On the afternoon of Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 pedestrians spotted smoke coming from the upstairs of the Calypso Bar Building that is located behind the Inthing Plaza in Savanna la mar. An Alarm was raised and the Savanna la mar Fire Depart was alerted. By the time the Fire Fighters reached on the scene fire has engulfed the entire upstairs section of the building, however the Fire Fighter were able to keep the fire under control and stopped it from spreading downstairs.

JAMAICA’s Reggae Boyz will face South American outfit Peru in a friendly international in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on September 7, subject to US Soccer Federation’s approval for the promoters to proceed.

Both associations are said to have agreed to terms, “but we are awaiting the green light from US Soccer in granting permission” for the game to go on. “We have signed off on the game with Peru… everything is in place and we are only just awaiting US Soccer for the official go ahead,” said JFF president Captain Horace Burrell yesterday.

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SHEFFIELD, Westmoreland — Pastor of the Sheffield Seventh Day Adventist Church Vencott Dyer has blasted citizens who protect area dons and gunmen, saying that they are an evil to God and the nation.
“Today we live in a society where we honour the men who sling the guns and wield the machetes and where honest men are branded as informers, but unless the communities stand up, then this nation will not be better,” said Pastor Dyer.

He was delivering the homily at the funeral service for Corporal Omar Duncan, a 15-year veteran who was killed by gunmen last month as he investigated a burglary in the Ramble community in Hanover.
The pastor argued that citizens have made policing difficult because they have refused to speak on criminal activities.
He said it is unfortunate that society tends to remember the names of the dons that are dead but the unsung heroes, such as Corporal Duncan who died in the line of duty are usually forgotten in a matter of weeks or months.

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SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — The Westmoreland police have captured two Spanish Town men who were being sought by the St Catherine police in connection with last week’s murder of eight persons in Tredegar Park, Spanish Town.

According to a police source, the men were captured during the police early morning operation in West End, Negril on Monday in which two of their cronies were killed in alleged gunbattle with the cops.
According to the usually reliable police source, one of the two men in custody is a former resident of Tredegar Park but switched allegiance to the Klansman Gang and moved to live in Lauriston, Spanish Town.
The other suspect is believed to a driver who transported the marauding gunmen to Tredegar Park where they assassinated five men and three women.

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MYLERSFIELD, Westmoreland —LUCIUS Jackson is better known in Westmoreland for his exploits in sugar cane cultivation. But since the start of the year, Jackson, 69, has been turning his attention to his ‘old love’ — rice farming.

And while he is not contemplating coming out of sugar cane, Jackson, who successfully cultivated more than 100 acres of rice in the Mylersfield area more than two decades ago, believes that rice cultivation in sections of Westmoreland is still viable.

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GYPTIAN has usurped deejays Vybz Kartel, Shaggy and Sean Paul to become the most popular dancehall artiste in North America and third popular globally based on online searches, amidst the pre-release of his charting album. He is more popular than rivals in the US and Canada (the world’s largest music market) according to data from search engine Google analysed by the Observer. Over the last 30 days, every 100 searches for Gyptian saw a corresponding 67 for Shaggy and five for Sean Paul, zero for Kartel in the US.

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Popular dancehall artiste, Vybz Kartel, whose correct name is Adijah Palmer was detained under the state of emergency, after the police asked him to turn himself in . He was in custody for a little over two weeks, but was eventually released on Saturday July 17, 2010.

Now that Kartel has been released, his attorney, Valerie Neita-Robertson is seeking compensation for him. She believes that he deserves this recompense because the State overstepped its bounds.

According to Neita-Robertson, National Security Minister, Dwight Nelson, had signed an order on Tuesday July 13, 2010 approving the release of Kartel. She claims that despite this, her client was not released. She believes Kartel’s delayed detention caused him loose numerous contracts, and therefore he should be compensated.

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NEW YORK, USA — Several passengers on the ill-fated American Airlines (AA) plane that crashed in Kingston last December have filed legal claims against the airline, AA officials confirmed yesterday.

A total of 92 of the 154 people on board AA flight 331 on December 22 were injured when the aircraft overshot the runway in driving night rain, busted through a perimeter fence, crossed the Port Royal road and ended up on the beach across from the Norman Manley International Airport.

The aircraft broke into three, but there were no reported fatalities. Tim Wagner, the airline’s senior public relations manager, told the Observer that several passengers on the ill-fated aircraft had filed legal action against the airline resulting from the crash.

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What is inside sealed document 265 which was placed in Judge P Patterson’s vault, the presiding judge at the first hearing of the case against alleged shower posse boss Christopher Dudus Coke . Legal experts are speculating that contents of those documents, when disclosed could have major implications for the members of the Bruce Golding led administration.

According to the legal experts, the seal document could contain a super-ceding indictment, implicating influential Jamaican officials. Since last week unconfirmed reports have been circulating that some high ranking public officials and prominent businessmen implicated in drug running are wanted by Uncle Sam

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Agents from the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) yesterday seized a posh Mercedes-Benz motor car valued at millions of dollars from dancehall star Elephant Man in a bid to collect taxes owed by the entertainer.

The car was taken from an upscale home at Hillcrest Avenue, St Andrew, believed to be owned by Elephant Man, whose real name is Oneil Bryan.

While the car was being placed on a tow truck, Elephant Man, who has done several collaborations with R&B stars in the United States, remained inside the house with his advisers and did not speak to reporters gathered outside.

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