St James Exceeds New York City's Murder Tally For 2017

St James with an estimated population of 180,000 people last year recorded more murders than the United States city of New York, home to 8.5 million people.

The New York Daily News reports that there were 290 murders  across the city in 2017, the lowest in 70 years and 45 fewer than last year.

By comparison, the parish of St James saw a  record 332 murders last year.

This is 67 more murders than were reported in 2016.

St James is home to some of the Jamaica's most luxurious resorts.

Overall, Jamaica recorded close to 1,570 murders last year, an increase of just over 20 per cent when compared with the 1,350 reported in 2016.

The New York Daily News reports that the murder tally for 2017 is a  61 per cent decrease from two decades ago, when there were 746 killings across New York City.

According to the newspaper, murders peaked in New York City in 1990 when 2,245 homicides were recorded.

That number included the 87 lives lost in an inferno set by an arsonist at a social club in the Bronx.

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Jamaica A Failed State

Over the past seven (7) days over thirty people have been shot and killed in Jamaica. The police and the military seems helpless. Most of the killings are taking place in the Montego Bay area, the question on everybody lips is who next.

These gunmen shoot at random they don't care who they shoot, the prime minister Andrew Holiness was on a tour in the Montego Bay Area with members of the police and military in attendance. While they where touring the trouble parts of the second city gunmen where still killing.

It is sad to say that Jamaica is a Failed State but with the high level of murders and corruption that,s the only conclusion. 

What the solution, that's the number one question it seems everyone has run out of options everything that has been tried have failed. Operation Ardent FAILED, Kingfish FAILED and now MOCA FAILED.

Below Shooting at Gas Station In Montego Bay St. James Jamaica.

Both the PNP and the JLP has FAILED, people are running away from Jamaica like how people are running away from Syria.

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THOUSANDS OF JAMAICANS WANTED IN NORTH AMERICA FOR LOTTERY SCAMMING

Thousands of Jamaicans are under investigation as United States law-enforcement officials collaborate with local police to break the back of the lottery scam and other telemarketing crimes.

Under Project JOLT (Jamaican Operations Linked to Telemarketing), an international task force comprised of agents and officers focused on combating Jamaica-based telemarketing fraud operations, 26 Jamaicans have been already indicted in the US District Court of North Dakota on 60 counts of money-laundering conspiracy.

In April, US authorities put in a request for 14 extraditions, following which eight people were arrested in a massive operation in Montego Bay and are currently awaiting the finalisation of their court proceedings.

Six are, however, still on the run, including the alleged leader of the organisation, Lavrick Willocks.

According to a senior US Embassy official, who did not wish to be named, this is just the tip of the iceberg, as hundreds of other Jamaicans are being investigated.

"There are hundreds of active investigations, or even thousands. There are dozens of cases where hundreds of individuals are very close to prosecution with the JOLT task force, and thousand more individuals are currently under investigation for their criminal activities," the official said.

"There have been hundreds of prosecutions, and for every one prosecution or arrest there are two or three other persons that are close to being arrested or close to being charged, and five or six other people who are persons of interest. So we are looking at thousands of people."

In 2012, C. Steven Baker, a Chicago-based director with the US Federal Trade Commission, told the Associated Press that Jamaica's scammers could be bilking Americans out of $1 billion a year.

The scammers are believed to have various methods of selecting their prospective victims.

Some are said to purchase legitimate telemarketing list and sort through based on people's ages, and make hundreds of phone calls daily seeking out the most vulnerable.

The latest Federal Bureau of Investigation arrest notice identifies 27-year-old Willocks' five cronies as being Mario Hines, 23; Akil Gray, 26; Gregory Gooden, 34; Tristan Fisher, 29; and Gareth Billings, 37.

They are accused of bilking approximately 80 elderly Americans out of more than US$5.5 million, in what is described as "an international lottery fraud scheme" that ran for just over six years.

The US official said Willocks is considered to be the mastermind as well as the most dangerous of the men at large.

"What we are worried about is that the Willocks' organisation and Willocks himself, along with the five alleged criminals, are at large here in Jamaica and could potentially bring a lot of violence to whichever community they are hiding out in," said the embassy official.

