The 2.8m-long Burmese Rock Python was rescued after local police alerted the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Cape Town.

The snake was found in a poor state in a shack in Nyanga township where people visited the traditional doctor for consultations.

When the python, called 2010, was found, she had pneumonia, mouth-rot and was underweight and dehydrated.

"The snake was living in totally unacceptable conditions and has since been taken to a specialist reptile veterinarian and is responding well to treatment," SPCA spokesperson Sarah Scarth told the BBC.

Many people throughout Africa pray to ancestors and believe they have the ability to change or influence the future.

People will pay traditional doctors, known as sangomas in South Africa, to communicate to the ancestors on their behalf.

During rituals, animals are sacrificed to appease the ancestors but some traditional doctors use animals as mediums to communicate with them.

"People were paying the sangoma to ask the ancestors to help the teams they support to advance in the tournament," said Ms Scarth.

It is not clear which teams the snake was being asked to help.

2010 was apparently transported from Natal to Gauteng specifically for the World Cup.

But Ms Scarth said the sangoma surrendered the snake last week after her organisation visited his home.

No charges were laid against the sangoma but the SPCA said it is investigating how the snake was transported without the legal papers.

Exotic animals cannot be transported without the legal paperwork authorising their transit.

"We have investigated sangomas in the past but this is a first during the World Cup," Ms Scarth said.

Last month, aquarium owners in Germany said they had an octopus which had been correctly predicting the outcome of matches.

It is not clear which teams the python was being asked to help

ONLY a week after his extradition to the United States, some vendors in downtown Kingston have decided to capitalise on the popularity of Christopher Dudus Coke, by printing and selling buttons in his honour, even as they express their support for the man once known as the President.

A our president and nothing cyaan change that, one women seen selling the buttons on Princess Street for $200, told Chat! That man is full of love for his people, you notice what him seh when they were taking him away? Well is that the buttons them seh to. Cause we love Prezi! A Dudus for life! That we seh!

The buttons, which are orange and black, depicting the colours of the Tivoli Gardens football team, bears the words, I love my people at the top with the words President Dudus at the bottom.

The words on the buttons were those spoken by Coke while he was being led away by marshals in New York City to the facility where he was being held before his trial.

A Tivoli me come from, one man seen wearing the button said. So is the President we say!

WHITE FOLKS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS!!! HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED HOW EXTRA RECKLESS WHITE FOLKS TALK TO EACH OTHER OVER FACEBOOK!!! (SEE EXAMPLE)

LOS ANGELES A suspect in the shooting death of a 4-month-old boy killed after a family baptism celebration was in a Los Angeles County jail Sunday, three days after he was captured in Mexico and 10 months after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Ricardo Hernandez, 24, was being held without bail on suspicion of murder, Los Angeles police said in a statement.

Hernandez, a U.S. citizen, was taken into custody in Jalisco, Mexico, on Thursday after Los Angeles police detectives received a tip and alerted Mexican authorities. On Friday he was deported to the U.S., arrested on the outstanding murder warrant and booked at Van Nuys jail.

Law enforcement officials reached Sunday by phone did not know if Hernandez had hired an attorney and it was not clear when he would be arraigned.

Another suspect, 18-year-old Alfonzo Landa, pleaded not guilty to murder in October and remains jailed on more than $9 million bail.

A family friend was sitting in a car and feeding 4-month-old Andrew Garcia with a bottle after a family baptism celebration in the San Fernando Valley on Sept. 27.

Police allege that Hernandez and Landa walked by and exchanged words with a gang member standing outside the car, then Hernandez opened fire.

Garcia was declared dead at a hospital with a bullet wound to the head, and two adults the 18-year-old man standing outside the car and the 28-year-old woman feeding the baby were wounded.

Landa was arrested about two weeks after the shooting, and about a week later an arrest warrant was issued for Hernandez.

"He was linked to the crime by both physical evidence and a variety of tips and leads," the Sunday police statement said.

Police said both suspects were reputed gang members.

NUH UHHHHHHHHHH!!! MOTHER HELPS A 5 YEAR OLD CREATE A FACEBOOK PAGE . . . AND LOOK WHAT SHE USES AS THE LITTLE GIRLS PROFILE PICS!!!

ORLANDO, Florida, CMC A legal permanent resident from Jamaica, who has languished in a detention center in Louisiana for five years, as his health deteriorates, has finally been freed.

Carlyle Leslie Owen Dale, 61, who had worked in New York for three decades, was released on Friday.

Immigration advocates said he seemed at risk of dying in an Oakdale, Louisiana, immigration jail, while his court appeals against an order of deportation languished.

Advocates at the Chicago, Illinois-based National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) said they had submitted an unusual petition last week to the United Nations as a last-ditch effort to win Dales release.

They said, as Dales court appeals languished, his health had sharply declined from diabetes, chronic asthma, liver disease, severe arthritis and high *lo** pressure.

An outline of Dales case was presented at a White House meeting in May under the heading, The Next Death in Immigration Detention, NJIC said.

The advocates said they had decided to turn to the United Nations only after fruitless appeals to officials at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including Phyllis Coven, the acting director of detention policy and planning, who visited Oakdale last month.

