NEWS IN BRIEF

Supermarket owner, resident killed during robbery in Porus

Councillor for the Porus division, Claudia Morant Baker, has condemned last Friday evening’s shooting death of a supermarket owner and another man in the southern Manchester town.

Dead are Jin Siam Ye, one of the co-owners of the business, and Alphonso Cohen, who hailed from the Berrydale community.

Reports from the Manchester Police are that about 7:30 p.m. Friday, a group of men travelling in a Toyota Mark X motor car entered the supermarket and robbed its owner and customers.

They reportedly opened gunfire before fleeing the scene. The police were summoned and the injured persons taken to hospital.

At least two of the alleged shooters were nabbed shortly after.

“I know that the supermarket owner employs many persons and they have been benefiting from him being there,” said Morant Baker.

She also lamented that some young persons are unwilling to work and are just seeking “easy money”.

“I say to young people, go and get a job, stop the easy money-making and stop destroying people’s lives. People are willing to work for an honest living, why are you snatching their lives from them?” the political representative said.

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Floodgate in Bog Walk Gorge to be fixed

The National Works Agency (NWA) has committed to fixing a floodgate at the northern end of the Bog Walk Gorge in St Catherine, following an outcry from residents in the area.

The gates are activated to reduce risks to motorists whenever the Rio Cobre overflows and the Bog Walk Gorge becomes impassable.

Residents are concerned that the current situation could put motorists at risk.

“This gate pop off by some man about two months ago and nobody won’t fix it,” said Norman Kelly, a driver.

Teacher Denise Brown said: “Can you imagine the Rio Cobre flood out the road and people just drive through, as there is no working gate?”

“The gates along the corridor are very important to the safety of all, so we will be working to address this issue,” said Manager of Communication and Customer Services at the NWA, Stephen Shaw.

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Over 1,400 killed, hundreds kidnapped in Haiti this year – UN

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti (CMC):

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said more than 1,400 people have been killed and over 1,000 kidnapped in Haiti so far this year by gangs who also use sexual violence.

Speaking last Friday, the eve of World Human Rights Day, Turk called for a show of “political courage and responsibility at a national and international level” to address the “endemic impunity”.

The UN representative noted that Haiti – the poorest nation in the Americas – is facing an acute political, economic, security and health crisis which has paralysed the country and sparked a breakdown of law and order.

The assassination of president Jovenel Moise in July 2021 exacerbated the crisis, as gangs grew in strength and territorial control.

This “multifaceted and protracted crisis … cannot be ignored,” Turk said.

“This is a country where armed gangs, reportedly supported by economic and political elites, control more than 60 per cent of the capital, where some 4.7 million face acute hunger,” he said.

“Since the beginning of this year, a staggering 1,448 people have been killed; 1,145 injured; and 1,005 kidnapped by gangs.”

He stressed that these were not just numbers, with each victim leaving “entire families and communities … torn apart by the violence”.

Turk, who took over as the UN rights chief in October, also decried that gang members were “using sexual violence to instill fear and exert control over the population”.

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Caribbean American congresswoman welcomes passage of the Respect for Marriage Act

NEW YORK (CMC):

Caribbean American Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke has welcomed the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act in the United States House of Representatives, saying that it “sends a powerful and resounding message that discrimination is unwelcome in our modern society”.

A bipartisan coalition of legislators last Thursday voted in favour of the measure, 258-169, with one member voting “present”.

US President Joe Biden is expected to soon sign it into law.

“The Respect for Marriage Act has passed, and history is made!” proclaimed Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, who represents the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York. “This pivotal legislation preserves more than the right for gay and interracial couples to marry, but sends a powerful and resounding message that discrimination is unwelcome in our modern society.”

Clarke told the Caribbean Media Corporation on Friday that passage of the legislation is “a step forward for justice and a reminder that we must and will always stand up for what is right, and stand against what is wrong – no matter any bulwarks or bigots blocking the way”.

“As we celebrate this momentous occasion and take pride in what it represents, let us also acknowledge the work that lies ahead,” the congresswoman added. “Our pursuit of a world where love and equality are the norm, and where no one has to fear discrimination, persecution, or bigotry must persist. Because let me be clear: this bill was necessitated only by the threat of partisan agitators and a hostile, activist Supreme Court working in unison to regress our nation and our communities. Today, they have failed.”

In a White House statement, President Biden noted that Congress took “a critical step to ensure that Americans have the right to marry the person they love”.