"If you look at what's going on in Montego Bay, scammers know that the Willocks organisation is on the run and they see it as vulnerable. A lot of the violence is scammer-on-scammer violence, and now that they see this organisation as potentially weak because it is under criminal indictment, who knows what might happen."

As part of the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, which is one pillar of America's security strategy focused on citizen safety throughout the hemisphere, the US has spent tens of millions of dollars with the main focus being on combating the lotto scamming and other transnational crimes.

"By the time people have become armed and dangerous and are this deep into lotto scamming, the only solution is for them to face justice," the embassy official said.

"We have seen the criminal-minded at all levels of society and in all different institutions; all ages participate in the scam."

The US Embassy official, who described the level of cooperation received from local law enforcement as unprecedented, believes it is very unfortunate that the country has a crime named after it.

"Because there are scammers operating in other CARICOM nations, but what do people call it? They call it the Jamaican lottery scam. It is never good to have a national brand connected to a crime," the US Embassy official emphasised.

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Second Medical Doctor Has Died From Swine Flu In Jamaica.

A next medical doctor has died from H1N1 (Swine Flu) related complications.

Doctor, Denise Duncan Goffe, is the sixth person to have died since the virus was first reported here in January and the second doctor to have died from the virus.

Duncan Goffe, who was over 60 years old, had been admitted to the University Hospital of the West Indies.

Chief medical officer, Dr Winston De La Haye, says she was in the high-risk group as she had other complications.

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Zika Virus Increase In Jamaica Three (3) New Cases Confirm

Zika Virus Pic

The Ministry of Health i Jamaica has confirmed three additional cases of Zika virus infection, bring to four the number of affected persons in Jamaica, to date.

Two of the infected persons are from Christian Pen and Greater Portmore, St. Catherine, while the other is from Lyssons, St. Thomas.

The first Zika case was confirmed in February 2016.

Doctors have linked the Zika virus to microcephaly which is the abnormal smallness of the head of infants which is associated with incomplete brain development. 

The zika virus is cause from the bite of the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, please avoid mosquito bites.

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South To North Coast Toll Rate Proposed Are As High As 3700

The Toll Authority has put Out the proposed rates for the North-South link of Highway 2000 which runs from Caymanas in St Catherine to Ocho Rios/Mammee Bay, St Ann.

The Rates Are As Follows:

Angels to Caymanas
Class One: $180
Class Two: $350
Class Three: $520
Class Four: $80

Linstead to Caymanas
Class One: $500
Class Two: $1000
Class Three: $1,500
Class Four: $250

Unity Valley to Caymanas
Class One: $800
Class Two: $1600
Class Three: $2450
Class Four: $400

Lydford to Caymanas
Class One: $1000
Class Two: $1,980
Class Three: $2,980
Class Four: $500

Ocho Rios to Caymanas
Class One: $1220
Class Two: $2,450
Class Three: $3,700
Class Four: $600

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Jamaican Government ministers ridiculous High Phone Bills

Are the Jamaicans politicians spending too much time on the phone talking, or is that they simple don't care when spending tax payers money. Lets take a serious look at the last Government Ministers telephone bills and see.

Foreign Affairs State Minister Arnaldo Brown's bill for the year was the highest.
The Junior Minister, who roams on his foreign trips, had a $1.09m cell phone bill for the twelve months.

For June this year alone, Mr. Brown's cell phone was 410-thousand dollars.
He recorded $150,000 in October last year and 170-thousand dollars in December.

His senior minister AJ Nicholson calls cost $230,000 for the year.... about a quarter of his junior's cell phone bill.
The next highest bill was that of  Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell...at over 930-thousand dollars.
He has two cell phones.
For one month, Mr. Paulwell's Digicel phone bill was $116,000.

His junior minister Julian Robinson cell phone bill for the year was $76,000.
Health Minister Dr. Fenton Ferguson and Environment Minister Robert Pickersgill inched close to $800,000 in talk time.

Dr. Ferguson with this two cell phones totalled  $749,000 for the year.
Mr. Pickersgill charge was $791,000...except his ministry submitted only 11 bills.
In June this year, Mr. Pickersgill's cell phone bill was $142,000.

The same ministry spent  $110,000 on junior minister Ian Hayles account for the entire year.
But from January to May this year, that account was in credit to the tune of $48,000 dollars because the ministry had apparently overpaid the bill.     The ministry says it had overpaid in January...though it is said by $18,000.

