Hush yuh stink mouth! – Chief Whip regrets comment
[Trinidad Express] – OPPOSITION Chief Whip Dr Roodal Moonilal expressed regret over his “stink mouth” outburst in the House of Representatives yesterday, while MP Darryl Smith was reprimanded and a call made for Finance Minister Colm Imbert to apologise for insensitive comments.
While Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi was delivering his contribution to the budget debate at Tower D, International Waterfront Centre, Port of Spain, around 10.19 a.m., Moonilal shouted from the Opposition benches: “Hush yuh stink mouth!”
It is not the first time the utterance has landed Moonilal in hot water for the year.
Kush is Here
[Trinidad Express] – A 50 year old El Socorro man was arrrested on Saturday for alleged possession of $6,000 worth of ‘kush’ marijuana.
The suspect was arrested at his Martin Trace, El Socorro home, allegedly with 317 grammes of the marijuana.
Kush is a high grade strain of marijuana,originating in the Hindu Kush mountain region located in Afghanistan and northern parts of Pakistan.
Police said the suspect had been on bail, also for possession of illegal drugs.
PC Highly is continuing enquiries.
The exercise was conducted by members of the North Eastern Division Task Force (NEDTF) led by Sargeant Liston Taylor, supervised by corporals Quashie and Small, and included constables Antoine, Duncan, Voisin, Marshall, Gervais, Highly, Ceballo and Ash from the Morvant CID.
During the exercise an 18-year-old woman of Arima was also arrested for allegedly planning a $5,200 robbery in Morvant.
The suspect, of Pinto Road, was arrested at her home by members of the NEDTF and Northern Division Task Force during an eight-hour joint exercise.
Police said the suspect was held for her alleged involvement in a robbery in Never Dirty where an Arima man was robbed at gunpoint of $3,000, a gold ring valued $2,000, and a cell phone valued $200.
The arrest came after police had detained two other suspects on October 4.
Officers of the NEDTF received information about suspects – two men aged 20 and 35, at Woods Alley, Never Dirty.
They have since appeared before an Arima Magistrate and remanded into prison custody.
The female suspect remains in police custody and police constable Rambaran is continuing enquiries.
Financial sector urged to be watchful of new ganja industry
[Jamaica Observer] – The Government is calling on the financial sector to be watchful in ensuring that only clean money enters or passes through their systems from the new ganja industry.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator AJ Nicholson, who made the call yesterday, said the opening of opportunities in the industry also involved risks.
He was addressing the Jamaica Bankers’ Association/Jamaica Institute of Financial Services 4th Annual Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Financing of Terrorism Conference, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, in New Kingston.
The minister told the gathering that with the relaxation of the rules involving the use, possession and trade in medical cannabis related products, financial institutions “must adapt their rules and procedures to be consistent with the amendments to the Dangerous Drugs Act.”
“In so doing, they must continue to be vigilant to ensure that funds which pass through their institutions are acquired only through the regulated trade in cannabis and cannabis related products, which are legal,” he added.
Under the amended Dangerous Drugs Act, which came into effect earlier this year, provision is made for a Cannabis Licensing Authority for the purpose of enabling a lawful, regulated industry in ganja for medical, therapeutic or scientific purposes, and in hemp, to be established in Jamaica.
The Cannabis Licensing Authority is responsible for issuing licences, permits and authorisations for the handling of hemp and ganja, and for monitoring and regulating persons who have been issued licences, permits and authorisations. It is specifically mandated to ensure that regulations do not contravene Jamaica’s international obligations.
While citing several legislative measures that Jamaica has put in place to combat money laundering, Minister Nicholson said the issue is complex, and the collaborative effort of civil society, the private sector and Government “must continue to develop effective systems to respond to the challenge.”
Emphasising that the Government is keen on ensuring that Jamaica remains compliant in its international obligation to fight money laundering, the Minister said the “status is necessary to avert any negative consequence that stakeholders in the banking and financial sectors might face as a result of Jamaica being deemed non-compliant.”
The two-day conference is looking at the decriminalisation of marijuana and its impact on the Jamaican financial sector, terrorism financing issues, the cost of corruption, legislation dealing with money laundering, and other topics related to the financial sector.
Gunmen kill US missionary in Haiti
[AP] – An American missionary who had been working in Haiti for many years was fatally shot by gunmen in the impoverished country’s capital as she sat behind the wheel of her car on a residential street, colleagues and police said Monday.
Haitian National Police spokesman Frantz Lerebours said the attackers also kidnapped a 4-year-old child from missionary Roberta Edwards’ car after shooting her at close range. It was not immediately clear if the child was one of the roughly 20 youngsters who received foster care at the children’s home that she ran in Port-au-Prince.
“Investigators are working to find the killers and the kidnapped child,” said Lerebours, adding the incident occurred Saturday evening in the Croix-des-Bouquets district.
The Estes Church of Christ, based in Henderson, Tennessee, said the missionary’s car was intentionally blocked Saturday evening by another motorist. Armed men got out of the car, fired into Edwards’ vehicle and killed her.
The slain American ran the Sonlight Children’s Home since 2002, according to the Tennessee church that oversaw her work in Haiti. She also directed a nutrition centre that provided two meals a day, five days a week, to 160 poor youngsters, who also received funding for school fees.
Elders from the Estes Church said Edwards was a “light” to many and dedicated her life to bringing hope to the hopeless.
“It is our intention to honour her memory by continuing the battle against Satan in Haiti and pressing on in the work of God’s kingdom,” the group said in a statement posted on their website.
Friends say she was originally from North Carolina, but she had a home in Henderson and regularly returned to the United States from her Haiti base.
Burt Nowers, president of the Healing Hands International religious group in Nashville, said in a phone interview that Edwards was well aware of the challenges of working in Haiti’s capital and owned a handgun for protection.
“She knew it was a dangerous place and she took precautions. It just didn’t work out for her this time,” Nowers said, adding that Edwards first moved to Haiti roughly two decades ago with her Haitian husband, but the marriage didn’t last.
Nowers, whose organization worked with Edwards on projects over the years, said he was told that two older boys who received care at the children’s home were in the car with the missionary when she was attacked but they escaped harm.
In May 2014, another U.S. missionary was stabbed to death in Haiti’s capital. George Knoop, a 77-year-old elder with the Quisqueya Chapel in Haiti, was attacked inside his rental home and a computer was apparently stolen during the attack. The killing of the retired teacher from Chicago remains unsolved.
For decades, missionaries from across the globe have run hospitals, orphanages, schools and food-distribution sites in Haiti, the hemisphere’s poorest country.
