THIS WEEK’S TOP JAMAICAN NEWS STORIES
LEGAL AID COUNCIL IMPLEMENTS ENHANCED SECURITY MEASURES
Hugh Faulkner, the executive director of the Legal Aid Council, emphasized the commitment of the agency to protecting the rights of Jamaican citizens while some communities see the application of enhanced security measures to control crime. In many cases, said Faulkner, people lack the means to get legal representation, so the agency has a duty to support that right on their behalf. The government’s role is to implement measures that ensure the public’s safety, while the Council’s duty is to preserve the basic rights of individuals. Individuals who are detained by authorities have the right to know why they are being held, as well as the right to due process, which includes having legal representation, medical treatment, and the provision of food and clothing.
ANTONY ANDERSON NAMED COMMISSIONER OF POLICE
Major General Antony Anderson, a former army chief, has been named the new Police Commissioner. He will take his new role on March 19, 2018, succeeding George Quallo, who retired earlier in the year. Anderson is currently serving as National Security Adviser, a position he has held since December 2016. He is the first individual to fulfill this role in Jamaica, acting as the chief adviser to the Prime Minister and Cabinet in regard to security, intelligence, and defense issues. Anderson’s career in the Jamaica Defense Force (JDF) spans 34 years, including six years as Chief of Defense Staff.
THIS WEEK’S TOP CARIBBEAN NEWS STORIES
RESEARCH INDICATES MIGRATION PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN
According to research conducted by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the United Nations Migration Agency, migration means opportunities to empower women and enhance their autonomy. The research report, entitled “Women’s Empowerment and Migration in the Caribbean,” shows that women’s individual conditions and situations “shape their lives in their countries of origin, transit, and destination” to determine the nature of migration. The finding is important to consider in the light of large Caribbean populations that live in Canada, the Dominican Republic, and Spain, and where some 55 percent of the four million migrations from the Caribbean living in the United States were female in 2013. Women represent over 50 percent of the immigrants in Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago; in Barbados, the percentage is as high as 60 percent. The UN assesses women’s empowerment in terms of specific components, including a sense of self-worth, right to have and to make choices, right to have access to opportunity and resources, and the right to take control over their own lives.
THIS WEEK’S TOP JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS STORIES
BARTLETT SELECTED AS WORLD TOURISM MINISTER OF 2018
Jamaica’s Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett was named Worldwide Tourism Minister of the Year by the Pacific Area Travel Writers Association (PATWA) in Berlin, Germany. Bartlett said it was “humbling” to be recognized at this major global event, and he accepted the award on behalf of the people of Jamaica, because, he said, “it is clear that we have made our mark on the globe.” At the awards ceremony, Jamaica was also honored with the PATWA International Revel Award 2017 for Best Destination for Adventure Tourism.
THIS WEEK’S TOP BUSINESS NEWS STORIES
CARIBBEAN AIRLINES NAMED OFFICIAL AIRLINE FOR CARNIVAL CELEBRATIONS
The Jamaica Tourist Board announced that Caribbean Airlines (CAL) is the official airline for Carnival celebrations in Jamaica in 2018. As the official airline, CAL has exclusive marketing and branding rights to the Tourist Board’s promotional campaign for Carnival in March and April 2018. The program includes hosting a number of influential sources in global travel so that they experience the high-energy festival that features breakfast feasts, beach parties, and sold-out concerts by dancehall and soca stars from Jamaica and around the world. Donovan White, director of tourism, said that Jamaica has successfully claimed its place as a true and authentic Carnival destination and that his agency is happy to share the unique experience with CAL. The season will end on April 8, 2018, with a parade in the streets of Kingston and Ocho Rios.
THIS WEEK’S TOP ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT NEWS STORIES
HOME OF FILM DIRECTOR TO BECOME EXHIBIT SPACE
The home of the late Perry Henzell, the director, producer and co-writer of the legendary film “The Harder They Come,” is being transformed into an exhibition space for Jamaican films and music. It will also serve as a marijuana dispensary. Many of the scenes in the groundbreaking film were shot and edited o the grounds of Henzell’s home in Kingston. The film is credited with making Jimmy Cliff a superstar and introducing Jamaican reggae to the world. In addition to the exhibition space, the venue will include a bar and restaurant, a performance stage, a boutique hotel, and a dispensary for medical marijuana. Leading the project are Henzell’s children, Justine and Jason Henzell. He is chairman of the family’s Jakes Hotel, which received the award for Leading Boutique Resort in 2010at the World Travel Awards. It was also named “coolest hotel in Jamaica” by The Guardian newspaper in 2017.
THIS WEEK’S TOP SPORTS NEWS STORIES
JAMAICA SENDS LARGE DELEGATION TO COMMONWEALTH GAMES
Jamaica will be represented at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia with a very large delegation of 115 athletes and 36 officials. The group will be the biggest in history to make the trip to the Games from Jamaica, which plans to compete in 15 sports at the event. According to Christopher Samuda, president of the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA), the journey will provide Jamaica with a chance to showcase its values as a nation. It will represent an “experience of national pride in the success of our countrymen and countrywomen, he said, as well as pride in Brand Jamaica. Dalton Myers will serve as Team Jamaica’s chef de mission, with Antonio Bell, Kaydean Webley, and Hamlin Pagon being team managers. The event, which will be held from April 4 through 15, 2018, in Gold Coast, Australia, will be the 21st staging of the Games.