But on Friday, for the first time in five years, Dale said he woke up listening to the voices of his grandchildren two and 12 years old instead of to orders shouted inside the federal detention center.

I want to tell you how good it feels to be back in my America the America that I love and that loves me, he told reporters from the home of his son, Dwight, in Orlando, Florida.

It was an abrupt change of fortune for Dale, whose ill health had deteriorated drastically at the Oakdale Federal Detention Center, leading to five hospitalisations in 20 months.

Last month, a US federal appeals court judge had overruled Dales deportation order, finding that the Board of Immigration Appeals had been wrong to conclude that a conviction in 2000 for attempted assault made him deportable as an aggravated felon, and sent the matter back to the board for a new decision.

The US government has been trying to deport Dale since 2005, based on his guilty plea to attempted aggravated assault in a 1998 shooting at a halfway house that he operated in Uniondale, in upstate New York, for recovering substance abusers.

Dale, who had never been in trouble with the law, served three and a half years in jail and paid more than US$9,000 in restitution to a resident whom he shot with an unregistered gun during a confrontation in which he said the resident attacked him with a knife.

Immigration officials had refused numerous requests to release Dale while his appeals were pending. And even after last weeks ruling, by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit,  they maintained at first that Dale was still subject to mandatory detention.

But, on Wednesday, in a settlement with his justice center lawyers, who withdrew a pending habeas corpus petition in his case, US federal officials freed him on his own recognizance.

Claudia Valenzuela, the justice center lawyer who represented Dale, said the case highlighted the arbitrariness of the detention system.

The government detains individuals on a massive scale without really evaluating whether that person merits detention, she said.

It serves to create a system in which individuals who should never be detained in the first place, much less for years on end, find themselves deprived of their liberty, of everyday contact with family and friends, and of even basic medical services without justification, she added.

As expected, Dale said he was overjoyed to be free again.

My 2-year-old, shes all over me, he said of his granddaughter, born while he was in detention. My health is not as bad because my spirits are so high.

Ive been thinking about a lot of people I left there (in detention center), people who have been going through so much hardship, and theyre still going through that.

SMALL hoteliers on the island's South Coast are apprehensive about their future, buckling under the twin pressures of spiralling operational costs and low occupancy levels.

Chair of the South Coast Chapter of the Jamaica Hotel Association (JHTA) Judy Schoenbein, speaking at the Observer's Monday Exchange at the newspaper's Beechwood Avenue headquarters in Kingston yesterday, said some properties were paying in the region of $700,000 per month for electricity costs.

"We are a little scared, to say the least, and we are very concerned about the operational costs. One hotel has already closed its doors. We may have one or two others who have said to me 'the operational costs may overtake' them," she said.

Schoenbein said in order to foot those bills with any comfort, hotels would have to have 100 per cent occupancy. In addition she said the south coast, which has some 750 rooms comprising small hotels, villas and apartments and bed and breakfast outfits, has also been impacted heavily by the shutdown of bauxite companies in St Elizabeth and Manchester.

She said hospitality interests in the direct locations of

the bauxite companies have been feeling the pinch even more, since they depended heavily on the influx of consultants and travellers linked to that sector.

"This is an all time low for us," Schoenbein told editors and reporters, noting that that there is low projected occupancy.

She said tourism interests on the south coast will be depending heavily on the Diaspora to communicate to the outside world about the country's product as well as on the Jamaica Tourist Board's marketing campaign to show the area.

NASSAU, Bahamas - Police here have launched a manhunt for a Jamaica national thought to be involved in the murder of a woman over the weekend.

Police have described Lasando Campbell, 28, as armed and dangerous. They want to question him about the death of an unnamed woman, who was stabbed multiple times.

A report in the Tribune newspaper said although it has not been confirmed, police received reports that Campbell and the victim may have been in a relationship in the past.

The murder is the 48th in the Bahamas this year.

Police have not said what they suspect was the motive for the crime.

KINGSTON'S tourism industry is yet to rebound from the impact of the West Kingston upheaval in May, which resulted in occupancy at some city hotels being down to as much as zero per cent as large groups cancelled trips to the Jamaican capital.

"One hotel lost a group and went down to zero per cent occupancy because of it (West Kingston upheaval) and was unable to recoup any business for that week," said Nicola Madden-Greig, vice president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA).

"We saw hotels going from 90 per cent occupancy down to 10 per cent; we lost the international Test cricket matches and a lot of groups which were coming in that period," she added.

According to Madden-Greig, who is also chair of the JHTA's Kingston Chapter, the travel advisories issued by the United States, Canada and United Kingdom and which still exist for the island capital, has affected the city's recovery.

"We have been advised that for business travel that some United Nations agencies cannot travel until it is lifted, and so that is putting a major damper on business coming out of the United States market," Madden-Greig told editors and reporters at the Observer Monday Exchange at the newspaper head offices in Kingston.

Through the Jamaica Tourist Board, discussions are ongoing with the US Embassy in Kingston, but according to Madden-Greig the lifting of the travel advisories is something which will be governed by how those countries assess the situation.

"What we are trying to do is work with travel partners and continue with the local business and multinational companies in Jamaica to get the word out that we are back to normalcy, business is going on, so they can tell individuals who can make decisions about their travel to Kingston," she said.

