Your news in a nutshell
- Kartel appeal underway
- Ja advised to standardise ganja
- Asset swap for UWI debt
- J’cans working in CARIOCOM states can bring dependents
- Indie Pharma IPO seeks 387m
- Methodists first local female head in 229yrs
1. Kartel appeal underway
Lawyers for popular entertainer Vybz Kartel are contending that the judge who presided over his murder trial erred when he allowed prosecutors to use text messages and video evidence collected from his cell phone. See full story on The Gleaner’s website.
2. Ja advised to standardise ganja
Dr Cliff Riley, executive director of the Scientific Research Council, says that while Jamaica likes to boast about its high-quality marijuana, popularly referred to as ganja, there is no precise or settled definition of what that means. Riley also pointed to a lack of adequate research around marijuana, some of which, he noted is the legacy of cultural practices, but also a basic lack of trust between parties. See full story on The Gleaner’s website.
3. Asset swap for UWI debt
The Vice Chancellery of the University of the West Indies (UWI) reported on Friday that governments of the region are making arrangements to settle debt owing to the institution, estimated at around US$200 million, in cash and kind. The update follows the appointment in February of CARICOM’s lead head for human resource development, Dr Timothy Harris, the prime minister of St Kitts-Nevis, to resolve the debt owed amid UWI’s faltering finances. See full story on The Gleaner’s website.
4. J’cans working in CARICOM states can bring dependents
Jamaica is among six Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states that signed the Protocol on Contingent Rights last Friday. The contingent rights measure will allow for persons who work across the region to have their spouses and children join them in those jurisdictions. See full story on The Gleaner’s website.
5. Indies Pharma IPO seeks 387m
Montego Bay-based pharmaceutical company Indies Pharma Jamaica Limited plans to raise $387 million in its initial public offering of shares on the junior market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, amid plans to expand regionally. See full story on The Gleaner’s website.
6. Methodists appoint first local female head in 229yrs
Following in the footsteps of the Reverend Karen Kirlew, the first woman appointed as president of the Jamaica Baptist Union, Bishop Christine Gooden-Benguche has been appointed the first female president of the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas, Jamaica District. See full story on The Gleaner’s website.
