Morning Bites: 5 things to know for Monday; Interest Rates; Cop sentencing; Boyfriend killer; Clovis Toon; Breaking News and more

Morning Bites: 5 things to know for Monday, February 19, 2023 BOJ to announce latest decision on policy interest rate The country will know today whether the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) will again [increase its policy interest rate]( (the interest rate paid by the BOJ on overnight placements by deposit‐taking institutions). The rate was [last increased by 50 basis points]( to seven per cent on November 21, last year. In justifying the increase then, BOJ Governor Richard Byles explained that monetary tightening among Jamaica's main trading partners was continuing at a rapid pace. He said such a policy stance could cause capital outflows from Jamaica and a fast pace of exchange rate depreciation if domestic monetary policy is not aligned. Taking that into consideration, Byles said the BOJ’s Monetary Policy Committee decided to continue to contain Jamaican dollar liquidity expansion and to "maintain a relatively stable foreign exchange market" - the result of which is a cumulative increase of 650 basis points in the policy rate since October 2021. Byles said while the central bank has maintained a "flexible exchange rate", it has taken "decisive actions in the foreign exchange market, including selling foreign exchange when necessary". He argued that without these actions, imported inflation and consumer prices would have been much higher. The BOJ has been increasing the rate since October 2021, and some financial institutions have responded by increasing the cost of borrowing to consumers. Policeman convicted of killing man at football match to be sentenced Police Corporal Alcourt Williams, who was in January[found guilty of the murder of one man and unlawful wounding of another]( during a fight at a football match at Drax Hall, St Ann in 2010, will be sentenced today in the St Ann Parish Court. He was previously scheduled to be sentenced on February 3 but the date was pushed back to today to facilitate the defence, which indicated that it will be calling a character witness to testify on Williams’ behalf. At the time of the shooting, Williams had served the Jamaica Constabulary Force for 17 years. He was suspended after being charged in the aftermath of the shooting. According to reports, Williams, who was among spectators at the football match, intervened during a fight that involved several persons who were upset with a call by the referee. Williams identified himself as a policeman and told a man who was armed with a knife to drop the weapon. However, the man refused to do so and continued to advance towards another man who was involved in the altercation. Williams fired two warning shots in the air and two men were struck by the bullets. The two injured men were taken to hospital, where one died. Following investigations, Williams was charged with murder and unlawful wounding. His trial lasted six days, at the end of which the jury deliberated for less than an hour before returning the guilty verdict. Kingston woman who killed boyfriend to be sentenced The Kingston woman who [stabbed and killed her estranged partner]( — who was a convicted murderer on the run — will be sentenced today by Supreme Court Judge, Justice Leighton Pusey, who dismissed her self-defence argument last December. Pusey, in his summation and verdict, said he concluded, based on the evidence before the court, that the woman — Norma Lyn Dawes — inflicted all three wounds to the victim Oshane Coley, one of which was fatal. Furthermore, he said she was "not acting in lawful self-defence" and had lied on several occasions in giving evidence. According to details unveiled during the trial, Dawes and Coley were involved in an on-and-off relationship marked by verbal and physical abuse. Coley was one of three men who, in 2017, had absconded bail during trial on murder charges but were sentenced in their absence to life imprisonment. Things reportedly came to a head in the rocky relationship on the night of March 8, 2019 when, during an altercation, Dawes allegedly barricaded herself in her room only to have her ex-boyfriend climb through a window and attack her. Dawes said that during the struggle that ensued she picked up an object off the ground "which happened to be a knife" and stabbed Coley, who ran from the room, climbed over a wall, and was later found dead on the street some distance away. Defence attorney Paul Gentles, in his closing arguments had argued that the issues of self-defence and provocation "loomed large" in the case. Gentles said his client had repeatedly said she "never meant to kill him and was trying to protect herself". However, Justice Pusey punched several holes in Dawes’ evidence. He concluded that Coley was killed outside the house and appeared to