She explained further that the JHTA Kingston Chapter continued to use traditional and social media to promote events and activities to show that Kingston is alive and well and that things are happening. This is in addition to working with the Jamaica Tourist Board to identify longer term strategies.

According to Madden-Greig, Kingston experienced a 30 per cent decline in stop-over arrivals in May with an even more significant decline anticipated for June when the figures are in.

And with Kingston being a gateway to other destinations, Madden-Greig said Port Antonio has also been seriously affected.

Workers at some Kingston hotels have also been placed on rotation, something that is not a

usual occurrence.

In addition to the US$10 million which the Government has allocated for a media blitz to repair Jamaica's image, Madden-Greig said individual hotels both in Kingston and other tourist destinations have been spending significant sums on their own to recover from the damning effects.

JHTA president Wayne Cummings, at the same time, said the US$10 million comes on the heel of the Jamaica Tourist Board having its budget slashed at the beginning of the financial year. As such he said the JTB would not have been able to survive with the US$17.5 million they were initially allocated and so that plus the crisis, US$10 million only just made up for the deficit.

"Individual hoteliers have been spending far more than the US$10 million... any one of our chains will be outspending them three four times," Cummings said.

Meanwhile, Madden-Greig said even without the recent challenges, Kingston has been a difficult sell because of a lack of understanding of the product.

"We are not sun, sea and sand but we are a city destination. We bring in on average somewhere in the region of 230,000 stop-over arrivals into Kingston, and that is greater than some other Caribbean destinations that tourism is their hundred per cent business," she said.

She admitted that Kingston still has a long way to go in terms of developing its cultural assets.

"There are so many gems just waiting to be discovered but we market quite a few. We position Kingston as the sport, entertainment, commercial, cultural capital and we promote it around those major events," she said.

THE Jamaica Constabulary Force yesterday received three customised mobile police stations and three fully equipped mobile forensic units -- a gift from the British government to aid its crime fighting and investigative capabilities.

The units, which cost a total of US$711,867.50, were handed over to the JCF by Deputy British High Commissioner to Jamaica Graham Glover at a ceremony at the Office of the Commissioner of Police on Hope Road, St Andrew.

According to the British High Commission, the donation will assist the JCF in two vital areas -- supporting the investigation of crime scenes and facilitating the preservation of evidence in transport through temperature-controlled storage, and developing community safety and community policing in Jamaica.

"The units will be utilised to increase the presence and capabilities of the police across Jamaica," Assistant Commissioner in charge of the Criminal Investigation Bureau, Les Green told the Observer following the presentation.

ACP Green said with the new units, little or no vital evidence will be lost before it reaches the government forensic laboratory.

The mobile forensic units are equipped with a generator, lighting, tent and a number of other technical pieces of equipment to enhance the service delivery, including a refrigerator to preserve forensic samples.

"With the provision of these (mobile) stations residents can obtain information, report crime and get advice on issues of concern," Green added.

Yesterday's presentation of the mobile forensic units, brought to eight the number of such units now in the hands of the police.

Executives of China Daily, China Central TV (CCTV), and China Radio International (CRI) - all of which have English Language services -- as well as the online news service www.newssc.org, all had the same message for media executives and senior journalists from Latin America and the Caribbean, who were on a recent tour of the Asian country, courtesy of the State Council Information Office (SCIO).

Luo Qin, deputy director of CCTV's programme controlling office, said the network's English channel was relaunched in April as part of the company's strategy to promote its news coverage.

CRI, formerly known as Peking Radio before China decided to open up to the world, prides itself as the "Bridge to China and the World". It employs 140 people, including 30 foreigners, in its English Department, as it expands the reach to the thousands of foreigners now living and working in the world most populous country (approx 1.3 billion). The station, with the cooperation of several radio stations across the globe, operates 41 overseas channels, providing coverage to Africa, Australia, New Zealand and New York and Los Angeles in the United States, among other countries.

CRI's vice-president Wang Yunpeng told the nine Caribbean and Latin American journalists and media executives (representing Mexico, Brazil, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Panama and The Bahamas that he wanted closer cooperation with their media companies in the promotion of friendship with their respective countries.

The State-owned Chinese media companies are also in an expansion mode as they roll out the Chinese message across the globe.

Kang Bing, deputy editor-in-chief of China Daily, which has a widely-read English Language edition, plans to expand its presence in Africa, Europe and Latin America.

The newspaper, said Kang, has the highest circulation of the three English dailies in China, with a share of 70 per cent of the market. The English edition targets foreign students and residents, as well as visitors from the West. "At least a million of the foreigners who live in China read the China Daily," he said. In addition, he said a great part of the Chinese population who are learning English turn to China Daily.

The colourful newspaper, produced in broadsheet, was recently redesigned and has a layout similar to several American newspapers. The paper gets most of its advertising support from private sector companies across China.

In the meantime, the CCTV network plans to increase the number of its bureaux from 30 to 50 as part of its international expansion. The new bureaux will be set up in North, South and Central America as well as in Asia, in which there is already a strong presence.

CCTV English - one of the news channels offered by Jamaican cable operators - is one of 38 channels offered by the Chinese television network which employs 15,000 people, among them 3,000 journalists. Twenty-two of the channels are free-to-air.

