Showing posts with label years. Show all posts
Showing posts with label years. Show all posts

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Absinthe"s New Year’s Eve Party

For yet another staging, Absinthe had a strong turnout at the New Year’s Eve event that was held at the Palisadoes Go-Kart Track in Kingston on Wednesday night.

With a well-stocked food court and several bars spanning the large venue, patrons partied the night away to songs played by Kurt Riley, Coppershot Disco and Dre Day.


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Absinthe"s New Year’s Eve Party

Christmas Comedy Cook-up- 11 Years of Laughter


Toronto-based comedian Trixx.

Eleven comedians will hit the stage in a celebration of 11 years of live laughter, as another staging of the Christmas Comedy Cook-up is set for the Jamaica Pegasus Grand Ballroom on Boxing Day, Friday, December 26, 2014.

Blakka Ellis, Ity & Fancy Cat, Christopher ‘Johnny’ Daley and Leighton Smith are among the comics getting ready to serve up delectable main courses in the annual feast of laughter. Extra heat in the kitchen and belly-busting chatter on the platter will also be provided via tantalising servings from the biggest breakout comic star of the year, YouTube sensation Wally British.

Adding international flavour to the eagerly anticipated end-of-year laughter cuisine will be the big man Mac Fingall from Barbados, Guyana’s King of Comedy Chow Pow and Ghana-born Canadian comic sensation Trixx

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and patrons are encouraged to get seated early for the extra ‘show before the show’ aperitif and appetiser in the form of pre-show entertainment, prizes, surprises and giveaways facilitated by host Dwight Ross. The main show starts at 7 p.m. sharp. Tickets are $3,000 at the door and limited presold tickets are currently available for $2,500 at major outlets around town.

A production of Ellis International, Christmas Comedy Cook-up 2014 is sponsored by LIME and Courts Jamaica Limited.


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Christmas Comedy Cook-up- 11 Years of Laughter

Friday, October 3, 2014

"Obamaphone" use grew 100-fold in 3 years in Maryland — to twice the eligible number

As many as 645,000 Maryland residents had so-called Obamaphones in 2012 — one hundred times as many people as there were in 2009, and double the number in that state who are supposed to be eligible for the program based on their income.

The program, officially called Lifeline, is run by the Federal Communications Commission and imposes hefty fees on every paying phone company to give free phone service to low-income Americans.

The profits to telecom companies from the free, government-provided phone service are so great that in Nebraska alone, 51 corporations, many of them who are not even traditional phone companies building infrastructure and attracting paying subscribers, fought for a piece of the pie.

That structure allows advocates to argue that it’s not a tax and doesn’t affect the budget, and lessens the extent to which the FCC is beholden to Congress.


Read more on WashingtonExaminer.com


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"Obamaphone" use grew 100-fold in 3 years in Maryland — to twice the eligible number

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Manchester robber gets two years

The Manchester police are reporting that 19-year-old Richard Whyte, otherwise called ‘Richie’, of West Road, Manchester, was convicted of robbery with aggravation when he appeared in the Mandeville Resident Magistrate’s Court last Friday, and sentenced to two years at hard labour.

This conviction stemmed from an incident that occurred about 10:15 p.m. on Wednesday, July 8, during which a Belgium national was robbed of her handbag, cellular phone, camera, and a quantity of cash while walking along Hargreaves Avenue in Mandeville, Manchester.

The matter was reported to the police who acted quickly and went to a location in Porus where a man fitting the description given by the complainant was seen and accosted. The stolen items were found in his possession and the man subsequently identified by the complainant.

The matter was expeditiously dealt with and Whyte was placed before the Mandeville Resident Magistrate’s Court where he was tried and convicted on July 10.

The victim, who has since left the island, has expressed her sincere gratitude to the police for their quick actions, which led to the recovery of her valuables.


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Manchester robber gets two years

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

After four years ... 13-y-o points out rapist to cops

Andr? Williams, STAR Writer

The gossip in a rural St Andrew community is how a resident living among them was pointed out by a teen ward of the state, who alleges that he raped her four years ago in another community and ran away.

