THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS STORIES

WOMEN REPRESENT SEVEN OF 10 RECIPIENTS OF THE ORDER OF JAMAICA AWARD
Seven Jamaican women received the Order of Jamaica (OJ), the fifth-highest honor presented by the nation, at the Ceremony of Investiture and Presentation of National Honors and Awards on October 17, 2022. They included Olivia Grange, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport; Olympian Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce; Audrey Sewell, Permanent Secretary in Jamaica’s Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation; Rita Humphries-Lewin and Professor Maureen Samms-Vaughan; and actress Sheryl Lee Ralph. Joan Duncan was awarded a posthumous OJ for her service to the banking industry. A total of 221 Jamaicans were honored at the King’s House ceremony for their contributions to their country, the first in-person National Heroes Day ceremony held since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

ASHLEY CALLS FOR COLLECTION OF “PROPER” DATA ON SCHOOL VIOLENCE PRIOR TO DECISION-MAKING
In response to growing public concerns about the reported level of violence in Jamaica’s schools, Dr. Deanna Ashley, the executive director of the Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA), is called for the collection of appropriate data and proper assessment of that data before making any prescriptive policies. Ashley noted that all the information available now comes from stories on social media and that everyone is “purely reacting.” To understand the reality of what is going on it is necessary to get “proper data.” Ashely is the former specialist in public health and head of hospital services in the country. In 2017, the Ministry of Education stated that there was a downward trend in school violence in Jamaica.

THIS WEEK’S TOP CARIBBEAN NEWS

CRISIS IN HAITI CONTINUES AS U.N. CONSIDERS DEPLOYING MULTINATIONAL FORCE TO MAINTAIN SECURITY
The Security Council of the United Nations conducted an emergency session on October 17, 2022, to address the widespread gang violence that is occurring in Haiti. According to the UN, Haiti is experiencing “catastrophic” hunger, lack of access to water and gas, and an increase in cholera cases. The United States and Mexico have proposed two resolutions that are before the Council. One involves the imposition of an arms embargo, which would place financial pressures on gang leaders, while the other would create a multinational, non-UN force under the UN Charter “use of force” provision to improve the security situation in Haiti and facilitate the provision of needed humanitarian assistance.

THIS WEEK’S TOP JAMAICAN DIASPORA NEWS

JAMAICAN-BORN SCHOLAR FEATURED ON BILLBOARD IN NEW YORK’S TIMES SQUARE
Victoria Horne, 17, who grew up in Mandeville, Jamaica, has been featured on the Morgan Stanley billboard in Times Square in New York City. Horne is a winner of the 2022 Morgan Stanley’s Jumpstart Lead Capstone Project. She came in first in the team project after completing the task of selecting a set of DI firms to serve as passive book-runners and co-managers of the $18.5-billion investment-grade debt offering from Amazon. Horne is the daughter of Norman Horne, chair of ARC Manufacturing Limited. She credited her father for her success, citing his support and guidance and insight as a businessman. The Morgan Stanley Jumpstart Lead program is a five-month high school learning program in the US in which scholars enhance their understanding of finance, wealth building, entrepreneurship, mergers and acquisitions, arbitrage, leadership skills, and career development.

THIS WEEK’S TOP BUSINESS NEWS

BARTLETT EXPECTS JAMAICA TO GAIN US$5 BILLION IN TOURIST REVENUES IN 2023
Jamaica’s Portfolio Minister Edmund Bartlett expects the country to realize tourist earnings of US$5 billion in 2023, a record amount. He is basing his prediction on the industry’s current trend in out-turns. Jamaica is also expected to receive some five million visitors in 2024. Bartlett made his remarks on the second day of the Jamaica Customer Service Association (JCSA) National Customer Service Week and Service Excellence virtual conference. The 2023 revenue prediction was made after seeing that at the end of 2022, earnings will be higher than US$4 billion. Bartlett also noted that the tourism industry has made a strong return from the negative earnings situation resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Since reopening after the pandemic in June 2020, Jamaica has received 5.1 million visitors and earned US$5.7 billion, he said.

THIS WEEK’S TOP ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

JAMAICA’S GEOFFREY PHILP RECEIVES SILVER MUSGRAVE MEDAL IN LITERATURE
The Jamaican writer Geoffrey Philp was awarded the Silver Musgrave Medal in Literature from the Institute of Jamaica in recognition of his writing excellence. Based in Miami, Florida, Philp was a student in literature classes taught by Dennis Scott at Jamaica College. Scott also received a Musgrave Medal and encouraged Philp to continue writing after reading his first attempts at poetry. Philp has authored more than 12 books of poetry and fiction and has been published in World Literature Today, Oxford Book of Caribbean Verse, and the Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories, among other publications. He was the winner of the Marcus Garvey Award for Excellence in Education in 2022. He also won a Luminary Award from the Consulate of Jamaica in 2015.

THIS WEEK’S TOP SPORTS NEWS

JAMAICAN RUNNERS FRASER-PRYCE, JACKSON AWARDED JAMAICAN NATIONAL HONORS
The world champion athletes Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson were presented with Jamaican national honors for their achievements in sports on National Heroes Day. Fraser-Pryce, 35, was awarded the Order of Jamaica, Commander Class for Outstanding Performance in the international field of athletics, while Jackson received the Order of Distinction, Commander Class for exceptional achievement in track and field athletics at the national, World Championship, and Olympic levels. Fraser-Pryce won her historic fifth 100-meter title in 2022 at the World Athletics Championship and is the first woman in history to run the distance under 10.7 seconds seven times in a single season.