And last Thursday's launch of China's Xinhua News Agency 24-hour English news channel is the latest attempt by China's Government to give as much information about the world's fastest growing economy.

Called CNC World, the channel, according to Xinhua president Li Congjun, will present an international vision from a China perspective. "It will broadcast news reports in a timely way and objectively and be a new source of information for global audiences," Li was quoted in Xinhua's coverage of the launch.

The New York Times, in its report on the launch, said China was moving forward with a global media expansion plan while Western media outlets continued to scale back.

In the meantime, China, as part of its programme to move the country to first world status, has been wooing talented Chinese living overseas back to their homeland under its '1,000-elite Programme'.

The more than 600 people who have already signed up include Li Dongsheng, who left his job as a senior technical director at Airbus SAS last September and returned home. According to a recent China Daily report, Li, 45, is now the chief assistant of model design for the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China and the deputy chief of the Shanghai Aircraft Design and Research Institute.

China Daily said the recruits have all been given lead positions in various research institutes, top laboratories of State-owned enterprises. Each has received one million yuan (US$146,000) from the central government, as well as funding from their employers. In addition, the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced recently that it would be allocating 10 million yuan to each talent recruited.

The court has ordered Coke's (seen here) assets frozen. - file

After an initial denial, the state-owned Urban Development Corporation (UDC) has admitted that it hired and is still paying millions of dollars to a company partially owned by extradited west Kingston strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.

The UDC says it has one contract with the firm Bulls Eye Security Services Limited, but it is still checking its records to see if there are any others.

Late last month, the UDC told The Gleaner that it had not issued any contract to Bulls Eye, which lists Coke as a shareholder. Coke was previously listed as a director but is believed to have pulled out because of requirements that would force him to be fingerprinted.

But, last week, in a letter to The Gleaner, the UDC said it erred in its denial.

"We wish to state for the record that the UDC, in expediting what was deemed to be an urgent request from a Gleaner reporter to meet a cut-off deadline for publication, stated: "The UDC has not awarded any contract to Bulls Eye Security Services Limited.

"The company was engaged by contractors Jatlin Construction and Associates and Alcar Construction Limited for the St William Grant Park and Downtown Transport Centre projects, respectively," read a section of the UDC's missive.

"However, a further review of our records has indicated that in one instance, July 2009, the services of Bulls Eye were contracted within the provisions of the Procurement Guidelines by way of limited tender. The contract, which is valued at $5.28 million, expires on March 4, 2011 and services the UDC project located at the corner of Church and North (streets)."

The UDC argued that the $5.28-million contract should be placed in the context of its entire security bill of $205.4 million, spread across seven contractors.

According to the UDC, it was supportive of any initiative that will result in improvements to, and the strengthening of, the Govern-ment's procurement process.

Last month, a source at the Private Security Regulation Authority told The Gleaner that in addition to security services being provided for projects at the St William Grant Park and the transport centre, both in downtown Kingston, four other contracts were listed by Bulls Eye that are all linked to the UDC.

REVEREND Al Miller, the embattled pastor now facing criminal charges after being found in the presence of former fugitive Christopher Dudus Coke, said yesterday that he was not afraid of going to prison for his action, while maintaining that he had done nothing wrong.

Miller, who was addressing his Fellowship Tabernacle church in St Andrew, said he was not looking forward to imprisonment but should that happen, it would be for the glory of God.

I told you...dont worry about me. Going to jail, Im only numbered among the righteous for God, said Miller in reference to earlier Christians, like Paul, Peter, and James, who were imprisoned for professing Christ.

Miller urged members to never stop giving praise to God, who does all things well, no matter the outcome of his trial.

The pastor is currently facing charges of harbouring a fugitive and perverting the course of justice after he was found in the company of Coke when his vehicle was stopped along the Mandela Highway, near the border of St Catherine and St Andrew on June 22. Coke, who was wanted in the US on drugs and gunrunning charges, was disguised in a wig, according to the police.

Cokes apprehension that day brought an end to the four-week nationwide manhunt. He has since been extradited to the US.

Miller had said from the outset that he had done nothing wrong. He said in numerous interviews that he had been taking Coke to the US Embassy in Kingston for him to be handed over to the police commissioner.

One of Millers lawyers, Leslie Campbell, told the Observer last Friday that the police was aware of the plan to bring Coke in, and questioned how his client could be charged with harbouring a criminal while travelling on a highway and at 2:00 in the afternoon.

But both the police and prosecutors have said that there was no agreement for Coke to be taken to the US. The prosecution has said that Miller was stopped twice by the police but he instead sped off before his vehicle was intercepted.

When he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrates Court on Friday, Miller pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his $200,000 bail was extended for him to return on July 27. Millers legal team said the charges would be vigorously contested.

Under mounting pressure, Miller has since taken leave from the helm of the National Transformation Programme, which is being run out of the Office of the Prime Minister.

Yesterday, Millers brother, George, asked congregants to pray for the embattled pastor not for the legal trouble to pass but for God to strengthen him.

A little boy, about three years old, was found about midday in a canefield by the Nelson Mandela Highway in St Catherine yesterday. The police were alerted by residents who found him.

(CNN) -- An Iranian human rights activist warns Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani, a mother of two, could be stoned to death at any moment under the terms of a death sentence handed down by Iranian authorities.

