Haiti's president launches plans to restore army
Haitian President Michel Martelly says he is setting up a commission to study plans for a new security force, 16 years after the military was abolished.
Mr Martelly said the panel would look at the aims of the new force and ways of replacing UN peacekeepers who have been deployed since 2004.
International donors have argued that Haiti's focus should remain on rebuilding after the 2010 quake.
The Haitian army was long associated with rights abuses and coups.
Mr Martelly had been widely expected to announce the creation of a military force but his announcement appeared to signal a change in that plan.
Speaking at a ceremony to mark Armed Forces Day, the president said a civilian commission would examine the restoration of the army.
"The commission will have 40 days to prepare a plan to rehabilitate the army which should be presented by 1 January," Mr Martelly said.
"From that moment on we can start to think about the withdrawal of UN troops."
Police training
The army was abolished in 1995 by then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who had been overthrown in 1991 and returned to power three years later.
However, political turmoil continued in the ensuing years and since 2004, the UN's stabilisation mission, Minustah, has operated in the country.
Major donors, including the US and Canada, have said Haiti has the right to have its own army. But they point to what they see as more pressing issues for the nation.
"Canada fears that creating a second security force will significantly reduce the resources available for Haiti's other important priorities," John Babcock, Canadian Foreign Affairs spokesman told AP.
These include rehousing those left homeless by the January 2010 quake; dealing with a cholera epidemic and re-training the national police force.
Mr Martelly campaigned on a promise to restore the army and has tapped into anger directed against Minustah forces, which some Haitians see as foreign occupiers.
"It does seem Martelly has sought to channel anti-Minustah sentiment to bolster support for the reactivation of the armed forces," Mark Weisbrot from the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research told Reuters.
"The risk is that with this move, Haiti's bitter, longstanding divisions, which are never far from the surface, could come back with a vengeance."
Source-BBC
Shell launches Friction Modification Technology
Sol, the Caribbean leader in petroleum products is bringing an improved fuel offering to customers across the region. As licensee of the Shell brand, Sol has announced the introduction of Shell V-Power with Friction Modification Technology (FMT) in seven of its key markets.
The FMT was launched at the Impeccable Banquet Hall, Brickdam, recently. In attendance were Group retail manager Sol Caribbean Ltd, Philip Payne and shell’s scientist, James Marcias. There were also members of the private sector.
According to General Manager of Sol Guyana, Ken Figaro, the brand was launched in Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Suriname, the new Shell V-Power is an enhanced product developed by Shell in collaboration with Ferrari. The fuel is developed using the same technology used by Ferrari Formula One cars to deliver improved performance from the first fill.
He said that Shell V-Power features a unique double action formulation designed to actively clean your engine and reduce friction to help deliver more power throughout the life of your car.
Figaro noted that Sol as a licensee of the Shell brand remains passionate about offering quality, high performance fuels for your car. The company maintains an unwavering dedication to work with Shell to improve the fuel proposition to the Caribbean since its initial launch across the region in November 2006:
“Our relentless pursuit of excellence and our relationship with Shell has allowed us to offer some of the most advanced fuels in the world. Shell V-Power contains an advanced formulation with performance enhancing components, inspired by what the Shell team has learned on the racetrack with Ferrari.
“This helps to enhance the responsiveness of your engine as it is designed to remove existing power-robbing engine deposits and prevent their build up. In a clean engine, the fuel can burn more effectively enabling the engine to run more smoothly, thus keeping your car fit and strong,” Reidar Karlsrud – Regional Marketing Manager of the SOL Group said.
Locally and regionally, Shell has engaged its customer service attendants, retailers, mechanics and car enthusiasts, in an effort to educate them about the benefits of using Shell V-Power.
Motorists in Guyana can look forward to a range of activities to mark the re-launch of Shell V-Power, including a Happy Hour with giveaways at each Shell service station and promotions. Sol is a Shell licensee and uses Shell trademarks under licence.
Caribbean HIV conference attracts more than 2,000 participants from across the region
The 2011 Caribbean HIV Conference: Strengthening Evidence To Achieve Sustainable Action was due to commence on Friday evening with more than 2,000 individuals from across the region in attendance.
These individuals represent a wide range of interests, perspectives, and backgrounds, but they all share a common goal — to take part in forming a collaborative and sustainable response to the HIV epidemic in the Caribbean region.
