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(AP) Prime Minister Bruce Golding said Thursday his government shook up an anti-drug police unit after Cuba complained that the force had been uncooperative in preventing Jamaican drug smugglers using speedboats and small planes to move narcotics. Golding's announcement followed the publication of a leaked U.S. diplomatic memo that portrayed Jamaican anti-drug officers as being so unresponsive that more than a dozen Cuban officials privately vented their frustrations to a U.S. drug enforcer in 2009. The August 2009 communique released by WikiLeaks said Cuban officials described officials in the neighboring Caribbean country as ignoring efforts to stop traffickers who use Cuban waters and airspace to transport narcotics destined...

The Organization of American States (OAS) will train, on December 15 and 16 in Kingston, Jamaica, 40 police and immigration officials, prosecutors and judges with the goal of increasing their awareness of the crime of trafficking in persons and strengthening their efforts to prevent and fight it. Trafficking in persons is a modern form of slavery and a violation of basic human rights involving coercive sexual exploitation, forced labor and involuntary servitude. The OAS program, “Strengthening the Capacity of Law Enforcement Officials, Judges and Prosecutors in the Caribbean to Identify and Combat Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children,” is being implemented in 13 English-speaking Caribbean countries. During the...

Author Ian Fleming will be honored with his very own airport. Jamaica is set to name its third international airport after the novelist who created James Bond. Previously known as the Boscobel Airstrip, the upgraded and expanded Ian Fleming airport will mainly be used by travellers flying in on private jets. The official opening of the airport, which now features a passenger lounge, pilot briefing room and customs and immigration points, is due this month.

Rapper Lil Wayne cannot do any drugs or liquor as part of the terms of his three-year probation for drug and gun possession in Arizona, but that has not deterred drug dealers from naming deadly narcotics after him. The superstar rapper’s name was associated with a $250 million drug bust that yielded 500 bricks of heroin. Newark Police offers found the bricks of the drug hidden in a side panel of an SUV with the bricks and the packets of the drug packaged for sale under the name “Lil Wayne.” A police dog was called in to search the SUV and the dog helped find a sophisticated special compartment shut by a latch with a special motor, custom designed to deal the drugs.

NEW YORK (AP) — The game show "Jeopardy" will pit man versus machine this winter in a competition that will show how successful scientists are in creating a computer that can mimic human intelligence. Two of the venerable game show's most successful champions — Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter — will play two games against "Watson," a computer program developed by IBM's artificial intelligence team. The matches will be spread over three days that will air Feb. 14-16, the game show said on Tuesday. The competition is reminiscent of when IBM developed a chess-playing computer to compete against chess champion Garry Kasparov in 1997. The "Jeopardy" answer-and-question format is a different kind of challenge. It often requires...

Ja Rule pleaded guilty today Monday December 13, 2010 to a weapons charge and will be sentenced to two years in prison. The 34-year-old artist's plea, given in a Manhattan courtroom, came more than three years after police arrested him in 2007 upon finding a loaded semiautomatic handgun in the rear door of his Maybach following a concert at the Beacon Theater. Ja Rule, whose real name is Jeff Atkins, was initially pulled over for speeding. Police also found that the registration on the pricey vehicle was suspended and had no insurance.

The concert took place Oct 31 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port-of-Spain and was put together by the organizations Project Records and Trinidad's Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs. Trinidad and Tobago government was upset after spending over $869,000 on a concert headlining Nicki Minaj last month. The concert was widely publicized in the country but failed to live up to the expected turnout. Minaj apparently was paid TT$382,000/US$60000 to perform. An additional $60,000 was spent on hotel, $150,000 on advertising, $75,000 on the venue, $32,000 was given to the Copyright Organization of Trinidad and Tobago, $40,000 on other artists, and $26,000 for Trinidad cultural acts.

(AP)Rap star Ja Rule may soon be in the spotlight in a New York City courtroom. A trial could start as soon as this week in a gun-possession case stemming from a July 2007 stop of his luxury sports car. He was scheduled for a court date Monday. Police say they found a loaded semiautomatic gun in a rear door of his $250,000-plus Maybach after it was stopped for speeding following a Manhattan concert. The chauffeured car also had a suspended registration and no insurance, police said. The platinum-selling rapper has pleaded not guilty to criminal weapon possession. His lawyer has said the traffic stop was unjustified and has questioned a type of DNA analysis used in the case. Known for his gravelly voice and collaborations...

Sprint has landed its first international WiMAX roaming agreements with Digicel in Jamaica and Global Mobile in Taiwan, the company announced today. Roaming will be available on select devices that use Sprint's SmartView Connection Manager, including the 250U and U600 USB modems. Sprint's 4G chief Matt Carter said in a statement; Sprint plans to offer its WiMAX roaming service through unlimited day passes. The company hasn't said when the service will launch or how much it will cost.

In the song that made Drake a force in the hip hop world, his words were as honest as they were a breath of fresh air. “It may not mean nothing to y’all, but understand nothing was done for me. And I ain’t plan on stopping at all. I was this forever man.” With the Grammy nominations released recently, the wanting for Drake is over. He has arrived. The former television star has ascended to the top of the hip hop world by receiving four Grammy nominations. No, this isn’t the first time that Drake has received notice from the Grammy committee, but it’s the first time he has received on his own merit. Last year, his collaboration on the aforementioned Forever, with Lil’ Wayne, Kanye West and Eminem garnered him his first ever...

