THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS STORIES
JAMAICAN PRIME MINISTER GIVES PROPERTY TITLES TO FAMILIES IN GREATER PORTMORE
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has provided 30 families in the Greater Portmore area with the titles to their homes. He told the families that the home titles will empower them to improve their social and financial status. Home ownership also gives these families more security in their daily lives. The home titles were provided through a restructuring of operations in the National Housing Trust and the Housing Agency of Jamaica.
NEWLY CROWNED MISS WORLD FROM JAMAICA TO APPEAR AT UNRULY FEST
Tori-Ann Singh of Jamaica, who was recently crowned Miss World for 2019, will appear at one of the top dancehall events of the holiday season at Unruly Fest. She will appear in St. Thomas at Goodyear Oval and will be given a special treat, according to the event’s organizers. Carleene Samuels stated that it was easy to get Singh to appear at Unruly Fest as she is “passionate” about St. Thomas and continually looks for ways she can connect with its residents. Unruly Fest is scheduled for Saturday, December 21, 2019. With Singh’s win at the Miss World pageant, all major beauty pageant titles are now held by black women, which makes her crowning a historic milestone.
THIS WEEK’S TOP CARIBBEAN NEWS
VENEZUELA PLANS TO RE-LAUNCH PETROCARIBE PROGRAM
The government of Venezuela is promising to re-introduce the PetroCaribe oil exchange program in 2020. The initiative has been inactive for almost two years. It was launched in 2005 to supply the Caribbean and Central American countries with crude oil from Venezuela. The crude was provided at preferential cost under long-term payment plans in exchange for goods and services like medical doctors and agricultural technology. PetroCaribe was of significant benefit to Jamaica, Haiti, and El Salvador, but shipments all nations other than Cuba were suspended, in part due to trade sanctions imposed by the United States.
THIS WEEK’S TOP JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS
LEGISLATOR IN NEW YORK SUPPORT DRIVER’S LICENSES FOR UNDOCUMENTED CARIBBEAN NATIONALS
New York State Senator Zellnor Y Myrie, whose grandmother came from Jamaica, is welcoming plans that will allow undocumented Caribbean nationals and other immigrants in the state to obtain driver’s licenses. In 2019, New York legislators enacted the Green Light Bill, which gives undocumented individuals the right to obtain driver’s licenses. According to Zellnor Y Myrie, the enactment of the new law represents a victory for the rights of immigrants and improves street safety.
THIS WEEK’S TOP BUSINESS NEWS
JAMAICAN GOVERNMENT TO FINALIZE DEAL ON TRANS JAMAICA HIGHWAY SHARES
The government of Jamaica is ready to close a deal to acquire the total of issued ordinary share capital in the Trans Jamaican Highway. The government will take the shares from global investors, and it will list the shares on the Jamaica Stock Exchange in January of 2020. This action has been described as the biggest IPO in Jamaica’s history and perhaps in Caribbean history. This will also b e the first infrastructure firm to be listed in the Caribbean region and is expected to enhance the sophistication of the regional market.
THIS WEEK’S TOP ARTS & ENTERTAIINMENT NEWS
WUEEN’S GOLD MEDAL FOR POETRY PRESENTED TO JAMAICAN POET
Lorna Goodison, Jamaica’s first female Poet Laureate, has been presented with the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth of Britain will present the medal to Goodson during a royal audience at Buckingham Palace in 2020. Simon Armitage, the winner of the 2018 Queen’s Gold Medal, is chair of the Poetry Medal Committee, had recommended the Jamaican poet for the award. According to Armitage, the committee was impressed by Goodson’s entire body of work and her reputation as a major author in Jamaica and globally. The award was established by Britain’s King George V in 1933 and is presented to an individual from the UK or a Commonwealth Nation.
THIS WEEK’S TOP SPORTS NEWS
YEAR ENDS WITH REGGAE BOYZ RANKED IN WORLD’S TOP TEAMS
The Reggae Boyz men’s national football team has finished 2019 among the top 50 teams in the world. According to the December 2019 edition of the FIFA world rankings, the Reggae Boyz are ranked Number 48. The team is also ranked Number 4 in CONCACAF. In order to get a place in the hexagonal round of the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers, the Reggae Boyz must maintain a position among the top six teams in the region.