Only an international campaign designed to pressure the regime in Tehran can save her life, according to Mina Ahadi, head of the International Committee Against Stoning and the Death Penalty.

"Legally it's all over," Ahadi said Sunday. "It's a done deal. Sakineh can be stoned at any minute."

"That is why we have decided to start a very broad, international public movement. Only that can help."

Ashtiani, 42, will be buried up to her chest, according to an Amnesty International report citing the Iranian penal code. The stones that will be hurled at her will be large enough to cause pain but not so large as to kill her immediately.

Ashtiani, who is from the northern city of Tabriz, was convicted of adultery in 2006.

She was forced to confess after being subjected to 99 lashes, human rights lawyer Mohammad Mostafaei said Thursday in a telephone interview from Tehran.

She later retracted that confession and has denied wrongdoing. Her conviction was based not on evidence but on the determination of three out of five judges, Mostafaei said. She has asked forgiveness from the court but the judges refused to grant clemency.

Iran's supreme court upheld the conviction in 2007.

Mostafaei believes a language barrier prevented his client from fully comprehending court proceedings. Ashtiani is of Azerbaijani descent and speaks Turkish, not Farsi.

The circumstances of Ashtiani's case make it not an exception but the rule in Iran, according to Amnesty International, which tracks death penalty cases around the world.

"The majority of those sentenced to death by stoning are women, who suffer disproportionately from such punishment," the human rights group said in a 2008 report.

On Wednesday, Amnesty made a new call to the Iranian government to immediately halt all executions and commute all death sentences. The group has recorded 126 executions in Iran from the start of this year to June 6.

"The organization is also urging the authorities to review and repeal death penalty laws, to disclose full details of all death sentences and executions and to join the growing international trend towards abolition," the statement said.

Ahadi, who fled Iran in the early 1980s, told CNN that pressure from Amnesty and other organizations and individuals is likely the only way to save Ashtiani.

"Experience shows (that) ... when the pressure gets very high, the Islamic government starts to say something different," she said.

In Washington, the State Department has criticized the scheduled stoning, saying it raised serious concerns about human rights violations by the Iranian government.

"We have grave concerns that the punishment does not fit the alleged crime, " Assistant Secretary of State P.J. Crowley said Thursday. "For a modern society such as Iran, we think this raises significant human rights concerns."

Calling Iran's judicial system "disproportionate" in its treatment of women, Crowley said, "From the United States' standpoint, we don't think putting women to death for adultery is an appropriate punishment."

Human rights activists have been pushing the Islamic government to abolish stoning, arguing that women are not treated equally before the law in Iran and are especially vulnerable in the judicial system. A woman's testimony is worth half that of a man, they say.

Article 74 of the Iranian penal code requires at least four witnesses -- four men or three men and two women -- for an adulterer to receive a stoning sentence, said Ahadi, of the International Committee Against Stoning. But there were no witnesses in Ashtiani's case. Often, said Ahadi, husbands turn wives in to get out of a marriage.

Mostafaei said he could not understand how such a savage method of death could exist in the year 2010 or how an innocent woman could be taken from her son and daughter, who have written to the court pleading for their mother's life.

The public won't be allowed to witness the stoning, Mostafaei said, for fear of condemnation of such a brutal method. He is hoping there won't be an execution.

Mostafaei, who himself did jail time in the aftermath of the disputed presidential elections in June 2009, said he realizes the risk of speaking out for Ashtiani, for fighting for human rights. But he doesn't let that deter him.

A 52-year-old man was arrested in connection with the death of his son who was reportedly chopped to death at Orange Hill district in Negril, Westmoreland, on Saturday.

Police have identified the dead man as 29-year-old Denville Floyd Woolery.

Reports reaching THE STAR is that about 6:30 p.m., the father and son were at home when a dispute developed between them.

Police said during the altercation a machete was introduced and Woolery was chopped. He reportedly died on the spot.

After exiting from the Alliance in 2006, it seems Aidonia has fully reconciled differences he had with Bounty Killer.

In 2006, Aidonia left the Alliance following the footsteps of Vybz Kartel who he used to refer to as 'Addi mi daddy'. However, last year it became obvious that the two were no longer as close as they once were.

Aidonia claimed that he was on a different path and felt the need to concentrate more on his career and his group JOP, instead of other groups. But in recent times, rumours began circulating that the artiste rejoined the Alliance.

However, when THE STAR caught up with Alliance leader Bounty Killer, he dismissed such speculations and presented the facts.

"Nothing like that. Aidonia is just a friend of the Alliance. We good, we have an understanding but he is not a part of the Alliance. Alliance and JOP is very close," Bounty Killer told THE STAR.

Adding, "He was an Alliance member so there is an understanding still. So he's like an Alliance extended family, that's the most I could describe it as." Aidonia also confirmed the reunion.

"Bounty a di general, Bounty Killer is an artiste weh Aidonia been looking up to from a longer while 'cause a di male artiste dat weh motivate me fi waan become a musician. Him still a show mi nuff things bout the business. Is not a thing like seh Aidonia gone back inna Alliance 'cause the world know seh a JOP mi seh," Aidonia told THE STAR.