THE WEEKEND STAR understands that police from the St Andrew North Division detained the accused man, whose name is being withheld, after the 13-year-old ward spotted him in the town nearby, where she is now placed at a girls home.

Our news team gathered that the ward was out on an errand in the company of an employee to the agency, and after seeing the suspect said, “Si di man deh weh rape me …”

Reports are that she was nine years old at the time of the alleged rape.

THE WEEKEND STAR was told that the employee then accompanied the ward to the nearby police station where a report was made.

A police team, with the ward on hand, went in search of the man where he was spotted.

Sources who were nearby the scene told our news team that the man attempted to run but was cautioned by the police.

When the suspect was accosted, the ward pointed him out on the spot and restated her claim.

The police subsequently took him into custody and when they made contact with the Spanish Town police, the area in which the alleged rape took place, the police in that division confirmed the accused had been evading them for some time.

A resident told our news team, “Mi say di whole community shock … di man come live and work amongst we and we never know dem ting ya … di girl (alleged victim) all know di man alias cause she call out him name and say yes … him lucky a police come fi him … nine year old, we nuh look pan dem age deh … him too wicked … a big talk bout di place …”

A source close to the investigation told THE WEEKEND STAR that the accused man was transferred to a lock-up in the St Catherine North Division on Wednesday.

THE WEEKEND STAR was also told by the senior officer that the Centre For Investigation Of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA) has been alerted regarding the developments.


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After four years ... 13-y-o points out rapist to cops

Monday, June 23, 2014

Michael Jackson: a provider 5 years after his death

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s been five years since Michael Jackson died, yet his career is more alive than it has been in decades.

Just last month, the singer moonwalked across a Las Vegas stage in a nationally televised hologram performance. A new album recently debuted at No 2 on music charts. And a travelling Cirque du Soleil show based on Jackson’s songs has logged nearly 500 performances worldwide.

The result has been an estate that has earned more than $600 million since the King of Pop’s untimely death at age 50.

Some of the earnings support Jackson’s three children and mother. Yet an analysis by The Associated Press shows much more has gone to erase the singer’s massive debts and to run the estate that powers his robust posthumous career.

As would be expected, the last five years have brought their share of change and adjustment for Jackson’s children, known to the world as Prince, 17; Paris, 16; and Blanket, 12. They were at their father’s rented mansion on June 25, 2009, when he was given an overdose of the anaesthetic propofol in his upstairs bedroom. And they were at the hospital several hours later when he was pronounced dead. It would take more than two years before Jackson’s doctor was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

A father who taught his children philanthropy, threw them lavish birthday parties and meticulously masked them from the paparazzi is gone. Michael Jackson, however, continues to provide.

Nearly $20 million had been spent to support Jackson’s children and his mother, Katherine, through 2012. Payments to the family have increased each year since June 2009, according to court records. Adulthood will bring a sizeable inheritance for each child.

In the meantime, lawyers have busily untangled Jackson’s finances, which itself has been expensive. Among the disbursements between mid-2009 and the end of 2012:

– More than $91 million on taxes and licenses, including $45 million paid to the federal government for taxes.

– More than $25 million in compensation for the estate’s executors, Jackson’s longtime attorney John Branca and family friend and music executive John McClain. The men receive a percentage of the estate’s earnings.

– More than $17 million to lawyers who represent the estate, Katherine and her grandchildren.

– Nearly $4 million to properly store and archive the trove of personal belongings and unreleased music that Jackson amassed during his lifetime.

While Jackson craved success, his priority in later years was his children. The trio is a large part of the singer’s legacy, and the music, dance moves and business pieces he left behind assure them a comfortable, if not care-free, lifestyle.

Jackson’s children live with their grandmother in a hilltop home in the celebrity enclave of Calabasas, home to the Kardashian family, Britney Spears and many others. The estate pays for private schools and tutors, a chef, private security and family vacations, giving the Jackson children the stability their father strived to provide.