 With two phones, Tourism Minister Wykeham McNeil's cell phone bill for the was almost half a million dollars... but again only 11 bills.
In one month talk charges were $153,000.
His junior minister Damion Crawford's cell phone will was $364,000. In February, his bill was $180,000. 

Local Government Minister Noel Arscott's bill was $289,000 and junior Colin Fagan's $200,000 for ten months. Transport, Works and Housing and its two cabinet ministers and one state minister combined for over $400,000 bill.

Richard Azan's cell phone bill was $53,000 for entire year.

Youth Minister Lisa Hanna's bill was low relatively compared with the others...$45,000.
Mark Golding, the Justice Minister, does not have a government mobile phone assigned to him.
Of the records we received, National Security 

Minister Peter Bunting $32,000 bill was the lowest. Of note too is that his monthly bill cell phone bill remained at also $2,700.
The ministries of Finance, Education and Labour and Social Security have not responded.
The Agriculture, Investment, Industry and Commerce ministries have promised to provided their bills shortly.

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Can Andrew Holness And the JLP Live Up To There Promises

A lot is expected of newly elected prime minister of Jamaica Andrew Holness, the JLP won the election by a very close margin 32 to 31 seats.

The JLP in there election manifesto  promise  the Jamaican workers a income tax relief by increasing the free-pay threshold to 1.5 million Jamaican dollars. What this means is that employees who earn 1.5 million and under will not pay income tax. 

This move by the JLP will decrease the amount of revenue the government collects, the words on every well thinking Jamaican lips is what will replace the shortfall of revenue from this political move.

I personally think that too much is expected of the newly elected government , base on the expectations from the Jamaican people Mr Andrew Holness needs a magic wand . So when he swings it all of Jamaica's problems will disappear.

Jamaica have a ridiculous crime problem, more than 1200 Jamaicans are been murdered each year and the police force seems helpless. We have a sliding dollar than has little or no value against major foreign currency like the United States Dollar.

Our health sector is a disgrace with the zik v and the swine flu epidemic our major hospitals.    

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St James High Male Teacher found Dead With Note beside Is Body

The police are now working to apprehend the killer or killers of a St James High School teacher whose decomposing body was discovered at his home here yesterday morning.

The dead teacher has been identified as 53-year-old of Dexter Dacres of New Haven Heights, Granville, Trelawny.

A source at the scene said that among the things removed from the house yesterday morning was a note that read:"I killed him because he tried to rape me".

Condoms and lubricants were also said to be found in the English language teacher's bedroom.

According to the police, they were summoned to the swanky New Haven Heights, Trelawny neighbourhood, by residents, who detected a stench coming from the home of the teacher yesterday morning.

Upon their arrival, the cops discovered the decomposing body, with multiple stab wounds, wrapped in a sheet.

The body was removed to the Doyley's Funeral Home.

The teacher was said to have been last seen on Saturday in the company of a boy who he said was a relative of his, residents say.

The  police are probing the incident.

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US Captures Top IS Chemical Arms Engineer

US speciaL forces captured the head of the Islamic State group's unit trying to develop chemical weapons in a raid last month in northern Iraq, Iraqi and US officials told the Associated Press, the first known major success of Washington's more aggressive policy of pursuing IS militants on the ground.

The Obama administration launched the new strategy in December, deploying a commando force to Iraq that it said would be dedicated to capturing and killing IS leaders in clandestine operations, as well as generating intelligence leading to more raids.

US officials said last week that the expeditionary team had captured an Islamic State leader but had refused to identify him, saying only that he had been held for two or three weeks and was being questioned.

Two Iraqi intelligence officials identified the man as Sleiman Daoud al-Afari, who worked for Saddam Hussein's now-dissolved Military Industrialisation Authority where he specialised in chemical and biological weapons. They said al-Afari, who is about 50 years old, heads the Islamic State group's recently established branch for the research and development of chemical weapons.

He was captured in a raid near the northern Iraqi town of Tal Afar, the officials said. They would not give further details. In Washington, US officials confirmed al-Afari's identity.

The officials, who both have first-hand knowledge of the individual and of the IS chemical programme, spoke on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to talk to the media. No confirmation was available from US officials.

