Former UN chief John Ashe charged with taking $1.3m in bribes
[BBC] US authorities have charged a former United Nations General Assembly president with taking bribes from a Chinese billionaire.
New York prosecutors said John Ashe “converted the UN into a platform for profit” as he helped real estate mogul Ng Lap Seng gain government contracts.
Mr Ashe is accused of taking $1.3m, spending the cash on luxury goods.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was “shocked and deeply troubled” by the allegations.
“In return for Rolex watches, a basketball court and bespoke suits, John Ashe sold himself and the global institution he led,” said US Federal Attorney Preet Bharara. “United by greed, they converted the UN into a platform for profit.”
Prosecutors say Mr Ashe used his position as permanent resident to the United Nations for Antigua and Barbuda and General Assembly head to introduce a UN document supporting a multibillion-dollar UN-sponsored conference centre that Mr Ng hoped to build as his legacy in Macau, where he lived.
WASA manager killed in driveway
[Daily Express Trinidad] – A senior manager at the Water and Sewage Authority (WASA) was gunned down on Monday night at his Diego Martin home.
Derek Hooker, a senior manager of operations in the north-west region of WASA, was killed in his driveway.
At around 7 p.m. Hooker, police said, was standing outside his home at Waterwheel Road speaking with a friend when a lone gunman approached them.
Police said The gunman shot him twice in the head, while the other person was unhurt.
The gunman ran off.
Hooker, a 54-year-old father of six, was taken to the St James hospital where he succumbed to his wounds at around 9.25 p.m.
Former head of communications at WASA Ellen Lewis said Hooker was an “exemplary worker”, and his death is a loss to the country.
Lewis, who is now head of communications at the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, said: “The country has lost an outstanding person. He was too good of a man. The management and staff at WASA saw him as an exemplary worker. His death is indeed a tragedy”.
Prisoner with strong obeah, remanded
[Jamaican Observer] – A prisoner accused of killing his cellmate was remanded in custody after he told the magistrate that his obeah is strong and that she cannot stop him.
“Dem try fi kill mi, so mi affi defend myself. U cyaa stop mi, mi science strong,” were some of the words uttered by Clive Tomlinson when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate’s Court recently.
The 23-year-old resident of a Rockfort address in Kingston, is charged with murder and is also awaiting trial on a charge of robbery with aggravation.
Reports are that approximately 7:35 am on June 13, the now deceased, Omar Nelson, and Tomlinson had a dispute while in custody at the Half-Way-Tree police lock-up.
Tomlinson reportedly used an object to stab the deceased in the chest.
He was rushed to the Kingston Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Tomlinson is scheduled to return to court on October 20.