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Michael Jackson: a provider 5 years after his death

Friday, January 3, 2014

Raging Prospect makes easy work of New Year"s Day trophy race

ON a day dedicated to honouring the fans of racing, Raging Prospect, under a collected ride from top apprentice Shamaree Muir, easily won the feature event, the Caymanas Track Limited Fan Appreciation trophy over 1,820 metres.

The five-year-old chestnut gelding by He’stherealthing-Raging Fury, after being close to the leader Miracle Star for much of the race, made a decisive move three furlongs out and was never in danger of losing, winning in a time of 1:55.1 minutes. Second went to Miracle Star with Exotic Gold third, but the second and third placing were later reversed by the stewards of the race meeting. Raging Prospect, who is trained by Fitzroy Glispie, won by eight lengths.All Correct, after only one appearance in 2013, returned to racing with a bang under the astute guidance of jockey Dick Cardenas to win the 1,300 metres (6 1/2 furlongs) New Year’s Day trophy event.Having spent most of his time on the farm last year, All Correct, trained by Wayne DaCosta, finally released some of his three-year-old promise with a dogged performance, as after being harassed for most of the stretch drive by the in-form Piscean Rocket, held on to win by a neck in a respectable 1:19.1 minutes. Princess Shaniel, who prompted the early pace, was third.The distinction of winning the first race of the season went to Safe Passage, ridden by champion jockey Dane Nelson and trained by young conditioner, Nicholas Edwards.The new year proved to be one of promise for apprentice rider Sadiki Blake, who rode the first winner in his career, which started in September of 2012, when he won on the 53/1 chance Pocket Money in the day’s ninth race, section two of the McKay Security Limited trophy.“This is a real joy for me. I have been trying for so long and I have waited and waited, then it happened. I am so happy, and what a way to start the new year. Ah happy, really happy,” an emotional Blake said after returning to the winners’ enclosure. The first section of the McKay trophy race was taken by Cause For Concern ridden by Richard Mitchell.At the end of the first day of racing for 2014, Dane Nelson rode two winners (Safe Passage and Valid Image), as did Omar Walker (Locked and Loaded and Anntrack) and Dick Cardenas (Double De Honey and All Correct).Champion trainer DaCosta saddled two winners, Double De Honey and All Correct. Raging Prospect as easy as can be with Shamaree Muir winning the CTL Fan Appreciation trophy at Caymanas Park, yesterday. (PHOTO: JOSEPH WELLINGTON)

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Raging Prospect makes easy work of New Year"s Day trophy race

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Wild Gilbert: 25 years later

IN the aftermath of arguably the most devastating natural disaster to hit Jamaica, Lloyd Lovindeer was inspired to write the song that became the biggest hit of his career.

That song, Wild Gilbert, was released in late-September 1988, just days after the Category Five Hurricane Gilbert smashed the country, killing 45 persons and leaving hundreds homeless.“I was surprised that the song took off the way it did because at the time there were other Gilbert songs released before mine. But Wild Gilbert was huge,” Lovindeer, 65, recalled last week during an interview with the Sunday Observer.Wild Gilbert is one of the fastest-selling singles in Jamaica, reportedly selling over 200,000 copies. Lovindeer, a former Kingston College student, had a few minor hits prior to Wild Gilbert.“Babylon Boops which came out in 1986, was my biggest hit up to that point. I also had other hits like Don’t Bend Down and Man Shortage,” he said.Babylon Boops was his response to deejay Super Cat’s smash hit song Boops. Its impact was nothing compared to the runaway success of Wild Gilbert.Lovindeer vividly remembers what he was doing when the hurricane hit.“I was inside the house watching what was going on, on the outside, when the idea for the song hit me. My satellite dish was destroyed during the hurricane. It was an experience.”He still resides in that house at Hope Road in St Andrew.Wild Gilbert was recorded at Dynamic Sounds in Kingston with the Riddim Kings as backing band and Lovindeer as producer.The rib-tickling number gave Lovindeer a national profile and set the pace for follow-up hits like Pocomania Day, which he did with Chalice.Lovindeer was born in Kingston but moved to Ewarton, St Catherine shortly after his parents migrated to England. He returned to Kingston at age 12.After leaving KC, he got involved in music when he and friends formed the Fabulous Flames song-and-dance group.Their first recording, done in 1971, was a cover of Neil Diamond’s Holly Holy produced by Clancy Eccles.After the Fabulous Flames split, Lovindeer moved to Canada, where he lived from 1976 to 1982.Back in Jamaica, he released The Blinking Bus, his first solo recording, on his TSOJ label.Lovindeer is busy completing The Land of The One Love People, a double album scheduled for release at the end of this month.It has collaborations with Judy Mowatt, Kip Rich, Goddy Goddy, Singing Melody, Tarrus Riley and Lady G.