The 2011 Caribbean HIV Conference takes place November 18–21, 2011, in Nassau, The Bahamas.
“This evening’s opening ceremony is designed to provide attendees with an informative, dynamic, and culturally meaningful introduction to the conference,” said conference co-chair Prof. Daisy Gely of the Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico. “We are all looking forward to marking the beginning of a collaborative and productive 4 days.”
The theme for this year’s conference, Strengthening Evidence To Achieve Sustainable Action, focuses on identifying a viable path that can be maintained in the future regional response to HIV.
“In the process of identifying the theme for this Conference, we reviewed the Caribbean’s HIV experience over the last three decades or so, and identified two critical and related concepts that we felt should be central to the Conference program — sustainability and the importance of evidence in guiding the strategies that will attain this goal,” said conference planning committee member Roger McLean of the University of the West Indies at St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. “Sustainability is a key challenge facing the regional HIV response, and, to confront it effectively, we need to carefully evaluate what has and hasn’t worked well previously, share good practices and lessons learned, and work together in their application through more integrated approaches.”
A major objective is that the conference will establish a special committee that will present preliminary recommendations to form the basis for a sustainability action plan. “We see the conference itself as a key component in the future,” said conference planning committee member Osborne Nurse, who will lead the Caribbean HIV Conference’s special session on sustainability. “We see it as an activity that can dovetail into a regional strategic framework and be aligned with one or more of the key strategic objectives of such a plan.”
Caribbean News Now
Study on sex workers in Barbados, Jamaica
A scientific study that looked at behaviour change interventions among sex and tourism workers has been presented to a Caribbean HIV-AIDS conference here.
The study by the Caribbean HIV&AIDS Alliance (CHAA) on “HIV and AIDS Responsible Tourism Model” was done in Barbados and Jamaica and focused on accelerating the private sector response to HIV and AIDS in the Caribbean.
CHAA’s Jamaica-Director of Programmes, Dr. Denise Chevannes-Vogel, who presented the study to the 2011 Caribbean HIV conference that opened here Friday, said she was pleased with the response from the various stakeholders assembled here.
“Policy makers and programme managers within the tourism sector will benefit tremendously from the toolkits, particularly, the compendium of best practices since it provides a strong model of approach from organisations and individuals affected by the Responsible Tourism project,” she said.
The Tourism Model project, funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) was done in Barbados and Jamaica and comprised various behaviour change interventions conducted among key populations such as sex workers, men who have sex with men and tourism workers. The pilot project manifests itself in the form of toolkits.
“The organisations which participated in the project were involved in various interventions which focussed on way of including the formal tourism sector such as hotels, tour guides and informal tourism section such as beach boys, taxi drivers, life guards and vendors”.
CHAA said the interventions included workplace policies and programme development; behaviour change communication; reduction of stigma and discrimination; advocacy to institutional capacity building as well as the promotion of voluntary counselling and testing especially among marginalised groups working in the tourism sector.
The CHAA said that the study also concluded that it is necessary to pay attention to poverty and the additional vulnerability of sex workers who work from the streets compared t0i formal establishments and that partnerships with the tourism private sector are vital in order to sensitise them to issues of human rights and HIV related stigma and discrimination.
It also noted that interventions that bridge the gap between vulnerable groups and the tourism locales in which they are located are necessary so as to reduce the HIV vulnerability of the locale and that gender empowerment, with particular attention to sexual and reproductive health rights, is important for services at traditional health service delivery points. (CMC)
Million-dollar car rental racket
Faulty systems that facilitated a multi-million-dollar car rental racket are still in place at the T&T Police Service (TTPS). The systems continue unabated two years after it was detected, a senior police source has revealed. The startling joyride is just one of the unlawful practices discovered and listed in the Special Audit of the Management and Maintenance of Vehicles in the TTPS dated March 8, 2010. The audit was conducted during the period 2006 to 2008, covering 14 police stations. In the 53-page report obtained by Sunday Guardian, the audit frowned upon an abuse of the car rental system, duplicate purchasing payments, breach of the TTPS standing orders, and lack of policy and procurement practices.