In a move that had to be made for rap’s super producer/songwriter, Kanye West released “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.” The album, which plays more like a fluid artistic peace, is the first album since his much maligned 2008 release, “808s and Heartbreaks.” Twisted Fantasy restored West’s good name as the best beat maker in the business and one of raps most powerful artists. 808s was a collection of highly auto-tuned songs worth an initial listen, but without much play back value for fans of West’s music. He had broken away from his signature style, a collection of funk and old soul samples mixed with modern drum machines and fruity loops type production, which made him a household name in the hip hop community. The album...

Vybz Kartel stating that he will not be attending Sting this year, but he is not only saying that, he is now saying that without the 'Gully' and 'Gaza' presence, sting 2010 event will not be as successful as in previous years. Vybz Kartel says; Vybz Kartel made these comments after Isaiah Laing, the promoter of the annual event Sting, said in an interview published in THE STAR yesterday; Source: Jamaica Star

Energy drink Red Bull is constructing a modern $25 million recording studio and loft in Kingston in order to enter the local music industry by early 2011. The Haining Road-based studio should open in February and allow the brand to make marketing of the studio globally known. The studio will not sell studio time but offer it on an invitation basis only for free. It will also offer a full range of recording capabilities with state of the art equipment. Red Bull already operates an international label and the studio in Jamaica follows sister studios in New Zealand, the UK and the US.

Stephen Marley along-side his brothers Damian Marley and Julian Marley are proud to announce the signing of reggae music singing sensation Christopher Ellis to the growing roster of musical talent featured on the Marley brothers record label imprint , Ghetto Youths International, Inc. Christopher Lamour Ellis was born the youngest male progeny to “The Godfather of Jamaican Rocksteady”, the late Alton Ellis. Talented in his own right, the soulful 28 year-old roots reggae, r&b crooner has been astounding audiences with his incredibly natural, smooth vocal stylings since the age of 11. In 2009, a mutual friend introduced Stephen Marley to Christopher Ellis in Jamaica. During that fateful meeting on Hope Road, Christopher sang A...

Authorities say rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight was arrested on an outstanding traffic warrant as he left a restaurant near Universal Studios outside Los Angeles. Knight was released about an hour after his arrest early Saturday. Knight was stopped by deputies, who ran his name through computers and discovered he was wanted on a minor traffic warrant issued recently in Beverly Hills. Knight was brought to West Hollywood, where he was cited and released, after agreeing to appear in court within two months. Source: AP

Windel "Gyptian "Edwards has recently completed a hectic 60 day tour of Europe and Africa. On Friday December 3, 2010 after been taken to the hospital he was diagnosed as being severely dehydrated. Jus1 production issued a Press Release about Gyptian health with a statement from Gyptian himself. Gyptian manager Ivor Ruddock said; A decision was then made by his management team that in the best interest of Gyptian, and against his will, he will be returning to Jamaica to consult with his personal physician and dietitian. Gyptian Said;

Nominees were announced Wednesday for the 53 Annual Grammy Awards, which will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 13 2011, on CBS. Take a look at who was nominated for the best Best Reggae Album and top categories. Best Reggae Album: - Buju Banton - Before The Dawn - Gregory Isaacs & King Isaac - Isaacs Meets Isaac - Lee "Scratch" Perry - Revelation - Bob Sinclair And Sly & Robbie - Made In Jamaica - Sly & Robbie And The Family Taxi - One Pop Reggae - Andrew Tosh - Legacy An Acoustic Tribute To Peter Tosh Record Of The Year: - B.o.B Featuring Bruno Mars - Nothin' On You - Eminem Featuring Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie - Cee Lo Green - F*** You - Jay-Z & Alicia Keys - Empire State Of Mind - Lady Antebellum - Need You Now Album...

Coca-Cola has planned to deepen the relationship with its Jamaican franchisee Wisynco Group Limited. This operation will result in the Jamaican operation becoming the supply point for markets in the Southern Caribbean for Coca-Cola. Wisynco Group Limited will be investing some J$500 million to raise its production capacity to approximately 15 million cases per year. Meanwhile, it currently produces 10 million cases, up from six million, after a similar investment last year to ramp up its production lines.

Eat Jamaican Day was launched in 2003 by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), to actively promote locally produced foods and help in providing farmers with a stable local market for their produce. Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, has reiterated that the campaign for consumers to support locally produced foods, is about keeping afloat a number of other economic activities in the local economy. The Minister who was addressing the 7th staging of the Eat Jamaican Campaign, held Thursday November 25,2010, at the Denbigh Show Ground, Clarendon, stated that the campaign is to keep in the minds of Jamaicans the importance of the agricultural sector, and giving...

Singer Willie Nelson has been charged with possessing weed after the drug was allegedly found on his tour bus. The bus pulled into a Texas checkpoint on Friday and an officer smelled the drug when a door was opened. Nelson was among three people arrested for the six ounces of weed that was found on the bus. Willie Nelson, 77, was held briefly until he paid a $2,500 bond before being released.