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Wild Gilbert:
25 years later

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Ananda Dean"s loss still hurts five years later

In October 2008 the nation was rocked by news of the discovery of the decomposing remains of an 11-year-old girl who was found dumped in bushes in Cypress Hill in the community of Belvedere, St Andrew.

DNA tests and identification by relatives revealed that the body was that of Ananda Dean.The child had gone missing after she left the Swallowfield All Age School on Whitehall Avenue after the closing school bell rang.But that was almost five years ago. And for the little girl’s parents they are finding it hard to move on from that point.“Five years have passed but the pain has not eased. I have not gotten any closure. Each passing day you wonder what she would look like. However I am comforted by the fact that it was not her fault and she must be in heaven,” Richard Dean, Ananda’s father, told the Jamaica Observer.The child’s mother, Nardia Campbell is still under the emotional gun.“I find it very hard to explain, trust me. I was just looking at her picture. I will never ever be the same woman again. My daughter did nothing to deserve to be dumped in bushes, after them rape her. I can’t and will never be able to move on from there,” Campbell said.Campbell lives in an impoverished community which runs off Manning’s Hill Road and recently, as often happens in communities that fall in the lower social strata, she got into a tiff with another woman.As usual the woman held no verbal punches.“She cuss me and tell me how mi daughter dead and when dem find her she stink up the place. I couldn’t deal with it and mi almost chop her up and go a prison.” Campbell said.The child was last seen after receiving money from someone in the Whitehall community. She boarded a bus enroute to the bustling hub of Half-Way-Tree on September 17, 2008. The Half-Way-Tree Municipal Bus Park was the last place that she was seen.The following day, several of her school books were found miles away along a pathway in the community of Pembroke Hall, St Andrew.According to the child’s father, he could not bring himself to go and look at his daughter’s remains, even though he was told by persons who had gone to the scene that all indications were that the body was that of his daughter.“I never went there. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I wasn’t really afraid but I just couldn’t do it,” he said.After five years, homicide investigators have not closed the investigation into the child’s murder.Ananda Dean was raped and murdered. Her untimely death shocked the nation, but no one has been charged for her murder. That fact lies heavily on the minds of her parents.“It is hard to know that the person who did it is still out there. It can’t get any easier. I try to put on a brave face everyday. And when I look at her picture, as I do everyday, it brings back sad memories. This was a child that stuck by me she was always where I was and even now I feel like I want to stretch out my hand for her to hold when I am walking sometimes in my community,” her father said.Before Ananda’s gruesome demise, the police had a policy that dictated that only after 24 hours could any human being be considered missing, so for one complete day all systems were not ratcheted up to find the missing child.That same year, more than 700 children were reported missing between January 1 and September 3. And then, with their backs against the wall, the then Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Government initiated the Ananda Alert system.The Ananda Alert meant that police had to actively investigate cases of missing persons as soon as a report was filed, especially children.Campbell said that despite her child’s misfortune being used to highlight a national problem, enough is not being done to investigate cases of missing children.“It makes no sense to use my daughter’s name and say it’s an Ananda Alert. It’s just a name. The Government must stand up and do more for their missing children. Just having an Ananda Alert is not making it. You still have kids going missing all now,” the bereaved mother said.Every night on one of two local television stations an appeal is aired as a public service announcement trying to locate missing children and adults.Richard Dean watches with intensity these nightly reports.“I cry for all those parents whose children have gone missing. I feel their pain because I know what it is like. Sometimes I can’t hold back the tears,” he said.Dean has two other children and his spouse is expecting the birth of another child in weeks. Uncannily, medical staff have projected that the child will be born within days of the anniversary of Ananda’s death.“I want to live for my two other kids. She has a brother and a sister. Her brother was very close to her. It was like they were man and wife. It has affected him badly. His sister doesn’t show as much emotion openly but you know it’s there,” he said.Nardia Campbell has four other children, one of them a teenage daughter. To send them to school on a bus is a daily emotional barrier that she has to cross.“Everyday when mi send mi kids them to school on a bus mi a fret a wonder if the same thing ago happen again. People would not know how when these things happen to you how it affect you bad. I will never get over it,” she said.Campbell’s daughter is particularly shell-shocked and, according to her mother she is afraid of the outdoors.“Everyday she just scared of everything. I just have to guide her and be there for her, because I know what she is going through,” she said.Detectives from the Major Investigation Task Force are still investigating what could be described as a cold case.ADANDA DEAN … raped and killed in incident that shocked the nation. (PHOTOS: DWIGHT LEE)Richard Dean holds a picture of his slain daughter Ananda

