THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS STORIES
JAMAICA’S MURDER RATE DROPS BY 44 PERCENT IN FIRST WEEKS OF 2019
Radio Jamaica reported that inn the first two weeks of 2019 the murder rate in Jamaica dropped by 44 percent compared to the same period in 2018. The report was based on provided by Police Crime Statistics. When the figures are adjusted to reflect a similar number of days, the rate of decrease was 44 percent, placing the number of murders at fewer than 1,000 per year if the trend continues.
URBAN TRANSIT AGENCY INVESTIGATES DEPOT SECURITY BREACH
The Jamaica Urban Transit Company Limited (JURC) has launched a wide ranging investigation into an incident in which a former staff member drove a bus away from one of the depots in December 2018. The ex-staff member crashed into an automobile in Grants Pen in St. Andrew on December 23. There were no injuries associated with the crash. The JUTC reported that a bus had mechanical problems and the driver permitted the ex-employee to drive the bus back to the depot. While there, he gained access to another bus and drove it out of the compound minus required security and operational clearances. The JUTC views the incident as “a very serious” beach of security.
THIS WEEK’S TOP CARIBBEAN NEWS
INAUGURAL WORLD UNIVERSITY TWENTY20 TOURNAMENT LAUNCHED
At the St. Augustine Campus of World University in Trinidad the first World University Twenty20 Tournament began. It runs from January 10 through 20, 2019. Organizers from the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Caribbean Professional League (CPL, and the University of the West Indies (UWI) Faculty of Sports partnered to host the inaugural event. According to Johnny Grave, CWI’s CEO, the collaboration offers an opportunity for future players in the West Indies to test themselves against university teams from around the global and help them gain experience in team-building under pressure.
THIS WEEK’S TOP JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS
25 YEARS OF PENN RELAYS MARKED BY TEAM JAMAICA BICKLE
Team Jamaica Bickle (JTB), which is based in Queens, New York, feeds and supports athletes from Jamaica and the Caribbean at the Penn Relays held at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. JTB launched its 25th anniversary of the Relays Carnival on January 8, 2019, in a ceremony at the Consulate General of Jamaica in Manhattan. Lisa Bryan-Smart, Depute Counsel General, praised the organization as “dynamic” and for contributing “so much” for the athletes over the years. She noted that in Jamaica sports represents one of the nation’s greatest assets and of significant cultural value in making the country known worldwide.
THIS WEEK’S TOP BUSINESS NEWS SUMMARY
BANK OF JAMAICA USES REGGAE TO TEACH MONETARY POLICY
Jamaica’s central bank is using a series of reggae-inspired music videos on Twitter to educate people about inflation and monetary policy. Jamaica has had to deal with very high levels of debt in recent times, and the videos, which are the idea of Tony Morrison, the public relations director at the bank, have been described as “whimsical, educational, and delightful. An example of the concept can be seen it some of the lyrics: “Low and stable inflation is to the economy what the bass line is to reggae music.” And “Inflation’s not the enemy if we control it. If it’s too high, the people will cry.” The Bank of Jamaica wants people to understand its efforts to keep inflation under control and hopes this approach will help it to do so.
THIS WEEK’S TOP ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
WEBSITE OF BUJU BANTON CRASHES FROM HIGH TICKET DEMAND
In spite of efforts by organizers to assure the public that they would be able to buy tickets to Buju Banton’s Jamaican leg of his first concert tour following his release from prison, the Long Walk to Freedom Tour, at his website and that the website would be able to handle the demand, bujubanton.com shut down shortly after it went live. Tickets went on sale at 11 in the morning, but just minutes afterward, the site crashed. The site to which fans were redirected also had difficulties handling the demand. It is relatively common for large concert websites to go down in similar situations of great demand for tickets.
THIS WEEK’S TOP SPORTS NEWS
BRIANA WILLIAMS NOMINATED TO RECEIVE LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS AWARD
Jamaican sprint star Briana Williams was nominated to receive the prestigious Laureus World Sports Award. The awards ceremony will be held in February 2019. Williams, 16, had an exceptional break-out performance year in 2018 and consequently has been nominated for the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year. Williams said she was “extremely excited” about the nomination. She won the sprint double at the IAAF U20 Championships in 2018 in Finland, achieving a new personal best and championship record time of 22.50 seconds in the 200 meter competition.
