More news in brief

 New date set for 'Bunny' Francis murder trial

The murder trial of the four men charged with killing of prominent Kingston businessman, Roderick 'Bunny' Francis, failed to start in the Home Circuit Court yesterday.

The matter could not start because one of the accused, Carlos Batista, has changed his attorney, and his new lawyer wants more time to get familiar with the case.

The matter has now been set for trial on September 29.

The accused - Batista, George Gardner, Sheldon Watson, and Newton Welsh - have been in custody since 2011.

Francis, who operated conch company B&D Trawling Limited, was murdered shortly after 10 on the morning of June 25, 2011.

Investigators reported that a group of men approached the businessman and shot him while he was leaving his home on Queensway in St Andrew.

The prosecution says Francis' murder was a contract killing.

Juror shortage stalls Coudray-Greaves case

WESTERN BUREAU:

The much-anticipated Michelle Coudray-Greaves murder trial failed to get off the ground in the St James Circuit Court yesterday because of a shortage of jurors.

Coudray-Greaves was a Trinidadian schoolteacher who was murdered in Montego Bay two years ago.

Ivan Taylor, the Westmoreland-based taxi operator who was the last person to see her alive prior to her burnt remains being found in a Montego Bay cane field, has been charged with her murder.

While a total of 29 jurors showed up yesterday, seven of that number asked to be exempted. As a consequence, it was deemed that the pool was too small, forcing High Court Justice Courtney Daye to adjourn the matter until Wednesday.

"I expected a larger pool of jurors, but the court registrar brought me seven applications for excuse, so we would start the process and not have the minimum number of jurors, which is 26," Daye said, while addressing the 29 jurors who were present.

Toddler killed in Hanover blaze

A two-year-old child was burnt to death in a house fire, said to be caused by a lit candle, in Bacadia district, Hanover, on Sunday.

Kemar Parkinson's remains were found in a one-bedroom dwelling that was destroyed.

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) says the child's guardian is in custody.

His identity is being withheld pending further investigations.

The JCF says residents saw fire coming from the house about 11 o'clock last night and called the police.

A unit from the Lucea Fire Department responded and carried out cooling-down operations.

Digicel Foundation to assist 10,000 primary students

More than 10,000 primary-school students currently performing below the national reading standard are to receive assistance in boosting their literacy levels.

The Digicel Foundation has announced that it will be extending its Enrichment Programme to some 35 primary schools in Manchester, Clarendon, Portland, St Elizabeth and St Catherine. These schools represent the second cohort for the Enrichment Programme, which aims to raise literacy and numeracy levels among students in grades one to three across the island.

Over the past five years, Digicel Foundation has set up 39 enrichment centres in primary schools, as well as providing 96 Enrichment Carts, which are smaller, mobile-versions of the enrichment centres.