A US official said yesterday that one or more follow-up airstrikes were conducted against suspected IS chemical facilities in northern Iraq in recent days.

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Three Men Killed Over Cellphone In Montego Bay St James.

Cook shop operator, Tyrone Hinds, Michael Holder and a man identified as DJ Davil, who operated a sound system, were shot dead at the cook shop around 1 o'clock.

Head of the St. James Police, Senior Superintendent, Steve McGregor, says the police have contacted the woman’s family adding that they have been urged to have her surrender to the police.

It is reported that yesterday the woman went to the cook shop and a dispute developed between her and Hinds.

During the altercation, water was thrown which reportedly got into the woman’s phone.

She reported left the cook shop angry and vowed to return.

The police say at about 12:30 p.m Wednesday, men armed with high-powered weapons turned up at the cook shop and opened fire hitting Hinds.

The gunmen then reportedly turned their weapons on two male patrons who were inside the cook shop.

All three men died at the scene.

The police believe one of the gunmen is the woman’s boyfriend.

McGregor has expressed concern about the incidents of violent disputes in the parish and has appealed to residents to seek to resolve their issues without violence.

He also appealed to friends and family of the deceased to not carry out any reprisal attacks.

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United Sates Agents To Seize Close To $100 Million Jamaican Dollars Held In Jamaica By Pamela Watson An Imprisoned Accountant

United States (US) Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are expected in Jamaica in the coming days to take possession of J$100 million, or close to US$1.7 million, which Jamaican authorities have traced to Jamaica-born accountant Pamela Watson.

Watson is serving a prison sentence in the US on fraud charges.

Robin Sykes, chief technical director of the Financial Investigations Division (FID) of the Ministry of Finance, declined yesterday to elaborate on the planned handover "before it is all tied up with the Americans", explaining that he did not want to frustrate the process.

However, according to local law-enforcement sources, FID investigators discovered approximately US$535,000, or approximately J$6.4 million, in an account linked to Watson at one licensed financial institution and J$46 million at a second financial institution.

"They  have traced and restrained J$107 million. The money has been handed over to the State and they are working with the IRS to have the cheques handed over shortly," one source revealed.

Cheques, amounting to US$535,000, are already prepared and they are waiting on the other company to liquidate some assets in her  name.

Law-enforcement sources also believe that Watson made a significant investment in a popular local entity and revealed that further investigations are being conducted.

Watson, who has been described as a very popular activist in the Jamaican community in South Florida, was given a 78-month prison sentence last December after pleading guilty three months earlier to operating a tax-refund scheme that defrauded clients - mainly Jamaicans she claimed she was helping - and the US government of US$3.6 million.

US District Judge James Cohn also ordered her to pay restitution in the same amount.

During sentencing, it was revealed that she made restitution totalling US$1.2 million to the IRS in the seven months she was in custody awaiting trial.

She admitted in court that she falsified hundreds of tax returns and refund amounts on IRS forms without her clients' knowledge.

The court also heard evidence that she diverted money to her own accounts and accounts belonging to her spouse.

The FID boss disclosed that Watson was the subject of a proceeds-of-crime probe being conducted by his agency.

He also acknowledged that the J$107 million linked to Watson was under restraint by local authorities, but indicated that it was removed in light of a parallel investigation by US authorities.

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WHO (World Health Organization) Said That Sexual Transmission Of Zika Is More Common Than Thought

The World Health Organization says reports from several countries suggest that sexual transmission of the Zika virus is more common than previously thought.

After a meeting of its emergency committee today, the UN health agency also said there is increasing evidence that a spike in disturbing birth defects is caused by Zika, which is mostly spread by mosquito bites.

Director General Dr Margaret Chan said "reports and investigations in several countries strongly suggest that sexual transmission of the virus is more common than previously assumed."

The agency last month said the outbreak in the Americas constitutes a global emergency.

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14 Year Old Kill Father In Clarendon

 A 14-year-old boy is to appear in court next week to answer to murder charges.

The victim: his father – 37-year-old Dwight McKenzie of Cambridge Street in Franklyn Town, St Andrew.

The police say another person is also to be charged in connection with McKenzie’s murder.

Reports from the police are that while McKenzie was scolding his son on Monday, December 7, a knife was brought into play and he was stabbed.

