News Briefs

Marks assumes chair of OAS Permanent Council

WASHINGTON (CMC):

Jamaica has assumed the chair of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS).

The country’s permanent representative, Audrey Marks, will be in the position for the next three months, during which the 50th General Assembly of the organisation will be held.

“We are living in difficult times,” said Marks in assuming the chairmanship on Thursday, referring to the coronavirus pandemic, which affects “small and large” and “rich and poor” countries equally.

“I look forward to working with all delegations over the next three months, especially as we prepare for the upcoming 50th regular session of the General Assembly, in a spirit of dialogue, consultation, and agreeing to disagree when situations so demand,” Marks added.

The OAS said that the permanent representative of The Bahamas, Sidney Collie, will serve as vice-chair of the Permanent Council.

Jamaican among new ITLOS judges sworn in

Hamburg (CMC):

Jamaican attorney Dr Kathy-Ann Brown was among judges sworn into office as members of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on Thursday.

The five judges were elected at the 13th meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to serve a term of nine years, commencing on October 1, 2020.

The ITLOS is an inter-governmental organisation created by the mandate of the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. It was established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea signed in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on December 10, 1982.

The other judges are from Chile, China, Italy, and Cameroon.

Antigua gets UK help to probe customs officer’s murder

ST JOHN’S (CMC):

Antigua and Barbuda Police Commissioner Atlee Rodney yesterday said that two senior investigators from the United Kingdom are expected to join local detectives in probing the murder of customs officer Nigel Christian, who was kidnapped from his home by four armed men on July 10.

He said that the Antiguan government had made a request for assistance from the UK and the United States.

Rodney told reporters that evidence had been sent to the United States for further examination.

“I was in conversation with some members of the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) as recent as yesterday, and they are processing and analysing those items that we sent to them,” he said.

There has so far been no arrest in the murder of 44-year-old Christian, who was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds on a dirt road a few hours after he was kidnapped.

Bermuda premier says it is time to unite after resounding victory

HAMILTON (CMC):

Bermuda Premier David Burt’s decision to call a snap general election paid off handsomely on Thursday as the ruling Progressive Labour Party (PLP) scored a crushing 30-seats-to-six victory over the main opposition, One Bermuda Alliance.

Burt said that now is the time for the British overseas territory to unite “with an incredibly difficult road ahead”.

According to preliminary results, the PLP won more than 60 per cent of the total vote in the three-way contest, but the turnout was one of the lowest in decades as more than 44 per cent of the electorate did not vote.

“We have an incredibly difficult road ahead for this country, and it is going to require us all to work together, whether we be government, opposition, business, unions, or citizens,” Burt told cheering supporters.