Despite recommendations, checks revealed that to date no amendments have been made to the TTPS Standing Orders regarding vehicle rentals and other shortfalls. Data revealed that $86 million was allocated and pumped into the TTPS to boost the police fleet over the three-year period, to assist in the fight against crime. The TTPS fleet comprises trucks (dump and cargo), wreckers, buses, mobile stations, pick-ups, SUVs, cars, motorcycles, tractors and a pirogue. Despite the increase in the fleet, the report stated, additional resources was required to assist with covert operations. Divisional squads responsible for criminal intelligence and crime and operations have been listed as units responsible for conducting covert operations. In the execution of duty such units, the report stated, continued to rent/lease vehicles at a cost of $22.5 million over the three-year-period.
A probe into public complaints about the TTPS’ inability to respond to reports in a timely manner in spite of resources unearthed a major car rental racket. In fact, data for the period 2006/2007 revealed that the actual expenditure for the rental of vehicles exceeded the estimated budget by more than 80 per cent. Overall, 65 vehicles were rented per month during the period December 2007 to February 2009 to enable covert operations. As to how many cars were rented/leased per unit, the audit was unable to ascertain, as information was not forthcoming from the criminal intelligence unit. According to the report, the rental of vehicles was extracted from the recurrent expenditure records maintained by the Police Service Accounting Unit (PSAU).
Expenditure for the financial years 2005/2006, 2006/2007 and 2007/2008 showed that the rental costs continued to increase over the three-year-period. A breakdown of the cost on rental/leased vehicles over the three-year period is as follows:
• 2006-$5.07 million
• 2007-$8.12 million
• 2008-$8.96 million
While the audit revealed three units were responsible for maintaining the rental agreements and weekly status reports of the leasing and renting of vehicles, information was based on records maintained only by divisional squads responsible for crime and operations.
Lack of relevant documentation
In an attempt to justify the lack of transparency, other units described the rental of vehicles as a “confidential facility” used to enable covert operations. However, the far-fetched response failed to satisfy officials. The report stated: “There is a Police Service expectation that vehicles should not be kept for periods exceeding three-months, with the exception of vehicle rentals in Tobago. Despite this, we found that 16 vehicles were rented for a period of 14 continuous months.”
Stressing the need for a coherent policy to be implemented to cease such practices, the report stated: “There was no evidence that the TTPS evaluated the cost and service delivery benefits derived from leasing/renting vehicles.” Noting that the long-term agreements with as many as 20 different suppliers brought no cost benefit to the TTPS—as the rates charged were the same as the going market rate to the average citizen—the audit revealed the following information. • The Police Service did not take advantage of opportunities to negotiate a good deal that should achieve favourable rental terms.
• Evidence of inconsistent application of administrative procedures in that not all vouchers were supported by the relevant vehicle agreements.
• Rental agreements were not seen in 73 per cent of the sample examined.
Questions as to why documentation failed to accompany the authorising of the rental of some of the vehicles also remain unanswered. “There was no evidence of a formalised or documented system in place to manage the rental of vehicles. Vehicles were rented as and when required on a continuous basis. There was no evidence that the rental of vehicles was coordinated at a management level. We found no documented guidelines for contract negotiations or for the selection of suppliers,” the report stated.
“Information on rentals was not maintained in a manner that enabled the number of vehicles rented each year or the cost of vehicles per unit to be easily identified. The responsibility for rental of vehicles and maintaining rental records was not part of the portfolio of the Transport Branch. These systematic weaknesses in the management of leased and rental vehicles have led to administrative problems and potentially life-threatening failures.”
Late payment to suppliers
Further probing also revealed that the failure to pay suppliers in a timely manner also posed a challenge. An example of this, the report stated, was when a supplier threatened to seize a vehicle after a request for approval of a payment for $48,266 was made for rental of a vehicle over a seven-month period—January to July in 2006. There were similar instances during 2005/2006 involving lapse of payments for five invoices.
The report listed the delay in payment as a reflection of poor management of funds. “We found from our sample of 117 payment vouchers that there were several instances where late payments exceeded one year. “We found that vouchers were paid based on letters from suppliers which did not have invoice numbers quoted. Several credit notes each for a sum of $699 were seen among invoices submitted for rental payment. The PSAU was unable to provide us with explanations for these credit notes,” the report stated.
