News Briefs

Man's body found in pit

A body believed to be that of a man who was reported missing last Friday was retrieved from a pit in the Three Hills area of St Mary on Sunday.

On Friday, a missing person report was filed by relatives of 35-year-old Warren Henry of Industry Pen in St Mary, after his whereabouts could not be ascertained for several days.

Reports surfaced on Saturday that a body was seen in a pit in Three Hills, but it wasn’t until Sunday that the body, which was in a state of decomposition, was retrieved.

While the St Mary police say they are awaiting DNA results to determine the identity of the body, relatives who viewed the body are insisting that it is that of Henry, who was last seen early last week.

Security guard shoots taxi driver at tax office

A 28-year-old taxi operator is under police guard in hospital after he allegedly attacked a security guard on the compound of the Mandeville tax office in Manchester yesterday morning.

The accused, who is of a Mount Prospect address in the parish, is said to be in serious but stable condition.

“We understand that this is not his first attack on the security guard," a police investigator told The Gleaner.

It is reported that about 9:30 yesterday morning, the security guard was standing on the compound of the tax office talking with a group of people when he was attacked by the taxi operator, who was reportedly armed with a knife.

According to the police, the security guard reportedly then shot him in self-defence.

No decision yet on fare hike

The Transport Authority is dismissing reports of a looming fare increase for public transport operators.

The agency, which regulates the public transportation sector, said no decision has been made about a fare hike as it is still in the process of conducting a review of the fare proposals received.

Transport operators have applied for a 100 per cent fare increase. The last increase was granted in 2014.

New Cuban constitution gets 87% approval

Cuban authorities say a new constitution has been approved by nearly 87 per cent of voters, a relatively low figure for a country where official proposals routinely receive higher than 90 per cent approval.

The heads of Cuba's National Electoral Commission said 6.8 million of the 7.8 million people who voted on Sunday backed on a new constitution that preserves the single-party socialist system and centrally planned economy while updating some financial, electoral and criminal laws.

Some 300,000 votes were counted as invalid because they were blank or defaced and 706,400 people voted against the new constitution.

The current constitution was approved by 97.7 per cent of voters in a referendum in 1976, the peak of a system dedicated to displays of national unity.