McKenzie succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday. His son was then arrested and charged with murder on Friday.

The police say the boy is to appear in the Family Court on Friday, December 18.

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Gay pride parade attacker charged with murder Jerusalem

JERUSALEM (AP) — An ultra-Orthodox Israeli who fatally stabbed a teenage girl at a Jerusalem gay pride parade has been indicted on a murder charge.

Jerusalem's District Court indicted Yishai Schlissel for murder on Monday for last month's deadly attack, along with multiple attempted murder charges for those he wounded.

Schlissel, who had been freed from prison weeks earlier after serving a sentence for stabbing several people at the city's pride parade in 2005, stabbed six people at the July 30 parade. One of them, 16-year-old Shira Banki, later died of her wounds.

Jerusalem, known for its rich religious history and tradition, holds a modest gay pride parade annually in contrast to the large parade in the nearby liberal city of Tel Aviv, which drew over 100,000 people this year.

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Constable Kill Girl Friend Then Kill Himself

A police constable who is alleged to have shot and killed his girlfriend at her St Andrew home early this morning before shooting himself has now died.

He is Constable Stephens, a detective attached to the Hunt's Bay Police Station in St Andrew.

His girlfriend was Kayden Hunter of Duhaney Park, St Andrew.

According to the police , Constable Stephens went to his girlfriend's home  this morning, called her to the gate and shot her to death.

 He then travelled to St Mary where he shot himself.

The cop was taken the  to hospital where he later died.

Stephens' young daughter was living with Hunter in Duhaney Park.

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Does Jamaica Need Outside Help To Fight Crime

With the quadruple murder in Claremont, St Elizabeth, and the killing of a teacher of the Bustamante High School in Clarendon i personally think that our leaders have lost the battle against crime in Jamaica.

Every four hours somebody is been killed in Jamaica, each year at least 1500 Jamaicans are been killed by criminals and the security force seems to be helpless. Three students from Clarendon was killed execution style while  coming home, a female taxi driver in Tucker St James was shot and killed as she carry out her daily duties.

The Jamaican government have set up several units within the Jamaica Police force to fight crime and all have failed. For the past twenty years all security ministers in Jamaica have failed miserably.



I think it is full time for us as a country to look to oversea for help to fight this crime monster, we have asked the International Monetary Fund to help us to stabilize our economy. Why cant we asked the United States Of America and the European Union to provide Jamaica with expertises to stop this crime monster.

I personally think that what is going on in Jamaica is genocide, over the last ten years more than 15,000 Jamaicans have been murder by criminals. The biggest question on every Jamaican lips is who next will be a victim of crime.

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Jeffrey Webb And Jack Warner Along With 14 Others indicted as football scandal rocks FIFA

The embattled Confederation of North, Central America and the Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) says it plans to co-operate with authorities to "its fullest capacity", after its president Jeff Webb was among several FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) officials arrested in Zurich and indicted on corruption offences by the United States Department of Justice yesterday.

The 50-year-old Webb, a Caymanian, was among high-level officials gathered in Zurich for tomorrow's FIFA presidential elections, where the long-serving incumbent Sepp Blatter is expected to be re-elected.

In a 47-count indictment implicating nine present and former FIFA officials, along with five corporate executives, the US Department of Justice alleged an elaborate 24-year scheme involving US$150 million in bribes and kickbacks relating to media and broadcast deals for a plethora of football tournaments.

The 14 have been charged with racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies, among other offences.

Trinidadian Jack Warner, a former CONCACAF president and powerful FIFA vice-president, has been named among the 14, though he resigned from all football-related activities four years ago.

Warner, having turned himself in to police following a US request for his extradition, appeared in a magistrate's court in Trinidad and Tobago and was released on TT$2.5 million (US$394,457) bail.

Warner, who appeared before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar, was ordered to surrender all his travel documents and will reappear in court on July 9. He faces 12 charges of racketeering, wire fraud, conspiracy, and money laundering offences in the United States.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, speaking in Parliament yesterday, confirmed that the extradition request for Warner had been made and said "it gives me no pleasure; the member is a member of this honourable House and the matter is now in the hands of law enforcement officials and judicial officials for due process according to the laws of Trinidad and Tobago".