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Ananda Dean"s loss still hurts five years later

Give us 3 years - Social partners expect drop in murder rate

IN the next three years, the framers of the Social Partnership Agreement, signed at King’s House last week, are expecting to realise a reduction in the country’s murder rate, its debt-to-GDP ratio, unemployment, and the average cost of energy.

They also intend for there to be an attendant improvement of the country’s GDP growth rate and its ease of doing business ranking.In specific terms, by 2016 murders should drop from the current 38 per 100,000 to 25 per 100,000; the debt-to-GDP ratio should go from 142 per cent, where it now stands, to 105 per cent; unemployment should go from 14.2 per cent to 10 per cent, while the average cost of energy should move from US$0.42/kwh to US$0.30/kwh.By then, too, real GDP growth rate should be between two and three per cent and the country should rank 75th of 185 on the World Bank’s Doing Business list. GDP is currently at 0.3 per cent, while Jamaica is 90th on the ease of doing business scale.The agreement, titled Partnership for Jamaica, was inked by Government, trade unions, the private sector, and civil society. The Opposition, while having representation on the partnership council, declined to sign the document.Members of the council acknowledge that these are ambitious targets, but argue that once there is buy-in from the wider Jamaica they are attainable.“I believe this is an ambitious agenda, but we believe that the circumstances are as good as they have ever been for us to join together as a country and we feel that we need ambitious targets,” Professor Alvin Wint told the Jamaica Observer yesterday at the newspaper’s Monday Exchange.Wint, an academia representative on the National Partnership Council, added that though the goals seem lofty, there is indication already that they are achievable.“The [targeted] reduction is not inconsistent with what we’ve seen,” he said, making reference to a one-third decline in the country’s murder rate over the last three years.Also on the subject of the murder rate, Wint used the example of Mauritius, located off Africa’s southeast coast, where he said the incidence was two per 100,000 population.“It’s an extreme example, I will admit… but that gives you a sense of why we can’t have a target to reduce ours from 38 to 36,” he said.“We’re very clear in our minds what needs to be done, but we also recognise that there is tremendous execution risk, tremendous implementation risk and this is one of the reasons why we want to address the country at large to get assistance. These are areas where we need a national focus in order to be successful,” Wint added.Wint, a professor at the University of the West Indies, was joined at the Observer’s discussion table by colleague Professor Neville Ying, president of the Jamaica Civil Service Association and a union representative on the partnership council Oneil Grant, and civil society and youth representative Kemesha Kelly.They shared Wint’s enthusiasm that the goals were within reach.“Some of the targets are very hard, but these are things we have worked through and we are not just putting things out there,” said Grant.The council is, however, not misled into thinking that achieving the targets solves the country’s problems as, “even if we achieve some of these targets, we’re still way off from where we should be”.A series of national consultations on the partnership, which has been in train for some 20 years, should begin in the next two months, the group said. Youth and civil society representative on the National Partnership Council Kemesha Kelly (right) talks about the importance of youth input to the success of the Jamaica Partnership Agreement. Kelly and fellow council representatives professors Neville Ying (second right) and Alvin Wint (third right), as well as Jamaica Civil Service Association President Oneil Grant were guests of the Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange. (PHOTO: NAPHTALI JUNIOR)

