PNP says leaked audio was outside official party channels as Manchester police probe Bellfield shooting

Jamaica’s opposition People’s National Party (PNP) says an internal review of a leaked audio clip found the conversation did not happen in any official party setting. The recording, now widely circulating, features two people believed to be PNP members discussing how to politicize the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NARA) and its chief executive officer, Major General Anthony Anderson.

PNP President Mark Golding said a newly appointed party officer took part in that discussion. He also stated that the party does not operate an official National Executive Council or executive WhatsApp group.

In Manchester, detectives are investigating a Sunday shooting that left two men in hospital and a third with minor injuries. Police said the men were among a group assembled at the entrance of Bellfield High School for a football match when gunmen approached and opened fire. The attackers then fled the area.

On the diplomatic front, Roderick Oliver Mair has been named Jamaica’s Consul General in New York. The Foreign Affairs Ministry said Mair, who served in Miami for more than seven years, is expected to take up the post in the coming weeks.

In athletics, Jamaica’s Tajay Gayle produced the top performance on the opening day of Commonwealth Games competition, placing first in the men’s long jump qualifying round with a day-leading 8.10 metres. Jamaica is seeking a stronger overall showing than at the previous Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where the team collected 15 medals: six gold, seven silver and two bronze.

At midday foreign exchange trading, the U.S. dollar sold for J$159.21, the British pound for J$215.66, and the Canadian dollar for J$113.70. The forecast said Tuesday morning would be mostly sunny and hazy, with widely scattered afternoon showers and thunderstorms expected mainly over central and western parishes.