"I am not a member of the Alliance and I am not going back into the Alliance. Aidonia seh JOP, Bounty Killer seh Alliance, Mavado seh Gully-Alliance, Elephant seh Alliance. Mi a work wid my artistes to get them out there."

Aidonia added that he is now on a more positive path, one which includes him promoting unity in the music industry.

"At the end of the day, wi seh unity inna the music. So the whole heap a strife and violence between artistes, mi nuh deh pon dat right now. Mi deh pon more positive music. I came with a lot of cultural stuff like Jehovah and Evil Head Mi just a put in some hard positive work and a gwaan focus and do the thing," he said.

song release

In addition, Aidonia said he will be shooting the music video for My Heart Is Hers, which features Aisha Davis. He will also be releasing songs done with producers like Stephen McGregor, Jordan, Russian, Demarco and Leftside. He has also done some production work on a new rhythm called Summer Body.

Meanwhile, Bounty Killer is quite pleased that he will be honoured at Reggae Sumfest, which will be held at Catherine Hall, Montego Bay, later this month.

"I feel great about being honoured. At least someone recognise the good that I have been putting in and the contribution," he told THE STAR.

Industrial action by scores of correctional officers has started to take a toll on the island's corrections system.

RJR News understands that some correctional officers have been calling in sick.

The officers, who are attached to penal facilities, are protesting the non-payment of allowances due to them under MoU Three.

The University and Allied Workers Union which represents some of the officers says the workers started calling in early Monday morning.

What has happened since morning is that we have received reports that correctional officers at some of the institutions have reported sick as of this morning. There are some officers who are still on the job based on the nature of the job, said Aston Johnson, negotiating officer at the UAWU.

Mr. Johnson said the warders decided to take action after the Government reneged on a promise to pay the outstanding allowances during the first quarter of the fiscal year.

He is also taking issue with a statement by State Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Senator Arthur Williams that provisions have been made to pay them in September.

We have never ever been told that we are going to receive any payment for September. We have received a fax on Friday from the Ministry of Finance that we would receive payment for the allowance outstanding to us next financial year. So we have never received that, who received that was the senior uniformed officers, but not the other officers, he said.

LOS ANGELES (AP):

'The Twilight Saga: Eclipse' is waning at the box office but still has got off to a blockbuster start with US$161 million in its first five days, according to studio estimates yesterday.

The third chapter in Summit Entertainment's vampire romance fell off sharply after debuting last Wednesday with US$68.5 million. That was the second-best opening-day haul ever, behind its predecessor, last year's The Twilight Saga: New Moon, which opened with US$72.7 million.

After that huge first day, Eclipse averaged about US$23 million daily over the next four days. That includes an estimate for a slow Sunday as people turned their attention to Fourth of July activities.

blame the weather

"Weather has a lot to do with a Fourth of July opening. I'm not looking to make excuses, but between barbecues and fireworks, we have a lot of competition," said Richie Fay, head of distribution for Summit. "I do think people will come back to the movie."

Its total through Sunday came in well short of the US$200 million mark set last year by Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, the record-holder for best five-day start for movies opening on Wednesday.

Eclipse easily held the number-one spot for the weekend, though its US$69 million Friday-to-Sunday total was only a fraction more than what the movie took in just on opening day. New Moon took in US$142.8 million in its first weekend last November, though the movie opened on Friday and the figure includes its record opening-day gross.

Summit estimates Eclipse will climb to around US$181 million domestically by Monday. The movie also has added US$100.2 million in 42 overseas markets.

Eclipse has found a wider fan base than New Moon, with a bigger percentage of males turning out for the latest instalment. Female fans accounted for 80 per cent of the audience on New Moon but only 65 per cent of crowds for Eclipse, Summit reported.

The latest adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling novels, Eclipse continues the love triangle involving a broody teen (Kristen Stewart), her vampire sweetheart (Robert Pattinson) and her werewolf pal (Taylor Lautner).

The weekend's other new wide release, Paramount's The Last Airbender, opened well with US$40.7 million to finish at number two for the three-day weekend. The movie took in US$53.2 million since debuting Thursday.

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense), The Last Airbender is based on the cartoon series about a youth with mythical powers who can unite four warring nations.

The Last Airbender found a solid audience despite dreadful reviews from critics, who found the plot muddled and the dialogue stilted.

Disney's animated smash Toy Story 3, which had been number one the previous two weekends, slipped to third-place with US$30.2 million, raising its total to US$289 million.

Toy Story 3 is about to surpass last year's Up at US$293 million to become number two on the chart of Pixar Animation's blockbusters. The Disney unit's top-grossing film is Finding Nemo at US$339.7 million.

Hollywood's overall business rose, helping to shore up this summer's sliding box office. Total revenues came in at about US$193 million from Friday to Sunday, up 19 per cent from the Fourth of July weekend last year, according to box-office tracker hollywood.com.

The arrest of a 52-year-old man who was wanted by the police in Clarendon, led to the seizure of a quantity of illegal ammunition and the burning of a ganja field over the weekend.

According to police reports, an operation was carried out in a section of Crofts Hill in the parish sometime around 5 a.m.

A police team went to a premises belonging to Fitzgerald Black, otherwise called 'Shabby', in Rhoden Hall district, to execute a warrant on him for his arrest.

He is to be charged with assault occasioning bodily harm.