The report further cited the following reasons for “weak” payment controls:
• Photocopies of invoices were used to effect payments
• Cheque numbers were not recorded on payment vouchers
• Documented rental agreements were not made available
Another instance of the late payment practice was evident in 1996, when the Ministry of National Security leased some 100 vehicles from the National Insurance Property Development Company Ltd (Nipdec) for use by TTPS. Sixty of the 100 vehicles, the lease agreement stated, were rented for a period of 36-months at a monthly rate of $183,214.69. The sum of $168,964.69 represented the rental of the vehicles, while $14,250 was spent on repair and maintenance of the vehicles. However, the TTPS also failed to make timely payments to Nipdec to cover the vehicle rental over the three-year-period, and in 2005 the ministry was informed of an outstanding debt of $788,422.56 that was owed to the company.
Rental vehicles sold and duplicate purchase payments
Financial complications did not end there though, as Nipdec questioned under whose authority permission was granted for leased vehicles to be “apparently sold” by the TTPS without having legal title to the vehicles. No explanation, the report stated, was given for this. The queries continued due to the absence of a paper trail and communication. The ministry was also called upon to explain duplicate payments relating to the purchase of two Hilux vehicles. The audit discovered that the ministry paid the sum of $237,166 for the two vehicles in April 2007 and also in September.
The discrepancy was discovered after both receipts showed the same registration number, engine number and chassis number for the purchase of the two vehicles. The matter, Sunday Guardian learnt, is being investigated at present. Further discrepancies, the report stated, were discovered after the Project Management Unit (PMU) was unable to provide the vouchers for 146 vehicles acquired in 2006. Investigations revealed photocopies of the same Central Tenders Board approvals were used by both the PSAU and the PMU to effect payment for purchases.
‘Police Service should establish procurement policy’
Condemning such practices, the report stated: “The Police Service should ensure that a procurement policy is established, approved and documented as a matter of urgency. The strategy should place an expectation that procurement of vehicles is geared towards obtaining the highest possible quality at the lowest possible price that forms a best fit in delivering an effective and efficient service to the public.” The report also emphasised the need for greater communication between the Transport Branch of the Police Service and the Project Management Unit of the Ministry of National Security. As to why police officers continue to fail to follow the necessary guidelines, the report stated that the present Standing Orders should be updated.
“The Police Service should assess the reasons why officers do not follow the guidelines by the Standing Orders. Where instructions are burdensome, unrealistic, outdated and no longer meet the needs of the increased vehicle fleet, a review is necessary,” the report recommended. In concluding, the report stated the management and maintenance of Police Service vehicles show that management needs to make some strategic decisions on the future of fleet management in the TTPS. In doing so, the report stated that a decision must be made on whether the TTPS would be responsible for full fleet management or for specific areas.
Noting that the Standing Orders on which the TTPS relies for guidance are clear but do not address full fleet management, the report further stated that the strategies in place for purchasing, leasing, disposal and maintenance/repair of vehicles are not adequate. As a result, the following recommendations were made:
• Management should establish a comprehensive and effective fleet management system without delay. The system should include adequate policies and procedures for acquisition, replacement, use, maintenance, repair and disposal of vehicles. The system should include the monitoring at all levels especially by heads of divisions and officers in charge of stations to ensure proper compliance with the policies and procedures. Document strategies would enable understanding by all users and continuity by current and subsequent managers.
• The Standing Orders on which the Police Service relies for guidance with respect to fleet management should be updated.
• The Police Service should put in place a coherent policy that evaluates the cost and service delivery benefits derived from leasing and renting vehicles on a continuous long-term basis as against purchasing vehicles. The arrangements with suppliers should bring cost-benefit to the TTPS. They should negotiate rates to achieve favourable terms.
• The Police Service should ensure that the vehicle fleet policy provides specific guidance on the disposal of vehicles. The policy should give priority to the value for money of all repairs, whether due to age or vehicle failure/damage. Records showing basic information on the historic life, repair and maintenance of vehicles should be maintained in order to allow analysis of the costs associated with depreciation and wear and tear of vehicles and facilitate informed decisions.
• The fleet manger should place urgent and immediate emphasis on the maintenance of records which track each vehicle’s life cycle, a fundamental asset management requirement.
• The paper-based (file) system should be reviewed and if found to be inefficient, urgent consideration should be given to addressing the deficiencies by using a networked computerised fleet management system.
• The Police Service should ensure that the strategy must consider all operating costs and any additional cost to the State when the vehicle is not available for use. While there may be no one standard maintenance guide that will cover all vehicles, preventive maintenance should be developed as it is key to avoiding repair or replacement of costly vehicle components.
