LOCAL Government Minister Desmond McKenzie announced on Wednesday that his ministry will be spending $370 million to patch and rehabilitate roads in urban, high-traffic, and large residential areas, under a parochial road patching programme.

Read more: Gov’t to spend $370 million on road patching programme

National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang described Thursday’s killing of Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) politician Lennox Hinds as a hit.

Hinds, who was councillor/caretaker for the Southborough Division in the St Catherine Southern constituency, was shot dead just as he was about to enter the Portmore toll road at the intersection of Marcus Garvey Drive in his Honda CRV.

Hinds, a major JLP organiser in Portmore and the wider St Catherine, was shot by men driving motorcycles. It is believed he was trailed by the motorcyclists.

The incident caused a massive pile-up of traffic entering the toll road as police processed the crime scene. Police later asked motorists who are heading towards Portmore, St Catherine, from Hagley Park Road in Kingston, to divert to Spanish Town Road.

Commenting on the murder on Twitter Thursday night, Government Senator Natalie Campbell-Rodriques said: “I am sad! I cannot believe that Lennox Hinds is gone. A life taken just like that. May his soul rest in peace.”

“Lennox Hinds. Jah Jah!!!!!!,” was the reaction on Twitter by Robert Morgan, the information minister.

Hinds was employed to the Island Traffic Authority as a motor vehicle examiner.

In 2007, he was charged with murder following the killing of a man and injuring of two other people in Portmore. The incident occurred during the run-up to the general election that year.

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line has confirmed that its ship “Harmony of the Seas” crashed into the Falmouth pier in Trelawny as it attempted to dock on Thursday.

In videos posted to social media, cruise ship passengers could be heard screaming as the ship made contact with the concrete mooring pylon.

“During arrival in Falmouth, Jamaica, Harmony of the Seas made contact with an extension part of the dock,” a statement from a Royal Caribbean representative read.

The spokesperson also reported that the ship sustained only minor injuries to its stern which was repaired the same day.

It’s unclear how much damage was done to the pier and what provisions would be made to repair it.

No injuries were reported.

The ship left Jamaica at approximately 4 pm Thursday as it continued its sailing schedule.

Harmony of the Seas is the third largest cruise ship in the world, weighing in at 226,963 tons and carrying up to 6,410 passengers.

The Port Authority of Jamaica said that they will be releasing a statement in short order.

 At least 50 bullets were fired by the gunmen who killed three people and injured two others during the attack in Rose Heights, St James on Wednesday.

Read more: Gunmen fired nearly 50 M-16 bullets in Rose Heights attack