Myesha Broadie

Acting Head of the Area Four Police, Senior Superintendent, Michael Phipps has welcomed the State of Emergency, SOE declared in sections of St. Andrew.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has declared the condition of Jamaica’s roads a national emergency, and has announced an additional 2 billion dollars for road patching under the Relief Emergency Assistance and Community Help, REACH Programme.

Four contracts for the Government’s Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network (SPARK) Programme were signed today.

Telecoms provider, Flow, says its teams are working to restore service to several customers in the Corporate Area, following vandalism of some of its cables.

The first hearing of the judicial review matter involving Prime Minister Andrew Holness and the Integrity Commission (IC) has been set for January 7, next year. This follows the Supreme Court granting leave this morning to Mr. Holness and three co-applicants to bring a judicial review claim against the Commission and its Director of Investigations, Kevon Stephenson.

A total of 1,129 people were murdered in the country up to Saturday, December 21. This is 246 fewer than the 1,375 murders recorded in the same period last year.

Despite Christmas being just two days away, some St. Ann residents say they are not yet feeling the holiday spirit.

Residents in sections of Hopewell, Hanover will be under a curfew for the Christmas holiday.

Jamaicans are being urged to be vigilant against human trafficking this Christmas season.

National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, Diahann Gordon Harrison says the risk of trafficking increases during the festive season because there is usually a desire for material things. She says children, women and girls and migrant workers are vulnerable to human trafficking and may be targetted at holiday events or busy commercial centres.