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Give us 3 years - Social partners expect drop in murder rate

Monday, August 5, 2013

Former dancer lives under Ocho Rios bridge for 20 years

PASSING by the bridge located close to the Ocho Rios Police Station along the Ocho Rios bypass, curious onlookers will notice well washed clothes on a line, or smell the aroma of food being cooked, as smoke rises from beneath the road.

But many will be surprised to know that that is where former dancer Lavern Edwards, also known as Bev, has called home for some 20 years now.“A long time mi live here. About 20 years,” she said.Edwards, who is originally from Clarendon, told the Jamaica Observer during a visit to her “home” recently that she has been living under the bridge after she became involved with drug-taking and wanted a break from the lifestyle.Living there has not been easy for her and it is no easy task to leave, as Edwards said all she has been getting over the years are promises with nothing coming through for her.Through storms, hurricanes, murky and clean waters, this is where Edwards has called home — and she does everything to make it just that. A visit to her ‘home’ reveals a shared space for three, Edwards, her spouse and a young man, who is not related to the two.The makeshift bedrooms with furniture and mattresses, along with a kitchen area, show that Edwards has been busy trying to make the best of her situation.The 59-year-old, who makes a living from doing the laundry of several people in the resort town and from gardening, however explained that life has been difficult for her.Living under the bridge has not prevented criminals from targeting her. In fact, Edwards, who now experiences discomfort getting around as one of her legs has been broken twice and the other fractured, said that she was pushed from the top of the bridge during an attempted robbery several years ago.The pains that she now feels reminds her of that encounter.Edwards also plants bananas, plantains and sugar cane along with ground provisions, and she too has suffered at the hands of praedial thieves.“Last year dem tief 17 banana and 12 plantain,” Edwards said.“Very rare you will hear someone say sell mi something,” she stated, adding that she loses more to thieves than she is able to sell from her small farm located in close proximity to the bridge.Edwards, who has a sound reputation for doing laundry, is often called upon by many, including vendors in the Ocho Rios market.“Sometimes when mi wash the things and put dem on the line, dem same one no know a dem,” she said.The Sunday Observer met one of Edwards’ customers during a visit to the place that she calls home.“She wash dem good and she need the money,” the man who has been using Edwards’ laundry services stated.Edwards said that she is a hard-working person and if given the chance to leave under the bridge, would do so.‘A several times dem light under here,” she said as she complained of the brutal attacks she has faced by fire.Some people have even removed her things when she is not there, she revealed.During the interview, she constantly wiped her right eye which is infected. She explained that this happened while she cleaned a section of the river near to the bridge as she tried to make her area comfortable.“Mi can’t stand in the sun. Mi have an infection in mi eye,” she stated.Edwards said that she would be happy to get a house, but is tired of promises.She said that several persons have visited her over the years and have promised assistance but nothing has been forthcoming.“All dem tell mi is dem a guh find place put mi and all now…” she stated.Edwards said that she has even been interviewed and her story published on local television.“All mi hear is ‘Bev you a celebrity; we see you on TV’,” she added.The mother of four, one of whom she does not know, said that her children help her when it is possible, but they are in no position to get her out of her predicament.Edwards said that she ended up in Ocho Rios several years ago after she left Kingston where she danced for years and came to the resort town to dance.“Mi a did head dancer; mi use to dress nine girls,” Edwards said.She said that she was also a songwriter and singer.She, however, admitted that becoming involved in drugs forced her to seek refuge on the streets so as to avoid conflicts. While on the streets, she decided to call under the bridge her home. The bridge under which Lavern Edwards has been residing for some 20 years. (PHOTOS: RENAE DIXON) twitterThe bridge under which Lavern Edwards has been residing for some 20 years. (PHOTOS: RENAE DIXON)Edwards shows her bedroom in a section of her home that she shares with two other persons.A section of Edwards’ bedroom.Edwards’ spouse is asleep in one of the makeshift bedrooms.

