All candidates to be reviewed

Jamaica Observer

THE newly-formed People’s National Party’s Integrity Commission says monitoring party financing will be at the top of its mandate.

The commission was launched this morning at the Alahambra Inn in St Andrew.

The five member commission is made up of president and chairman Bishop Wellesley Blair, former chair of the Public Services Commission Daisy Coke, Cedric McCulloch, attorney at law and member Frederick Hamaty and former PNP senator Burchell Whiteman.

Today Blair outlined the commission’s mandate.

“In the short term, the Integrity Commission has placed emphasis on three specific areas party financing and financial reporting; the establishment of fit-and-proper criterion for candidate selection and the establishment of a code of ethics for the party,” he said, “Work has been advanced in all three of these areas. The commission has begun the process of fact-finding to submit recommendations on its findings regarding the processes and systems of party financing and financial reporting at all levels.”

He said all persons aspiring to represent the party in the future would come under intense scrutiny from the commission.

“With regards to fit and proper criterion, the Integrity Commission will interview all candidates who are making themselves available as the party’s representatives. The Commission has begun the process of interviewing prospective candidates who have made themselves available for service and representation,” he said. (Jamaica Observer)

Gunmen rob store, located next to police station

By COREY ROBINSON, Observer staff reporter, robinsonc@jamaicaobserver.com

GUNMEN this morning barged into the Bijoux jewellery store — located next door to the police station in New Kingston — where they held several employees and customers hostage before making off with an undetermined some of cash and valuables.

The owner of the establishment declined to speak with representatives from the media about the incident, but one male worker told the Observer that the thugs disguised themselves as customers.

“Is about three of them come in, the man them all a look pon jewellery and were smelling cologne before they started,” said the employee, noting that he stepped outside the establishment minutes before the robbery started to unfold.

According to him, the men brandished their guns and ordered employees and workers into a small room at the rear of the premises, robbing them of their cell phones and money.

They then opened the showcases and stole several watches and other items before fleeing in a waiting motorcar.

No one was injured, however.

The entire incident took about 20 minutes but the police, who are posted in a neighbouring building, had no knowledge of it.

Investigators are now observing closed-circuit television footage in an attempt to identify the bandits. (Jamaica Observer)

BY Joe Jackson, Simone Weichselbaum and Lukas I. Alpert
DAILY NEWS WRITERS

Bennett for News

Isidore Phillip Tisson (c.) scored the only goal in St. Lucia’s 1-0 semifinal win over St. Kitts-Nevis. He was shot and killed Monday night after celebrating the impending trip to the finals.

A St. Lucia soccer star’s jubilant victory celebration was cut short by a deadly .45-caliber bullet, fired execution-style into his car Monday on a dark Brooklyn street.

Isidore Phillip Tisson, 27, scored the goal that sent his country to the finals in a big tournament, then hit a Crown Heights club where he had the deejay give him shoutouts all night.

Headed home after 4 a.m., he had just stopped to buy some bananas when a gunman crept up and fired a single shot that crashed through his skull and hit the woman next to him.

“I heard the noise and then I felt the pain,” the wounded woman, Shawnette Justin, 24, told the Daily News in a bedside interview at Brookdale University Hospital. “When I turned to see what was wrong, I saw the blood coming from his head.”

Three other women in the car were unhurt. The driver stepped on the gas, but by the time they got to the hospital, the athlete was dead. “He didn’t say anything on the way. His eyes were moving a little, but then nothing,” Justin said. “I was holding his head, but then I couldn’t any longer.”

The motive for the murder of the team’s top striker was unclear.

Police were investigating whether Tisson got into a fight at Tropiks, the Utica Ave. nightspot where he and teammates went to party.

They were also looking into whether the violence was sparked by something that happened during the Digicel Caribbean Cup, which is being held in Brooklyn.

Tisson led St. Lucia to an improbable 1-0 victory Sunday over St. Kitts-Nevis, sending his team to the finals of the tournament, where it will play Jamaica.

While celebrating at Tropiks, Tisson did not drink but was the toast of the party.

“He went back and forth to the deejay getting shoutouts to himself,” Justin said. “How he scored the winning goal, how Jamaica best beware. Things like that. Maybe somebody was angry about that.”

Teammate Simon Polius, 32, said Tisson had been threatened about his relationship with Justin.

“One day somebody told him, ‘If you don’t leave her alone’ he would kill him,” Polius said. “She had a boyfriend back home.”

Justin, a schoolteacher in St. Lucia, insisted she and Tisson were just childhood friends and there was no former boyfriend in the wings.

Relatives said Tisson was a dedicated soccer player well-known in his country. He was unmarried with a 3-year-old daughter and had been in New York since May for the tournament.

