Sunday January 01, 2006
The Prime Minister of Jamaica, PJ Patterson and the Governor General Sir Howard Cooke both spoke of the high level of crime as the country's most troubling problem in their New Year messages to the nation. The Prime Minister says the government is committed to ridding the country of criminals who are bent on destroying the country and has been introducing a variety of measures to deal with the problem. The Governor General appealed for additional private and public sector partnerships aimed at creating jobs and on the implementation of social support programmes.
The Prime Minister also spoke of Jamaica's commitment to regionalism stating that it will provide increased economic opportunities and employment at home and throughout the region through the Caricom Single Market and Economy.

Monday January 2, 2006
Jamaica’s cruise shipping industry will benefit greatly from the expansion of the island's two main ports in Ocho Rios and Montego Bay during 2006. President of the Ocho Rios Cruise Shipping Council, Michael Belnavis, said the upgrade of the Ocho Rios and Montego Bay ports is expected to ease the shortage, which has resulted in the island turning away cruise vessels because of inadequate space for berthing. Starting in June the world's largest cruise ship, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line's ultra mega vessel, 'The Freedom Of The Sea', is expected to bring more than 4,000 passengers, plus hundreds of crew members, to Montego Bay weekly.

The Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) says its main focus for 2006 will be integrated rural development and stamping out praedial larceny which costs the sector more than four billion dollars each year. The association will be lobbying for the government to remove General Consumption Tax from farm equipment and wants special tax incentives to be provided for companies that build factories in rural communities for processing agricultural produce. The Praedial Larceny Programme which involve the distribution of receipt books to farmers island-wide is to be implemented by the end of the first quarter of this year.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Single Market (CSM) took effect yesterday, January 1, with six of the 15 members of the regional bloc on board. The six nations, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago became the first full members to have completed the legal steps to participate in the trade accord. Another six nations of the 15-member Caribbean Community will join the single economy by the end of March. Other members of the Caribbean Community, Montserrat, which is a British territory, is seeking permission from the United Kingdom to become a part of the single market, Haiti has been suspended from the Caribbean Community because of its political turmoil and won't join the market, while the Bahamas won't join because of local opposition to a provision of the trade accord that allows skilled workers to move easily among nations.
The new chairman of CARICOM, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Patrick Manning has described the CSM as a significant step to regional integration. Under the trade accord, the governments lift tariffs among participating members, and all citizens can open businesses, provide services and move capital throughout the single market without restrictions. The governments will also replace national travel documents with a regional passport by 2007.

Tuesday January 3, 2006
The Spanish Town General Hospital in St. Catherine is to undergo a major renovation and facelift starting later this month. According to David Dobson, acting CEO of the institution, plans are now far advanced for construction of a modern accident and emergency unit and a new building to house the medical records department. Plans for further developments are also to come on stream shortly.

Between Monday night and Tuesday morning cabbage that was recently sprayed with a deadly toxin was stolen from two farms in Three Miles in Claremont, St. Ann. The stolen cabbage could be deadly. Consumers are begin warned to be extremely careful when purchasing cabbage.

At least six people have been murdered in the first two days of 2006. Last year 2005, Jamaica topped the list of the world rankings for per capita murders with a record high of nearly 1,700 homicides.

The Jamaica Teachers Association (JTA) which represents more than 20,000 teachers has submitted its wage and fringe benefit claim to the Ministry of Finance in anticipation of Memorandum Of Understanding’s (MOU) end . The association is seeking a 55 per cent increase over the 2006-2008 contract period along with a range of improvements in its members’ condition of service and expects the negotiations to be completed by the end of March.

Wednesday January 4, 2006
On Tuesday a group of policemen were on patrol in Downtown Kingston when they came under fire from gunmen. Reports are that the policemen took evasive action as bullets rained on them. A child was shot and injured in the incident. Residents of the area later went to the Central police accusing members of the force for the child injuries. Ballistics tests however, showed that none of the firearms carried by the policemen was fired. The policemen are now furious and are calling for the residents to be charged with public mischief.

A Haitian couple was intercepted and arrested by the police over the weekend in the southern part of Clarendon for smuggling in what is believed to be the drugs for guns trade between Jamaica and Haiti.

Thursday January 5, 2006
Resident of Slipe, St. Elizabeth attacked the police after the police fatally shot a wanted man who had reportedly pointed a firearm at them. The angry residents stoned the police party damaging three of their service vehicles. Eight persons including the Superintendent in charge of the St. Elizabeth police, and a TVJ cameraman were injured.

Former principal director of the Grande Central Cambio in Montego Bay, Adrian Armstrong who is wanted by the United States government on drug trafficking charges was ordered extradited at the end of his extradition hearing in the Half-Way-Tree Criminal Court on Wednesday. On May 25, 2004 he was indicted by a US grand jury on drug trafficking and money laundering charges. The United States Drug Enforcement Agency, (DEA), has accused him of having strong links with Colombian drug dealers and using his Cambios to launder drug money. The US agency claims it has evidence and tapes of telephone conversations which implicate Mr. Armstrong.

Of the 19 gates at the newly constructed concourse at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St. James, six are not clearly visible by air traffic controllers. Transport Minister Robert Pickersgill claims that there is no great cause for concern with the lack of visibility to all the landing gates. The air traffic controllers however are disputing the Minister's claims. They recommend a follow-me-truck system which is used overseas be implemented while the government makes provisions for a new tower,

Friday January 6, 2006
The St. Catherine Fire Department now only has one truck serving the parish as one of the two fire trucks assigned to the Portmore Fire Station was damaged by protesters from Lakes Pen on Thursday . The unit was in the area trying to extinguish fires which the residents had lit in the road when the windshield was shattered. Calls to the Portmore Station are being handled by units from the Corporate Area. The department has been receiving several calls about bush fires in the area.

The Integrated Ballistic Identification System (IBIS) , which was purchased for over US $1.4 million is finally in the island and is scheduled to be installed and ready for full commissioning by February 13. The main segment of the IBIS system which is expected to help solve the ever growing gun crimes in Jamaica will be sited in Kingston, while two smaller units will be located in Montego Bay and May Pen. The new high tech forensic system will allow the police to cross match shell casings, warheads and bullet fragments, linking criminals to crime scenes, boosting the overall crime fighting capabilities of the Force.

Saturday January 7, 2006
Between Friday night and Saturday morning seven more persons met violent deaths as the island's murder toll spirals out of control. This brings the number of murders close to 30 since the beginning of the new year 2006.

The St. Catherine Parish council, the Spanish Town Taxi Association and the police are determined to ensure that taxi cabs do not solicit passengers along Barrett Street opposite the Spanish Town General hospital but use the King Street Transportation Centre has the official point for taxis to pick up passengers travelling to the North Coast. Last weekend several robot taxi cabs were seized.