The investigation into the alleged multibillion-dollar fraud at the investment firm Stocks and Security (SSL) is “progressing”, according to Selvin Hay, chief technical director and head of the Financial Investigations Division (FID).

Astronaut Christopher Huie, the son of Jamaican immigrants, got to wear his Caribbean heritage on his sleeve yesterday when he undertook his first space mission as part of a four-man crew aboard the Unity 25 spacecraft.

Huie, a 35-year-old trained senior engineer and resident of Los Angeles, wore Jamaican and United States patches on his uniform during the planned test run of a mothership and spaceship at Virgin Atlantic’s Spaceport America in New Mexico, ahead of intended 90-minute commercial trips to take place beginning next month.

“For me, it is part of my personal origin story. My parents came to this country from Jamaica looking for more opportunities and to do more with their lives. Both my parents, especially my mum, sacrificed a lot so I could have opportunities she didn’t have growing up,” Huie told online platform Metro.co.uk before the test flight.

“I have had a lot more opportunities in my life than she [his mother] has had, and that’s all culminating in the space flight experience. It’s not only for Jamaica, it’s for immigrants anywhere looking for opportunities to see what you can do with the life that you’ve been given. It’s a story of sacrifice and achievement, that’s what it represents for me,” Huie added.

Yesterday’s test flight made Huie the world’s 19th Black astronaut after having graduated from the University of Maryland with a degree in Aerospace Engineering. He had previously worked in the aerospace industry’s private sector until 2016 when he joined Virgin Galactic as a loads and simulation engineer.

Huie’s experience is already creating a path for other aspiring Black astronauts to follow, as he has also co-founded Virgin Galactic’s Black Leaders in Aerospace Scholarship and Training (BLAST) programme, which includes mentorship for college students.

Huie explained that, for him, the test flight was the fulfilment of a childhood dream derived from making spaceships out of LEGO toys.

“I would play with LEGO and I would, pretty much, only build spaceships and flying vehicles, so I was obsessed with machines and building things from a young age. I did want to be an astronaut for a little while, then I decided I wanted to be a pilot, then I changed my mind about being a pilot,” said Huie.

“It seemed like a long road to be a fighter pilot and I just changed careers to become an aerospace engineer. I did not ever think I would ever have an opportunity to go into space,” Huie added. “Growing up, there was only one avenue to get there, and that was essentially going through the military, becoming a test pilot, and having a one in 10 million chance of becoming an astronaut.”

Virgin Galactic, which was founded by billionaire entrepreneur, philanthropist, and airline mogul Sir Richard Branson in 2004, has been billed as the world’s first commercial space line.

When Peter Brown died alone in London without any known family, neighbours made sure that the humble 96-year-old Jamaican man who had volunteered as a teen to fight for Britain in World War II was not forgotten.

Stephen Price, Vice President and General Manager of Flow Jamaica is welcoming the announcement made by Minster Daryl Vaz to table legislation to address acts of theft and vandalism of telecommunications infrastructure.

In a heartwarming show of kindness and generosity, FirstRock Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering Jamaicans through education and social welfare, has once again teamed up with the BossMom Network to donate a beautiful new home to a mother of three girls, Olivea Ryan, in Kitson Town, St. Catherine.

Wednesday, 24 May 2023 10:39

FIRSTROCK GROUP LABOURS AT MUSTARD SEED

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On May 23, the FirstRock Group, consisting of Dolla Financial, Ultra Financier, Century 21, and Optimum Distributors, demonstrated their collective commitment to community engagement and environmental stewardship.

Supreme Ventures continues to raise the stakes in the gaming industry with the launch of its latest promotion - Supreme Wheels.

Trade unionist Helene Davis Whyte says the process to grant the latest increase to the political directorate is akin to an abuse of power.
 
She says the conversion formula used to calculate the salary for public sector workers under the compensation review is different from that of parliamentarians.
 
Mrs Davis Whyte said that no other public sector worker was allowed to go beyond a certain point on the salary scale except parliamentarians.
 
"The decision that was taken is to have that link between the permanent secretary and the Cabinet minister being made at the highest point in the scale for the permanent secretary. So in essence, what that meant is that the Cabinet minister would have converted to the new rate of pay at the maximum of the scale, given that they were pegged to the maximum of the permanent secretary. And despite the various negotiations that were ongoing, there's no other public sector worker, including the permanent secretaries, that were allowed to convert beyond the fourth point in the scale," she explained. 
 
She said the unions are taking issue with how parliamentarians converted to the new scale, given that all other public sector workers were converted at or below point four on the more than 10-point scale. 
 
Mrs Davis Whyte said a decision should be made on how parliamentarians are remunerated. 
 
"The government could have decided to go ahead and implement any one of the various recommendations that have been made over the years, instead of continuing the link between the pay of the permanent secretary and the pay of the Cabinet minister. I think as a country we have to decide how it is that we are going to be doing that. Because if we don't decide, every time parliamentarians are to get an increase in pay, we will always have what exactly has turned out in this particular situation," she warned. 
 
Mrs Davis Whyte said issues such as performance and accountability must be considered when determining the salaries for parliamentarians.
 
She added that the same standards governing employment in the public sector should be instituted for parliamentarians. 
 
"Even just knowing what is the job description of the Member of Parliament, as against the parliamentarian, all of those things need to be known, because we have moved to that point for the public servant, but it’s now to move to that point for the political directorate. And there must be a system of accountability, something as simple as whether or not you turn up for various committee meetings and so on," she suggested, adding that this would allow people to judge whether the parliamentarian is performing adequately or not. 
Thursday, 25 May 2023 14:45

Some teachers on strike over wage issue

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The Minister of Education, Youth, and Information says it has received information that teachers at a number of schools have not turned up for classes, and as result plans are being put in place to address the matter.

The removal of Prime Minister Andrew Holness' compensation from the new salary scale under the public sector compensation review appears to be binding on all future holders of that office. 

Thursday, 25 May 2023 14:31

PM Andrew Holness gets only one salary, says OPM

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Prime Minister Andrew Holness recieves only one salary.