• There should be greater communication between the Transport Branch of the Police Service and the PMU of the Ministry of National Security with respect to the acquisition of vehicles for the Police Service.
By a letter dated October 2009, the recommendations were submitted to the office of the acting deputy commissioner of police for information and review. In January 2010, the department responded acknowledging the recommendations indicating plans were on stream to make the necessary changes.
Lee-Assang fails to answer
Questions e-mailed to the director of Public Affairs Unit of the TTPS Sharon Lee-Assang remained unanswered. Contacted Friday, on whether a response would be forthcoming, Lee-Assang questioned how Sunday Guardian was able to obtain a copy of the audit. “You are asking the TTPS to comment on an internal audit. This is confidential information that was leaked. I am trying to get a clear picture of what putting this information in the public domain would do. What is it going to do, you need to explain this to me? This is confidential information.”
Rain leaves trail of destruction
Heavy rainfall wreaked havoc in north Trinidad yesterday, leaving a trail of destruction—a $2 million wall in Maraval collapsed, a child was reportedly trapped in a house at Powder Magazine, Cocorite, while there was flooding and gridlock in other areas. Up to last night, communities like Maraval, La Seiva, Cocorite, St James, Dundonald Hill and Woodbrook were still under water. Residents were still engaged in mopping up operations with the assistance of Cepep crews. A massive traffic gridlock ensued. Commuters and shoppers at Westmall were left stranded for hours. Residents waiting in vain for the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management to respond and rescue the child trapped in the house were forced to use cutlasses to cut the branches and trunk of the tree themselves to free the child.
During the deluge, a landslide caused Belle View resident Wilfred Alexander’s kitchen to cave in. He estimated the damage around $45,000. Ames Douglas said the shops were flooded at Shoppes of Maraval, but they had cleaned it up. Sobbing, Gittens Avenue, Maraval resident Natalie Luz said she had recently moved into her apartment and had lost all her possessions. Amid the mayhem, people took time to capture the images on their cellphone cameras.
$2M to repair Maraval wall
Arriving on the scene at Maraval, Minister of Works and Infrastructure Jack Warner said it will cost about $2 million to fix the wall that fell at Trinidad Country Club. Warner said: “It would cost about $2 million dollars to fix here. Basically, just the front wall itself would cost about $1.5 million.” When asked who constructed the wall, Pure Director Hayden Phillip said: “I don’t want to give that part of the story. The story is what is happening here. If you want to get a good story come and see what is happening here. Who built the wall is not the story.”
When asked a second time, he maintained he was uninterested in that aspect of the story. “The story was not about who built the wall” but about the destruction meted out to citizens, he indicated. The wall, Sunday Guardian research unearthed, was constructed during the first phase of the Maraval project by Seereeram Brothers. The entire project had cost of $13.6 million. On May 12, the PM along with Warner officially opened the Maraval roundabout—part of the Maraval project which was initiated by PNM MP Colm Imbert to alleviate traffic woes in the area.
‘Wall saved other properties’
Meanwhile, Phillip said the fallen wall virtually saved all the properties over the road. He said: “You have a six foot drain and all the development going on. You have thousands of houses on the hill. People have no regard for Town and Country Planning. You have the foundation wall which is the retaining wall. The block wall failed throughout. Thank God the water went into Country Club and most of these properties are still intact here.” In the background, water trucks and personnel were busy cleaning up the streets coated with slush, debris, broken tree trunks and blocks.
Warner blames ’80s developers
Turning his attention to the developers, Warner added: “The developers we have these days have not been developing and taking care of their excess water and the drainage. The system we have here today was a system that was here in the 80s. I would blame the developers.” Meanwhile, Warner boasted they had gotten equipment and crews to the site. “On Monday, we shall begin to rebuild the wall,” said Warner. “Again, we shall dredge the rivers again until we have proper planning.” He even promised to meet with Planning Minister Bhoe Tewarie. In typical fashion, Warner said: “ It is unfortunate. It is one of those rare events.”
Help for citizens
Warner said Government was ready and willing to assist affected citizens with grants of $15, 000, $25,000 and even more. He said: “There are people in need. It will be done quickly. I am going to Cocorite and La Seiva.”