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Former dancer lives under Ocho Rios bridge for 20 years

Cleveland kidnapper sentenced to life plus 1,000 years

News

Thursday, August 01, 2013 | 2:05 PM

CLEVELAND (AP) — The Ohio man convicted of holding three women captive in his Cleveland house over a decade and raping them repeatedly has been sentenced to life without parole plus 1,000 years.Fifty-three-year-old Ariel Castro was given his sentence Thursday. He had pleaded guilty to 937 counts including aggravated murder, kidnapping, rape and assault.A plea deal struck last week spared him from a possible death sentence for beating and starving a pregnant victim until she miscarried.The women disappeared separately between 2002 and 2004, when they were 14, 16 and 20 years old.They escaped to freedom May 6 when one of them, Amanda Berry, broke out part of the door to Castro’s house and yelled to neighbours for help

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Cleveland kidnapper sentenced to life plus 1,000 years

50 years on from "I have a dream"

3 August 2013 Last updated at 12:59 ET  Martin Luther King waves to supporters 28 August 1963 on the Mall in Washington, DC This August it will be 50 years since the American civil rights leader Martin Luther King delivered his ‘I have a dream’ speech. What effect has that historic moment had on your life?


Dr King grew up in Atlanta under a strict system of racial segregation, which he described in a televised interview for the BBC in 1963.


On 28 August 1963 more than 200,000 Americans joined a march on Washington DC demanding equal justice for all citizens under the law.


On that day, the interracial crowd heard Martin Luther King deliver his famous speech, predicting a time when freedom and equality for all would become a reality in the US.


In 1964 Congress passed the Civil Rights Act outlawing all forms of discrimination against racial, ethnic, national and religious minorities, and outlawing discrimination against women in the US.


Here, the British Poet Benjamin Zephaniah explains what the speech means to him, including why he thinks it was made, how the audience reacted, plus an analysis of its delivery.


What impact has ‘I had a dream’ had on your life? Do you know anyone who took part in the march? Have you been involved in any civil rights protests or do you have any links to Martin Luther King?


Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.


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50 years on from "I have a dream"

Thursday, August 1, 2013

The Bahamas receive Olympic bronze 13 years after games

Sport

Thursday, August 01, 2013

NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC) — The Bahamas Olympic Men’s 4 x 400-metre relay team has been presented with bronze medals from the Sydney Olympic Games of 2000.The team of Chris Brown, Carl Oliver, Troy McIntosh, Avard Moncur and Tim Munnings received the bronze medals after the USA team, the original bronze medal winner, was disqualified.“It is for me to say to each of you, as you accept this award, that you really made it possible for younger ones to believe that they could do better and that they could compete at the level of the Olympics and the level of the world,” Prime Minister Perry Christie said to the team receiving their bronze medals during a ceremony at the British Colonial Hilton.“It was a defining kind of performance — a defining moment in sports — and I thank you for it.”The decision to award the medals follows lengthy deliberations from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) which ruled back in 2008 to strip the United States’ team of its gold medal after it was revealed that one of its members had used a banned substance prior to the games.However, it wasn’t until last August that the IOC reallocated the medals.The decision moved the Nigerian team to earning a gold medal with Jamaica and The Bahamas being awarded silver and bronze medals, respectively.“I want each of you to reflect on your contribution to athletics in The Bahamas and to see, as professionals, what you are doing now, and to hope that, in some way, you are able to give something back,” said Christie.Christie urged team members to travel through the Bahamas to encourage young children to pursue their dreams in athletics.He announced that his Government would embark on the construction of sporting complexes throughout the islands.“I am hoping that tomorrow my Government signs off on the first one in Abaco,” said Christie.

