Morning Bites: 5 things to know for Monday; Boys for Family Court; Ganja farmers restive; Clovis Toon; Breaking News and more

Morning Bites: 5 things to know for Monday, February 27, 2023 Boys caught on video kicking and slapping schoolmate for Family Court Two Denham Town High School boys who were [caught on video on February 16 inflicting a vicious beating on their schoolmate]( are to appear today in the Family Court to answer to assault charges. The boys were arrested and charged shortly after the video of the beating which took place inside a classroom went viral. One of them was turned in by his parents. According to the police, around 11:45 am on the day of the incident, the victim was forced into a classroom and assaulted by students at the institution. In the video of the incident, the student, who was dressed in a white shirt, khaki pants and school tie, was seemingly forced to his knees and kicked in his side. While appearing to plead his case, he rose to his feet but was slapped and told to kneel back down. When he did, he was kicked again and, upon getting up, was slapped several more times before being told to kneel again. Local ganja growers restive over decision to grant licence to import Canadian herb There is growing unrest among local ganja farmers after news emerged that a [licence has been granted to a company to import Canadian cannabis into Jamaica](. The development has been confirmed by President of the Jamaica Cannabis Licensed Association, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, who has asked growers to remain calm while highlighting that the Cannabis Licensing Authority (CLA) was aware of the anger created within the local industry following the decision to grant the licence. Speaking inside the ‘Jamaica Cannabis Industry Forum’ WhatsApp group, Lewin asked growers to figuratively “holster [their] weapons and keep [their] powder dry”. “I learnt and later confirmed that the CLA Board has approved the importation of ganja into Jamaica from Canada. A licensed (sic) applied for & was granted the necessary permits. I will not fault the licensee but I find it disturbing & indeed scandalous that we could allow imports from a state to which we cannot export,” Lewin wrote. “I have had a meeting with the Chairman of the CLA, he recognises the angst in the industry. It is anticipated a full review will be done. Please holster your weapons and keep your powder dry,” he added. Lewin confirmed to the Observer that he was the individual who had brought news of the recently granted licence to the attention of industry stakeholders. “I brought this to the attention of our members and the industry and also to the CLA who confirmed it. I made a lot of noise about it, because I am very angry that a country that does not allow Jamaican imports or exports from Jamaica into their market could be granted permission to export to Jamaica,” he said. Lewin, a former police commissioner and chief of defence staff, has been appealing for calm from industry stakeholders, noting that he was advised that the matter and the whole perspective of the CLA would be reexamined. How much longer calm will prevail is uncertain as local growers feel slighted. Some members of the 60-strong WhatsApp group have expressed that they are not interested in heeding Lewin’s guidance. Barbados to export packaged sugar to United States Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Agricultural Management Company (BAMC), Orlando Atherley, says the agency should bring in BD$4.2 million (One Barbados dollar=US$0.50 cents), in revenue from the sale of locally branded packages of [sugar]( exports that will be sold to the United States during this year’s harvest which starts today. Atherley said Barbados recently secured a contract to sell the United States 2,500 tons of packaged sugar every year. Speaking with the publication Barbados Today, Atherley said the market was recently secured. During a post-Cabinet press conference last Friday, Agriculture Minister Indar Weir said Barbados has almost doubled the price it currently receives for its packaged sugar exports. “Previously we sold sugar for somewhere around BD$$900 per ton. We are now selling sugar at around $1,500 to $1,700 per ton.” “So we have been able to penetrate the international market with packaged Barbados sugar. Previously what we did, we produced the sugar and exported it in bulk, and that is the reason we had the bond at the port,” said Weir. “We are no longer using that bond and we are no longer exporting sugar in bulk. We are actually packaging sugar now with Barbadian branding and that sugar is being exported to the US, and we still have the option of exporting to the UK as well,” Weir added. Meanwhile, the agriculture minister said all is in place for the crop to begin on Monday. He said the canes are at a mature stage and are ready for harvesting. Advertisement Winner of Nigeria’s violence-marred presidential elections to be announced today Early results have started to arrive from [Nigeria's tightest election]( since the end of military rule in 1999. Official results from the south-western Ekiti state show a clear victory for ruling party candidate Bola Tinubu in one of his strongholds. Further results will not be formally announced until 10:00 GMT today. Following widespread delays and attacks on some polling stations on Saturday, voting was postponed until Sunday in parts of the country. Voting continued through the night in some areas. Turnout appears to be high, especially among young people who make up about a third of the 87 million eligible voters. This makes it the biggest democratic exercise in Africa. The election has seen an unprecedented challenge to the two-party system that has dominated Nigeria for 24 years. Peter Obi from the previously little known Labour Party, Tinubu from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are all seen as potential winners. There are 15 other presidential candidates. A candidate needs to have the most votes and 25 per cent of ballots cast in two-thirds of Nigeria's 36 states to be declared the winner. Otherwise, there will be a run-off within 21 days - a first in Nigeria's history. Saturday's voting was marred by long delays at polling stations, as well as scattered reports of ballot-box snatching and attacks by armed men, especially in southern areas, where Obi has strong backing. Football: Monday’s transfer gossip Egypt winger Mohamed Salah would be willing to leave Liverpool in the summer if the club fail to qualify for next season's Champions League. [(Fijaches)]( Paris St-Germain will face competition from Liverpool for the signature of AC Milan and Portugal forward Rafael Leao, with the Merseyside club ready to include Colombia winger Luis Diaz, 26, in a swap deal for the 23-year-old. [(Calciomercat]( Arsenal are in talks with Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka, 30, over a new two-year contract extension. [(CaughtOffside)]( Arsenal, Newcastle and West Ham have all made offers near 40m euros (£35.3m) for Lazio and Serbia midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, 27. [(Calciomercato)]( Newcastle are plotting a summer move for Arsenal and Scotland defender Kieran Tierney, 25. [(Mirror)]( Brentford and Spain goalkeeper David Raya says he wants to "fight to win a title" amid interest from a number of Premier League clubs, including Tottenham. [(Athletic)]( Paris St-Germain are prepared to let some of their star names depart the club this summer as they want to trim their wage bill by 30 per cent. [(Times)]( Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and Jim Ratcliffe's Ineos Group would need to raise their initial offers to convince the Glazer family to sell Manchester United. [(Telegraph)]( Nottingham Forest are monitoring Norwich and Republic of Ireland defender Andrew Omobamidele, 20. [(Sun)]( Everton and Bournemouth are keeping tabs on Coventry City and Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres, 24. [(Football Insider)]( ICYMI: WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING Three dead, two injured in St Mary crash A crash on the Stewart Town main road in St Mary has [left three friends dead]( and two other individuals nursing serious injuries at the St Ann’s Bay hospital. All-island cricket competition interrupted by gunmen in Hanover A Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) all-island cricket match was interrupted over the weekend in Hanover by about nine gun-wielding men who reportedly [walked on the field brandishing their weapons](. China has some doubt on ability to invade Taiwan - CIA chief United States intelligence shows that China’s President Xi Jinping has instructed his country’s military to “be ready by 2027” to [invade Taiwan]( though he may be currently harbouring doubts about his ability to do so given Russia’s experience in its war with Ukraine, CIA Director William Burns said. CLOVIS TOON TODAY IN HISTORY Desert Storm ends On this day in 1991, Operation Desert Storm came to a conclusion as President George H W Bush declared that “Kuwait is liberated, Iraq’s army is defeated,” and announced that the allies would suspend combat operations at midnight, Eastern time. 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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