‘Nothing unusual about the rainfall’
What the metrological office has described as “usual” weather patterns, has left a trail of destruction in north Trinidad. An official yesterday explained: “There was nothing unusual about the rainfall, one of the possible reasons for the flash flooding was that it was quite possible that high tide was coming in and the water had nowhere to go. “The weather pattern was not unusual, it is common for this time of the year. “What we had was a upper level trough that was enhancing the convective activity, that is what caused the clouds to build rapidly and was responsible for the amount of precipitation.”
Natalie Wood: LA police reopen actress' death inquiry
US police have reopened an inquiry into the mysterious death of film star Natalie Wood, who drowned in 1981.
Police in Los Angeles say they have received new information relating to the case, but have not given details.
Wood was found dead during a boat trip off the coast of California with her husband, TV star Robert Wagner, and actor Christopher Walken.
At the time her death was ruled to have been an accident, but questions have lingered.
Speaking on Friday, Lt John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's office said "substantial" new information on Wood's death had come to light, but would confirm little else.
Her death remains classified as an accidental drowning until information if found to prove otherwise, Lt Corina said.
Hours earlier, the captain of the boat, Dennis Davern, told NBC News in a TV appearance that he lied to police during the initial investigation and that a fight between Wood and Mr Wagner had led to her death.
Mr Davern has made similar allegations before, in a magazine article and in an TV interview in 1992.
Pressed on whether Robert Wagner was a suspect, Lt Corina said he was not.
'Row on deck'
Wood had been partying with Wagner and actor Christopher Walken the night before her death, and the coroner's investigation ruled she had been drinking and may have slipped trying to board the dinghy.
"Recently sheriff's homicide investigators were contacted by persons who stated they had additional information about the Natalie Wood Wagner drowning," the department said, announcing the resumption of the investigation.
"Due to the additional information, Sheriff's Homicide Bureau has decided to take another look at the case."
Wood's body was found floating in a Catalina Island cove. Police reports say she was found wearing a long nightgown, socks, and a jacket.
The post-mortem report said Wood had bruises on her body and arms as well as a facial abrasion on her left cheek.
But questions over the exact circumstances of her death have persisted for 30 years. Family members have previously asked for authorities to re-examine the original findings.
The Los Angeles Times newspaper cited County Sheriff Lee Baca as saying detectives wanted to talk to the captain of the yacht, the Splendour, about comments around the 30th anniversary of Wood's death.
The Times also reported allegations that the captain had remembered new facts about the incident.
Natalie Wood's sister, Lana Wood, told CNN last year that she believed she drowned soon after an argument with Robert Wagner on the deck of the yacht.
"I just want the truth to come out, the real story," she said.
And the former captain, Dennis Davern, has published a book entitled Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour, alleging the actress died after a fight with her husband.
In his book Pieces of My Heart, Wagner acknowledged that there had been a fight with Wood before she had disappeared.
In a statement issued 
by his publicist, Wagner's family said they supported the reopening of the inquiry and trusted the detectives would "evaluate whether any new information relating to the death of Natalie Wood Wagner is valid, and that it comes from a credible source or sources other than those simply trying to profit from the 30-year anniversary of her tragic death".
Wood was the child of Russian immigrant parents in San Francisco, originally named Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko.
As a child, she featured in films like Miracle on 34th Street and The Ghost and Mrs Muir.
She was nominated for a best supporting actress Oscar her role in Rebel Without a Cause, and for best actress in Splendor in the Grass and Love with the Proper Stranger. She never won the award.
Kartel probed for 5 more murders
Embattled dancehall entertainer, Vybz Kartel, is now being probed in relation to five other murder cases.
Kartel, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, is now before the courts in relation to two murder cases.
However, the Head of the Criminal Investigation Branch, Assistant Commissioner Ealan Powell, said probes carried out by detectives have implicated Kartel in five additional murders that took place in the Corporate Area and St Catherine.
ACP Powell said charges are expected to be laid against the controversial DJ soon.
On October 3, Kartel was charged with murder, conspiracy to murder and illegal possession of a firearm in connection with the killing of businessman Barrington ‘Bossie’ Burton.
Weeks later, the artiste was slapped with the murder of Clive ‘Lizard’ Williams.
Williams was beaten and stabbed on August 16 at a house in Havendale, St Andrew.