“I feel that my whole world is falling apart,” his mother, Rosleyn Tisson, said by phone. “He was very serious about what he was doing.”

“It’s a day of mourning in St. Lucia,” said Tisson’s cousin Dani Hippolyte. “Everybody was rooting for him.”

A center-forward and substitute on St. Lucia’s national team in its 2010 World Cup qualifying attempt, Tisson was the team’s top scoring threat, said coach Martin Daniel.

“It was only the second time in 16 years that St. Lucia has made it to the finals [of the Digicel tournament],” Daniel said.

The match at Thomas Jefferson High School in East New York ended about 5:15 p.m. Sunday, and the team stayed around to watch Jamaica beat Barbados.

The players celebrated at the team clubhouse on Ralph Ave. before heading to the club.

Daniel said he could not imagine Tisson getting into a fight.

“He is very tall and big and gentle as a teddy bear,” he said. “Everyone is surprised.”

He said the team planned to compete in the final in honor of their fallen teammate.

“He loved soccer. By playing we would be doing what we could do best to honor him,” Daniel said.

lalpert@nydailynews.com

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/08/31/2010-08-31_caribbean_hero_killed_in_bklyn_st_lucia_soccer_star_shot_dead_in_car_hours_after.html#ixzz0yDIH5ahl

ISSUED AT 11:15AM

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, 31st August 2010 – LIAT wishes to advise its passengers of the possibility of further disruptions to its services as a result of the impending passage of Tropical Storm Fiona through the Leeward Islands later today and tomorrow.

All passengers with confirmed bookings for travel to Antigua, St. Kitts, Nevis, St Maarten, the US and British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Santo Domingo and San Juan on Wednesday September 1, 2010 should contact: from Antigua – 1-268-480-5582; toll free from the rest of the Caribbean – 1-888-844-5428 and from Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands – 1-866-549-5428; or their local LIAT office.

Additionally, passengers with evening reservations for Tuesday 31st August to fly to Antigua, St. Kitts, Nevis, St. Maarten, the US and British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Santo Domingo and San Juan are urged to contact their local LIAT office to enquire as to the status of those flights as it is possible that airport closures and stormy weather could force the airline to reschedule, cancel, or re-route flights into those countries later this evening.

Passengers are also advised to continue monitoring radio stations for further updates.

LIAT wishes to advise that the company is making every effort to ensure the earliest possible resumption of flights for persons displaced by the storms. However, there are likely to be some disruptions to today’s schedule as efforts are made to reposition passengers back to their planned destinations.

The Company will issue its second Advisory on TS Fiona at 4.30pm today.

LIAT wishes to advise that passengers who decide to travel but are unable to complete their journey due to disruption caused by weather conditions, will not be provided with meals, transportation, hotel accommodation etc. Passengers with onward connections are advised to contact the respective carriers. (Caribbean Daily News)

Word on the grape vine is that congratulations are in order for a certain star cricket player born on
St Lucian soil and his model girlfriend. Have we narrowed the search down enough for you? Yup… you guessed it! West Indian cricket player Darren Sammy is set to tie the knot with his girlfriend of several years Cathy Daniel.

Former carnival queen and winner of the 2009 Campari Caribbean Poster Girl Search Cathy Daniel and Sammy are expected to wed in a lush Caribbean island straight out of heaven next weekend—and by lush we don’t mean St Lucia. While hundreds of tourists flock to St Lucian shores to discover why the island has so many honeymoon destination accolades, Sammy and his bride to be will have an off island wedding.

Sammy confirmed wedding rumours this week but was tightlipped when it came to spilling wedding details. On the brighter side, the cricketer promised a post wedding exclusive so stay tuned! (St. Lucia Star)

ST JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer has called on residents to monitor the passage of Tropical Storm Fiona as the island emerged virtually unscathed from its close encounter with Hurricane Earl on Monday.Spencer told citizens that it may become necessary for the Leeward Islands to be placed under a tropical storm watch as Fiona was formed in the Atlantic on Monday afternoon.

The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that Fiona was located 890 miles east of the Leeward Islands and has sustained maximum winds of 40 miles per hour.

“Interest in the northern Leeward Islands should monitor the progress of Fiona. A tropical storm watch may be required for a portion of this area later this evening or tonight,” NHC added.

Spencer said that the passage of Hurricane Earl had resulted in no death or injuries and that more than 250 people had taken shelter at centers across the island.

“I commend those individuals and families, especially from low lying and flood prone areas, who heeded early warnings, and took the precaution to move to designated shelters, in order to avert personal danger,” Spencer said, adding “most of us are now without the convenience of piped water and electricity as APUA (Antigua and Barbuda Public Utility Authority)was forced to turn off supplies in keeping with the corporation’s hurricane operational procedures”.