be moving away from the victim while he was being stabbed hence her claim of self-defence was a lie. Pusey also relied on expert testimony that the blood spatter was outside the house. "In this case I am of the view that the defendant lied about the circumstances under which she stabbed the deceased," the judge declared. Advertisement Biden’s test: Sustaining unity as Ukraine war enters Year 2 One year ago, US President Joe Biden was bracing for the worst as [Russia massed troops in preparation to invade Ukraine](. As many in the West and even in Ukraine doubted Russian President Vladimir Putin's intentions, the White House was adamant: War was coming and Kyiv was woefully outgunned. In Washington, Biden's aides prepared contingency plans and even drafts of what the president would say should Ukraine's capital quickly fall to Russian forces — a scenario deemed likely by most US officials. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was offered help getting out of his country if he wanted it. Yet as Russia's invasion reaches the one-year mark, the city stands and Ukraine has beaten even its own expectations, buoyed by a US-led alliance that has agreed to equip Ukrainian forces with tanks, advanced air defense systems, and more, while keeping the Kyiv government afloat with tens of billions of dollars in direct assistance. For Biden, Ukraine was an unexpected crisis, but one that fits squarely into his larger foreign policy outlook that the United States and like-minded allies are in the midst of a generational conflict to demonstrate that liberal democracies such as the US can out-deliver autocracies. Monday’s football gossip and more Bayern Munich have joined Paris St-Germain in the race to sign Chelsea and Morocco winger Hakim Ziyech, 29. [(Fijaches)]( Chelsea owner Todd Boehly has no intention of sacking manager Graham Potter despite the Blues' 1-0 defeat by Southampton on Saturday. [(Mirror)]( Barcelona are keeping close tabs on Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri ahead of the summer window and would be prepared to offer £80m for the 26-year-old. [(Football Insider)]( Tottenham are eyeing former manager Mauricio Pochettino as a potential replacement for Antonio Conte if the Italian leaves Spurs at the end of the season. [(Nicolo Schira)]( Newcastle United are closely monitoring Arsenal and Scotland defender Kieran Tierney, 25. [(Football Insider)]( The Glazer family have been offered the financial backing to remain as owners of Manchester United by American hedge fund Elliott Management after the New York-based group registered an interest in investing in the club. [(ESPN)]( Inter Milan are the frontrunners to sign Borussia Monchengladbach and France forward Marcus Thuram, 25, ahead of Manchester United and Bayern Munich. [(Calciomercato)]( Chelsea and Tottenham are weighing up a summer move for Brighton's Republic of Ireland forward Evan Ferguson, 18. [(Sun)]( Sevilla are interested in securing a loan deal for Manchester City's Spanish full-back Sergio Gomez, 22. [(Fijaches)]( ICYMI: WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING CTOC, FID deny discrepancy over FBI’s involvement in SSL fraud probe The Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (CTOC) and the Financial Investigations Division (FID) have [denied accusations made by the People’s National Party (PNP)]( of discrepancy about the Federal Bureau of Investigations’ (FBI) involvement in the ongoing fraud case at the Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL). Man charged after allegedly stealing phone, $450,000 chain in Hanover A man has been charged after he [reportedly broke into a home in Negril, Hanover, and held up its occupants]( before making off with items, including a chain valued over $450,000, on Wednesday, February 15. US warns China not to send weapons to Russia for Ukraine war US intelligence suggests China is considering providing arms and ammunition to Russia, an [involvement in the Kremlin's war effort that would be a "serious problem,"]( Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. CLOVIS TOON TODAY IN HISTORY John Glenn orbits Earth On this day in 1962, astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth as he flew aboard Project Mercury’s Friendship 7 spacecraft, which circled the globe three times in a flight lasting 4 hours, 55 minutes and 23 seconds before splashing down safely in the Atlantic Ocean 800 miles southeast of Bermuda. For more stories, visit our website at www.jamaicaobserver.com or [sign up for our e-paper](. [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Website]( Copyright © 2023 Jamaica Observer, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: 40 - 42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue Kingston 5 Want to change how you receive these emails? 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