ACP Powell said his team of detectives is also pursuing other members of the entertainment industry. (Jamaica Gleaner)
Danger Mouse co-creator Mark Hall dies
Animator Mark Hall, co-founder of Cosgrove Hall, responsible for Chorlton and the Wheelies, Danger Mouse and The Wind in the Willows, has died of cancer at the age of 74.
He died in the early hours of Friday at his home in Manchester surrounded by his family, his company Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick Entertainment said.
Operations director Adrian Wilkins hailed "a lifetime of achievement" in the world of animation.
"He is one of life's gentlemen."
Hall, together with Brian Cosgrove, set up production company Stop Frame in the late 1960s before forming Cosgrave Hall Films.
They enjoyed international success with their productions which also included Danger Mouse spin-off Count Duckula, Jamie and the Magic Torch and Cockleshell Bay.
Danger Mouse - voiced by Only Fools and Horses actor David Jason - was joined in his quest to defeat the evil Baron Greenback by bumbling sidekick Penfold, voiced by Terry and June star Terry Scott.
In 2006, the 25th anniversary year of Danger Mouse, Hall told the BBC that the programme had succeeded because of the strange scenarios the pair found themselves in.
"The adults watched because of that kind of anarchy," he said.
"The kids watched it because they just loved the stories and the absolutely stupid gags."
He praised Jason's "fantastic" voicing of Danger Mouse as well as Scott's "wonderful" Penfold.
He said that Danger Mouse, who lived inside a postbox in London's Baker Street, was "a sort of cross between Bond and all sorts of things".
"He was supposed to be suave but he was a mouse with big ears."
The show, produced by Cosgrove Hall for Thames TV, attracted an average audience of 3.5 million when it was first shown in the UK on ITV.
It has since been seen in more than 80 countries.
Cosgrove Hall went out of business two years ago but both Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall came out of retirement this year to form Cosgrove Hall Fitzpatrick Entertainment (CHF) with Francis Fitzpatrick, creator of children's TV hit Jakers!
The company has created a new character Pip! which it says could create at least 75 jobs in the Manchester area when production gets under way.
They have also created new series The HeroGliffix, a set of "so-called super heroes" who have "paws with flaws that get in the way of their superpowers in the most inconvenient and comical ways".
CHF's Adrian Wilkins said: "Mark was instrumental in designing the two new TV shows which we're taking to market now which are, if you like, his legacy.
"And he actually saw the Cosgrove Hall name resurrected which was the nicest tribute we could give to him."
Mr Wilkins added: "One of our fellow directors summed it up the other day and said, when the history of animation is written you'll have the likes of Walt Disney up there, [Bob the Builder] Keith Chapman etc.
"But Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall are going to be in the lifetime hall of fame for their contribution to the animation industry."
Itsy Bitsy Bikini songwriter Lee Pockriss dies
Lee Pockriss, the songwriter behind Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini and Catch A Falling Star, has died at the age of 87.
His wife Sonja said he died at home in Connecticut following a long illness.
Best known for his collaborations with Paul Vance, including the number one hit Bikini, he also worked in musical theatre and television.
Perry Como released a hit version of Catch a Falling Star in 1957, winning the singer a Grammy Award in 1959.
Born in Brooklyn, Pockriss studied musicology in New York before serving as a cryptographer for the US Air Force during World War II.
After the war, he began composing, primarily for television, where he came across Vance - and a successful partnership was born.
Among their collaborations, including Four Little Heels, Playground of My Mind and Stagecoach to Cheyenne, Bikini remains the best-known.
A number one hit for Brian Hyland in 1960, the song was widely credited with helping the bikini gain popular acceptance beyond the starlet confines of Hollywood and the French Riviera.
Great Gatsby
Pockriss moved into musical theatre in the 60s, working alongside lyricist Anne Croswell on the Oscar Wilde adaptation Ernest in Love and, later, on the Broadway hit Tovarich (1963), which won a Tony Award for leading lady Vivien Leigh.
Gatsby, a 1969 adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald's famous novel, was never fully staged, though it did receive a concert performance in New York earlier this year.
Writing in the New York Times, reviewer David Rooney said the songs succeeded in "spreading a beguiling carpet of melancholy beneath all that jazz age revelry".
"It made me curious to see a full production," Mr Rooney added.
Pockriss, whose promise was revealed as a young graduate, will be remembered with affection by Sesame Street fans for his song My Polliwog Ways, as sung by Kermit the Frog.