Further reports are that while executing the warrant, a search of his home was done and twenty 9mm rounds were found inside the premises.

A Honda motorcycle was also allegedly found inside the premises and was also seized after he reportedly could not produce documents to show ownership.

He was then arrested.

After that operation, the team then went to Comsie district where a farmer was caught red-handed cultivating ganja.

Reports say that the 54-year-old man was seen attending to at least 200 fully grown plants.

The Smirnoff girls were a sight during the Smirnoff XClusive party, part of last year's Dream Weekend. - Contributed

THE STAR closes its three-day feature of the seven parties on the Smirnoff Dream Weekend band with Smirnoff Xclusive, which will be held on Monday August 2.

Smirnoff Xclusive

Described by Deane Shepherd, one of its promoters, as a "cut above the rest", Smirnoff Xclusive is the last hoorah for the Dream Weekend. Exclusive has been on the list of Negril parties for the last five years and last year, it made a splash with its debut on the Dream Weekend band. It was voted one of the top-three parties in Negril.

"Xclusive has been going on for a while, but it was a pretty low-key event, an invitation only event. Last year was the first we opened it to the public and it was great, we exposed a number of people to the Smirnoff experience," said Shepherd.

Held at Margaritaville last year and again this year, the disc jocks are yet to be announced.

"The event is primarily known for its red-and-white theme, people really adhere to the dress code and have to go shopping to get something to wear. It's the last event for the weekend, so its a send-off celebration kinda vibe and everyone is just having a good time," he said.

This year, the promoters have a few surprises in mind that they say will have patrons rocking on the signature 'run way' that is set up through the event.

Dragon Spitfire Fridayz got off to a hot start last week at Red Stripe with fearless fire breathers and Spitfire Girls who raised the temperature at the venue. The party marked the start of a month-long promtional series by Jamaica's newest stout.

While the main party was held at Red Stripe in St Andrew, 100 bars across the island in Clarendon, St Elizabeth, St Mary, Kingston, St Andrew, St Catherine, Manchester, Portland, St Ann, Westmoreland and St James simultaneously hosted their own activities with complimentary Spitfire between 6 and 7 p.m. This will take place at the participating bars every Friday during July.

On Friday night, DJ Kurt Riley had the patrons in a frenzy with selections from hip hop, dancehall, reggae and soca.

The 'Party Animal' was soon joined onstage by four Spitfire Girls who heated things up and two firebreathers who gave new meaning to 'fire on the dancefloor'.

own mix

The night also included a mixing competition where patrons were challenged to create their own mix, with Dragon Spitfire as the base. The mixes included Supligen, peanut, Guinness, Trelawny Gold Label rum, soy milk, oats and Baileys Irish Cream. The judges included Red Stripe master brewer Devon Francis and well-known mixologist Patrice McHugh. Both spoke of the endless mixing possibilities of Dragon Spitfire and said some pretty good combinations were made at the party.

One of the firebreathers displays the art of multitasking. - Contributed

The Spitfire Girls go through their dance routine onstage.

ZJ Liquid - File

Red Stripe This summer is promising to be a great one for party fans from all over the island what with the expectations of the Smirnoff Dream Weekend set for Emancipation Weekend.

But before it gets here, Red Stripe will kick off its summer series of parties at the National Indoor Arena this Friday, July 9.

The party, set to start at 6 p.m. will feature entertainers like Elephant Man, Etana, Baby Cham and I-Octane, as well as ZJ Liquid, the Coppershot sound system and, of course, perennial favourites Renaissance disco. Based on the cast, it looks set to be an exciting experience.

Just ask Elephant Man, who has dubbed himself, the 'Mayor of Negril' for the summer.

The 'Energy Gad' already knows who he wants to see more than anyone else this Friday. "I want to see Cham perform because it's been a long time I haven't seen him perform, so that's gonna be nice and the fans are gonna enjoy it because you done know, Cham is a good performer, Cham has the hits under his belt," said Elephant Man.

He said he expects the kick off party to be off-the-chain.

DJ Liquid, who last year signed a ground-breaking three-year agreement with Red Stripe to endorse the brand and spread its message using popular culture and music, says fans can expect a bit more from him come Friday.

the Red Stripe way

"Well, I will be bringing the regular, plus a little bit more," he said. "I will be bringing the regular fun and vibe, the vibe that keeps you laughing and keeps you dancing. Just ensuring people have a good time the Red Stripe way."

Liquid, who has been trying his hand at deejaying in recent months, hinted that fans might get a little of that from him as well. "Maybe you will get a little performance, you can never tell," he said laughing. "Maybe fans will get lucky, a little performance along with the juggling."

Elephant Man ... looking forward to Cham performance.

Last year's party was a blast on the roof of the National Housing Trust parking lot and Liquid believes this year's will be just as good with the line-up set to perform.

"It's a good vibe, it's a cultural vibe and Red Stripe is working with those artistes because people like their vibe. Each has a different vibe but they are all doing clean, fun music, so it's a good line-up."

Red Stripe Brand Manager Safia Cooper believes this Friday's party opens the gateway to a summer of great party experiences.

When THE STAR contacted the Seaforth Police Station, a constable confirmed that a report was made on June 1, when the child and his mother visited the station - a day after the incident is alleged to have happened.

