JAMAICA: Legalizing some marijuana use could violate treaties, official says

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - If Jamaica legalizes small amounts of marijuana for personal use, it could violate international treaties and bring sanctions from the United States, a Jamaican official warned.

Jamaica's Parliament is considering relaxing drug laws to make small amounts of marijuana legal to adults for personal or religious use. The proposal follows complaints by police that marijuana-related cases are clogging the Caribbean island's courts and jails.

But speaking to a parliamentary committee Wednesday, Solicitor General Michael Hylton said any relaxation of drug laws could "be in breach of 1/8Jamaica's 3/8 international obligations" on drug control.

Jamaica has signed three international treaties that make possession of marijuana a criminal offense, including the 1988 U.N. Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
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JAMAICA: Opposition leader ordered to pay damages in libel suit

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - Jamaica's former prime minister and opposition leader suffered another legal blow on Thursday when the Supreme Court ordered him to pay damages in a libel suit.

Edward Seaga was ordered to pay Jamaican $3.5 million (US$63,000) to former Deputy Police Commissioner Leslie Harper after the court found that Seaga disparaged him in a 1996 speech to political supporters.

In his speech, Seaga accused Harper of bias in favor of the governing People's National Party and objected to his rumored appointment as police chief. Harper was later passed over and retired from the force.

"Mr. Harper should be compensated for this injury to his reputation," Justice Patrick Brooks wrote in a 34-page ruling.

Seaga will appeal the ruling, said his lawyer, Christopher Bovel.
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WASHINGTON - A Pentagon investigation has found overcharging and other violations in a $15.6 billion Iraq reconstruction contract awarded to Vice President Dick Cheney's former company, a defense official said Thursday. An ongoing audit of Halliburton's Kellogg, Brown & Root subsidiary found substantial overcharging for fuel and other items, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The problems go beyond overcharging, the official said, declining to elaborate.

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