school to attend the Tallahassee-based FSU on a full scholarship. Gaye Williams shattered the Class One 100-meter hurdles record at the Boys’ and Girls’ Athletics competition. Keneil Grant, jumper, Kellion Knibb, thrower, and Edward Clarke, Raheem Robinson and Chad Walker, all sprinters, were also recruited by FSU.