In a brief statement yesterday, CONCACAF said it was "deeply concerned" by the arrests of the officials, including those linked to CONCACAF, but would continue to carry out its operations as usual.

"At present, CONCACAF is not in a position to comment further on the specific allegations, which have been referred to the appropriate legal counsel through the pertinent channels," the statement said.

"CONCACAF continues to operate in the ordinary course of business, hosting all of its upcoming tournaments in a successful and timely manner, including the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup."

The Gold Cup is set to be played from July 7 to 26 in 14 cities across the United States.

Media reports said CONCACAF's Miami Beach headquarters were yesterday searched by FBI agents, hours after Swiss law enforcement authorities swooped down on the Baur au Lac hotel in the early hours, arresting among others, Webb, Costa Rica federation President Eduardo Li and Eugenio Figueredo, a current FIFA vice-president and former resident of the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL).

The FIFA officials could be extradited to the United States to face charges.

According to the Department of Justice, the corporate executives "agreed to pay well over US$150 million in bribes and kickbacks to obtain lucrative media and marketing rights to international soccer tournaments".

The 47-count indictment alleges the officials were also involved in corruption relating to the bids for hosting World Cup finals, the 2011 FIFA presidential election, along with marketing and broadcast deals.

"The indictment alleges corruption that is rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted both abroad and here in the United States. It spans at least two generations of soccer officials who, as alleged, have abused their positions of trust to acquire millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks," US Attorney General Loretta Lynch said.

"... And it has profoundly harmed a multitude of victims, from the youth leagues and developing countries that should benefit from the revenue generated by the commercial rights these organisations hold, to the fans at home and throughout the world whose support for the game makes those rights valuable.

"Today's action makes clear that this Department of Justice intends to end any such corrupt practices, to root out misconduct, and to bring wrongdoers to justice and we look forward to continuing to work with other countries in this effort."

US authorities are also investigating World Cup qualifiers held in CONCACAF, the CONCACAF Gold Cup, the CONCACAF Champions League and the CONMEBOL/CONCACAF Copa America Centenario, which is set to be staged in the US next year.

FBI Director James B Comey said the developments had occurred as a result of diligent investigations over the years.

"... As charged in the indictment, the defendants fostered a culture of corruption and greed that created an uneven playing field for the biggest sport in the world," Comey said.

"Undisclosed and illegal payments, kickbacks, and bribes became a way of doing business at FIFA. I want to commend the investigators and prosecutors around the world who have pursued this case so diligently for so many years."

Webb, who took over from Warner following the 2011 cash-for-votes scandal which rocked CONCACAF and FIFA, was set to be formally installed as the confederation president tomorrow following his re-election unopposed last month.

It is set to be his first full term after completing the one unfinished by Warner.

He has become highly visible in world football, installed as a FIFA vice-president in 2012 and also appointed to chair FIFA's Task Force against Racism and Discrimination.

In addition to the US investigations, international media reports indicate that the Swiss prosecutors have launched a criminal case into the bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, to be held in Russia and Qatar, respectively.

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New Mosquito Borne Virus ZIKV Threatens Jamaica,

The Health Ministry is urging Jamaicans to take all the necessary steps to rid their surroundings of mosquito breeding sites as it prepares to ward off the threat of another mosquito-borne virus.

The health ministry said the outbreak in Brazil of the Zika virus poses a potential threat to Jamaica.

Brazil confirmed its first case of the Zika virus or ZIKV earlier this month.

Permanent Secretary in the health ministry, Dr Kevin Harvey, says the ministry is taking the threat very seriously as the virus is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito which also carries the dengue and Chikungunya viruses.

He says there is no specific vaccine or treatment for the virus.

The Zika virus is from the same family as the dengue and chikungunya viruses and share similar symptoms which include fever, joint and muscle pain, conjunctivitis, headache, weakness, rash and swelling of the lower limbs.

Symptoms usually appear three to 12 days after an infected mosquito bites a person and can last for four to seven days.

The Health Ministry says to date no deaths due to the Zika virus have been recorded worldwide although outbreaks have taken place in 2007, 2013 and this year.

The threat of the new mosquito virus comes less than a year after the Chikungunya virus was declared an epidemic in the Caribbean and governments including Jamaica's were criticized for being ill-prepared.

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