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The Bahamas receive Olympic bronze 13 years after games

Friday, July 26, 2013

Man released after 24 years wrongful imprisonment

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – A High Court judge, describing the 40-year jail term as unfair and illegal, has ordered the release of a 51-year-old man convicted of robbery in 1989.

Justice Joan Charles ordered the release of John ‘The Parrot’ Kalicharan, who had already served 24 years of his 40-year sentence for armed robbery.She described the case as “rare and unprecedented” and that the sentence was not consistent with past and present sentencing rules and guidelines. “Persons can only be sentenced in accordance with law,” she said, ruling that Kalicharan be released forthwith. She also ordered that he be paid damages for breaches of his fundamental rights under the Constitution. The damages are expected to be assessed by a Master of the High Court. In his constitutional motion, Kalicharan submitted that his trial was unfair and unconstitutional because he was prevented from calling four witnesses and obtaining police records, which would have proved he was in custody at the time of the robbery.“It was 24 long years I spend inside there. I happy to finally get justice,” said Kalicharan, a singer and musician who said he planned to revive his career.“I am a soca artist. My plan now is to pursue my career and get my life back together,” he told reporters.In 1989 Justice Aeneas Wills sentenced Kalicharan, who was convicted of four charges of armed robbery out of a single incident, to four 10-year prison terms which were to run consecutively.As part of the sentence, Justice Wills also ordered that Kalicharan should receive 30 strokes with the birch.  In his evidence, which was not contested by the State, Kalicharan said while serving his sentence he was placed on Death Row for three years. He also said a month after being convicted he was tricked by a prison officer into discontinuing his appeal.Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

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Man released after 24 years wrongful imprisonment

Monday, July 8, 2013

Broadcaster Whyte, co-accused sentenced to 14 years each

Latest News

Monday, July 08, 2013 | 1:27 PM

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Broadcaster Wayne White and his co-accused Safari Farr were Monday morning sentenced to 14 years each in the High court division of the gun court.Wright and Farr were charged for shooting and injuring Jody-Ann Gray at her Portmore home last year.It is reported that Gray was about to exit her car when she was pounced on by a man who shot her in her face and arm.The man escaped in a waiting motor car driven by Whyte that was intercepted by the police.Gray who allegedly had an intimate relationship with Whyte was pregnant at the time of the shooting.Last month, Whyte and Farr pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition when they appeared in the Gun Court.The sentencing of both men, who have been in custody since April 2012, was postponed from Friday.Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

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Broadcaster Whyte, co-accused sentenced to 14 years each

Mystic Mountain celebrates five years

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Monday, July 08, 2013

HUNDREDS of patrons turned out for Mystic Mountain’s fifth anniversary celebration, proceeds of which will go towards supporting the Great Faith Basic School in Exchange, St Ann, which has been adopted by the attraction.The event, dubbed Appleton Mystic Fantasies, was all about fun and excitement.Mike Drakulich, managing director, said it took approximately 15 years for the idea for Mystic Mountains to be developed, 10 years for the facility to be completed and now five years in operation.Drakulich who was speaking at a press launch, held prior to the anniversary party, said he was happy with the response received from persons visiting the facility, many of whom have described to the attraction as “First-World”.Persons who bought a ticket to the party are also able to enjoy the attraction as each ticket purchased guarantees free admission to Mystic Mountain.Staff members of Mystic Mountain and sponsors of the Appleton Mystic Fantasies pose for a photo.

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Mystic Mountain celebrates five years