The police say they were told by the child that he was shown a gun by his dad who also gestured at him with his fingers to show him the action of shooting.

"The investigating officer is not in, but this is the information we have received. The man is said to have shown his son the weapon and said he was going to shoot mommy," the constable said.

The police have confirmed that the principal is a licensed firearm holder. efforts to get a comment from him proved futile yesterday.

The child's mother, Ms Cowers, said she and her child are frightened also admitting this is not the first time she had been threatened.

not the first time

"I have made reports against him already but I am scared, and so is my son. He cried continuously after he told me what his father said and showed him," Cowers claimed.

According to her, the incident occurred after she argued with the accused when she saw a young lady waving at her from his motor vehicle which passed her while she conducted business in a section of the parish.

"I told him he cannot be pointing me out to his women and I told him in a harsh voice even though I didn't threaten him or anything, I just told him that's not right and I was upset," she explained.

She said she believes that this made him upset resulting in the comments that were subsequently made to the child.

"How can you tell a five-year-old child that you are going to shoot somebody and show them a gun?" she questioned.

Asked if the man could get in trouble for his actions, especially for allegedly showing the child his weapon, the constable with whom THE STAR spoke said further investigation would have to be done if sanctions are to be considered.

THE STAR recently published a story about the principal when he was accused by persons at the school of having student lovers at his institution.

A man and his common-law wife were arrested and charged for illegal possession of firearm and ammunition following an operation by members of the Joint Task Force at Annette Crescent in Kingston 10 on Friday, police told THE STAR.

They are 63-year-old racehorse trainer, Owen Sharpe, and 55-year-old Donna Waite.

Reports reaching THE STAR are that between 5:30 a.m. and 9 a.m., a premises belonging to Sharpe was searched. Police said a Super .38 pistol along with forty-two .38 cartridges were found. The couple was arrested and subsequently charged, the police said.

Two policemen have been held in connection with an attempted robbery and kidnapping in St James on Saturday.

The identities of the cops have not been released as they are not yet charged.

It is reported that shortly after 6 p.m. on Saturday, two men and a woman were in the parking lot of the Mega Mart Shopping Centre in Catherine Hall in the parish, when they were approached by two men who forced them into a vehicle and drove away.

Witnesses alerted the police and an operation was immediately devised which led to the vehicle being intercepted.

rescue mission

The three persons were rescued and following investigations, one of the abductors was found to be a policeman.

His crony managed to make an escape but was later identified as a detective constable from a Corporate Area police station and urged to turn himself in for questioning.

He was reportedly held yesterday afternoon at an apartment complex in St Andrew.

United States President Barack Obama says that his country supports Jamaica's efforts to ensure public safety and to combat drug trafficking and other criminal activities.

President Obama also praised Jamaica for playing a key role in developing the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), a major regional security partnership between the US and the Caribbean, which was launched in Barbados in early June.

key role

"As a member of the Caribbean-US Joint Working Group, Jamaica played a key role in developing this initiative," Mr Obama said in his speech welcoming newly appointed Ambassador of Jamaica to the United States, Audrey Marks, at the White House last Monday.

"As the Jamaican Government seeks to uphold the rule of law, the United States supports its efforts to ensure public safety and to combat drug trafficking and other criminal activity," he stated.

He said that with the launch of the Initiative, the United States recognises that its security interests are "deeply intertwined" with those of the Caribbean nations.

social justice

"Along with other partners in the Caribbean, we pledge to work together to reduce illicit trafficking in the Caribbean, to advance public safety and security and to promote social justice by addressing the important issues of crime prevention, justice sector reform and corruption," the US President said.

The CBSI is an effort by the US Government and its Caribbean partners to develop a joint regional citizen safety strategy, to tackle the full range of security and criminal threats to the Caribbean Basin.

A man and his daughter were on Saturday arrested after they were allegedly caught with cocaine at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay.

They were reportedly about to check in on a flight destined for the United Kingdom.

Reports are that about 6 p.m., the 42-year-old welder from Birmingham, England, and his daughter, an 18-year-old student, who resides in Balaclava, St Elizabeth, were about to check in for their flight, when a suitcase which the father was carrying was searched.

Five bottles reportedly marked 'Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula' were found among some clothes. Following further checks, each bottle was allegedly found to contain a package with cocaine weighing 1.1 kilograms.

Two women who were fighting over a patty appeared before the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court on Friday.

The accused, Patricia Garwood, pleaded not guilty to malicious destruction of property and assault occasioning bodily harm after it was alleged that she and her co-worker were involved in a fight with the complainant.

The court was informed that the fight had occurred after the complainant purchased a patty from a popular restaurant in downtown Kingston where Garwood was employed.

Shortly after the purchase, the complainant realised that the patty was stale and returned it to Garwood for it to be exchanged for a fresh one. However, an argument developed over the complainant's claim that the patty was actually stale.

The complainant told the court that she was attacked by Garwood and one of her co-workers who pushed her to the ground where she fell in dirty water on Beckford Street. She also said that Garwood damaged her nurse uniform.

Garwood was observed laughing in the courtroom while the complainant addressed the court. Resident Magistrate Judith Pusey, who had witnessed Garwood's attitude, then warned her to desist from laughing after she had commented "I notice you enjoying yourself".