Spencer said that APUA has given the assurance that it would restore water supplies as soon as possible and that while “electricity supplies will take longer to be restored as there are reports of downed power lines and poles. APUA personnel will be working hard to restore power as quickly as possible”.

“We are thankful that so far there has been no report of loss of life and minimal reports of damage to houses and other property,” Spencer said, adding that an assessment of the damage across the island would continue.

“We are thankful to God for sparing fair Antigua and Barbuda from greater damage,” he said, adding that he was also conveying “heartfelt sympathies to our neighbours in the Leeward Islands who might have suffered any damage, loss of life or injuries during the passage of Hurricane Earl. We wish for them a speedy and full recovery”.

In Anguilla, there were no reports of major structural damage but there were downed electricity lines and flooding in several areas. The British Overseas Dependent Territory is also without a water and electricity supply.

Seven radio station were off the air on Monday and a curfew is still in effect with the police urging citizens to remain at home. (Caribbean Daily News)

A TRUCK DRIVER had a scare on Friday after the load of lumber he was hauling almost caused the truck to tip over.

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Truck loaded with lumber leaning awkwardly.()

A TRUCK DRIVER had a scare on Friday after the load of lumber he was hauling almost caused the truck to tip over.

The driver, who declined to give his name, was making a turn in the vicinity of the traffic lights at Bank Hall, St Michael, around 1:30 p.m. when the weight of the lumber shifted.

He said the lumber caused the trailer to lift off the truck. The situation was brought under control only when the driver of a passing truck assisted him by driving his vehicle up and pushing the lumber back, thereby reshifting the weight.

The incident forced traffic to be diverted under the watch of officers of the Royal Barbados Police Force. (CA) (Nation News)

HAVANA – Fidel Castro has given new details of just how sick he was when he was forced to give up power four years ago, saying in a rare interview that he was weak, dangerously thin and thought at times he could not go on.

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HAVANA – Fidel Castro has given new details of just how sick he was when he was forced to give up power four years ago, saying in a rare interview that he was weak, dangerously thin and thought at times he could not go on.

“I was at death’s door, but I came back,” the former Cuban leader told the left-leaning Mexican daily La Jornada in an interview published yesterday – one of the most extensive he’s granted since stepping down four years ago.

His younger brother Raul now leads the country, though Fidel remains head of the Communist Party.

The elder Castro burst back on the scene in July after nearly four years in the shadows, using frequent appearances to warn that a conflict pitting the United States and Israel against Iran has taken the world to the brink of nuclear war. (AP) (Nation News)

CAN YOU help mefind answers to my questions?

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By: Michael Rudder

CAN YOU help mefind answers to my questions?

Did I hear correctly my constituency representative and the Acting Prime Minister say, during the recent DLP annual conference, that he was not the Minister of Finance? If it’s not him then who is? If there are decisions to be made by such a minister or documents to be signed, who is doing that job? “Not I” said the fly.

Which of two statements is correct? Mr Wayne Kirton, CEO of Invest Barbados, is reported in a lengthy PR interview in another section of the Press on Sunday, August 15, as saying: “I am on record as saying that bureaucracy is a serious hindrance to economic recovery and growth; it takes too long to get Cabinet’s plans actioned and to respond to investment proposals.”

Later in the piece he says, in response to the question about foreign direct investment, that there is a plan, first to meet the needs of existing international businesses, and he goes on “with a very targeted and well researched approach, exploring new markets, eliminating the delays and unnecessary bureaucracy affecting investors in the local environment”.

Is there a problem here with so called bureaucracy or not?

Finally, as he puts it, “waxing allegorical” he is speaking about the passengers on the ships on the current economic rough seas.

He notes, inter alia: “There will be passengers who refuse to believe they’re in the storm, passengers who panic, passengers who party on oblivious to the storm, and passengers who chip in and help keep the ship on an even keel. We need more of the latter and less of the former.”

Unclear position

I am lost. For a moment I thought he was on my side, recognising that we have too much partying, but he speaks of “the former (two?)” and “the latter (two?).”

I don’t know about you but I am sick and tired of the West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) and the West Indies Cricket Board’s (of non-control) (WICB) perpetual confusion.

Get new players

Is there a group of investors in the region that is willing to bite the bullet and appoint two or three well-intentioned former cricket greats to select a completely new team of Caribbean cricketers, leaving WIPA and WICB to continue playing their games before empty stands?

These men will, initially, be contracted only to the consortium, say for three years. They will play top state, provincial and county sides around the world. We expect them to win. Bonuses will only be paid if they win.

Do you agree that we need to bring back to the region pride in our cricketers? The region’s economies are fragile but the continuing squabble between the cricket rock and the cricket hard place can best be described as vulgar. Do you agree?

Yes, I agree with the right to associate but it’s time for change, verbal ping pong is not cricket, is it? (Nation News)