CARIBBEAN

ST CATHERINE, Jamaica — International manufacturer LANCO is advancing plans to establish a new manufacturing facility in St Catherine, in a move expected to create jobs, increase productive capacity and further strengthen Jamaica’s manufacturing sector.The planned facility will focus on the manufacture of paints and adhesives.Minister of state in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce (MIIC), Delano Seiveright, met with senior LANCO executives at the AC Hotel in Kingston on […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica is undertaking a voluntary external evaluation of its public health preparedness and response capacities, under the International Health Regulations (2005) as the country continues efforts to strengthen national and regional health security.Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, said the International Health Regulations (2005) Verification and Evaluation Exercise (IHR-VEE) Mission provides an important opportunity for Jamaica to objectively […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica —Multi-genre vocalist Plas Moon is preparing to unveil her first full reggae single, Obsession, marking an exciting new chapter in her musical journey.The singer, who has developed a deep appreciation for reggae while living in Jamaica, said the island's culture and distinctive sound inspired her to explore the genre as an artiste."I have always loved reggae, but living in Jamaica has been a strong motivation for me to not just be a listener of the genre, but a giver. The […]

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A United States (US) federal appeals court on Friday broadly upheld a lower court ruling restricting a Trump administration policy of deporting undocumented migrants to countries that are not their own.The three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit said people facing "third-country" deportations must be given effective notice ahead of time about where they are being sent to allow them to raise concerns about potential […]

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Like many Haitian healthcare workers in the United States (US), Rachelle has been forced into hiding by US President Donald Trump's anti-immigrant policies."We take care of sick people. We don't commit any crimes. So why hunt us down like animals?" the New York nurse in her 30s told AFP, speaking under a pseudonym for fear of the authorities.After years spent caring for sick Americans, Rachelle faces deportation, like hundreds of thousands of her compatriots […]

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Brentford exposed Chelsea's defensive problems to inflict a damaging 3-0 defeat on Friday that gives Xabi Alonso plenty to ponder over a three-week international break.After a promising start to life under the former Real Madrid coach, Chelsea have picked up just one point from their last three league games.Goals from Jaidon Anthony, Igor Thiago and Fabio Carvalho took unbeaten Brentford above their west London neighbours and up to third in the table."I have […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The United States (US) dollar on Friday, September 18 ended trading at $157.85, down 13 cents, according to the Bank of Jamaica’s daily exchange trading summary.Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar ended trading at $ 113.18, down from $113.90, and the British pound ended at $214.35 up from $213.12.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – A High Court judge in Trinidad on Friday sentenced a 48-year-old man to 18 years in prison after he was found guilty of repeatedly raping a 15-year-old boy, whom he had befriended after running away from his home more than a decade ago.A nine-member jury had in June found Nigel Gordon Phillip guilty on two charges of buggery after the prosecution had accused him of committing the crimes during the period April to May 2015.The court was told that the teen had […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The father of Taneka Gardner, the 39-year-old woman who had her throat slashed on October 17, 2021, at the Pathways International Restoration Ministries in Albion, St James, told a defence attorney on Thursday during cross-examination that he had no knowledge of his daughter being in a romantic relationship with the late pastor of the church, Dr Kevin Smith.The murder trial of Andre Ruddock, the man accused of killing Gardner, got underway in the Home Circuit Court in […]

Westwood High School is known for producing talented, well-educated and poised young ladies. The institution, which has been in existence for more than a century, can credit much of this to its vibrant culture and traditions. Observer Online spoke to a number of the Stewart Town, Trelawny-based school’s alumni to find out some of the things that every Westwood girl would know.1. Jippi Jappa hat and wearing all whiteWestwood High is one of the few schools in Jamaica where students wear hats as […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Food prices continue to surge at the Coronation Market this week amid worsening drought conditions which have affected agricultural supplies across the country.Among the more expensive items at the market are lettuce, selling for $1,500 per pound, and Scotch bonnet peppers at $700 per pound. Sweet peppers are going for $600 per pound, while carrots and tomatoes are selling for $500 per pound. Onions, sweet potatoes and Irish potatoes are each priced at approximately $400 […]

Dario Amodei runs Anthropic, the company behind Claude, which this column has used in more weeks than any other tool. On 12 September he published an essay of nearly 4,000 words titled “We Must Pace the Frontier.” The central sentence is short: “We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain.”Sam Altman of OpenAI replied that he agreed the industry needs to pace the frontier, called […]

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — United States (US) President Donald Trump said Friday he was banning news outlets CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House, accusing them without specifics of reporting "fiction and lies."Trump added that "other Fake News Media Outlets to follow" but did not say which."I am proud to announce that, effective immediately, I am banning Fake News CNN, MSNOW... and Politico... from the White House as a result of their constant 'reporting' FAKE NEWS!" Trump […]

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) -- Cuba was plunged into its seventh massive blackout of the year on Friday, the energy ministry said, as fuel shortages bite on the US-blockaded communist-ruled island."A total disconnection of the electrical system has occurred," the ministry wrote on X, without specifying the cause.The embattled communist nation of more than nine million people is struggling to keep the lights on due to creaking infrastructure and a biting US energy blockade.Most Cubans now have power only […]

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) – Prime Minister Mark Phillips says Guyana’s trade with China reached approximately US$1.8 billion in 2025, while the country’s exports to the Asian market climbing to a record US$501 million.“In 2025, two-way trade between Guyana and China reached approximately US$1.8 billion, and Guyana’s exports to China grew to US$501 million, our strongest performance in trade to date, which raised China to the eighth spot as our largest export destination,” Phillips […]

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) – The Trinidad and Tobago government is defending the constitutionality of a new crime legislation it piloted Friday, one day after a state of emergency (SoE) ended.Attorney General John Jeremie, who piloted the Special Operations Bill, told Parliament that the constitutionality of the bill is based on the balance that it strikes between the enhanced security powers granted to the services and the protection of fundamental rights and the rule of law.“It allows […]

National champion Demisha Roswell won the 100m hurdles event at the 72nd staging of the ORLEN Memoriał Janusza Kusocińskiego held in Chorzow, Poland, a World Athletics Continental Tour Silver meet on Friday.A week after competing at the inaugural World Athletics Ultimate Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Roswell ran 12.83 seconds (0.5m/s) for her third win in Europe this season.Japan’s Yumi Tanaka was second with 12.94 seconds and Maayke Tjin A-Lim of the Netherlands was third with 12.97 […]

Ocean Boulevard in downtown Kingston is set to receive an image boost as a luxury lifestyle destination when Saint International presents the inaugural West Indies Fashion Art and Architecture Exchange (WIFAX), October 20 - 26. The cultural fusion is being heralded as historic, timely and a powerful value proposition in several quarters.WIFAX stands as a vital cornerstone of the downtown Kingston renaissance project, serving as a dynamic catalyst that reimagines the waterfront into a premier […]

Head Coach Rudolph Speid has named his Reggae Boyz squad for the first two games of their 2026-2027 Concacaf Nations League campaign.Jamaica, drawn in Group B, will open the first round at the National Stadium against Guatemala on Friday, September 25, before welcoming Honduras four days later on Tuesday, September 29.Speid has selected a 24-man squad for the assignment.It will see the return to the Reggae Boyz squad for a number of players who last represented Jamaica in the failed World Cup […]

MANCHESTER, Jamaica — Police in Manchester are trying to determine the circumstances leading to the mysterious death of a 52-year-old auto body repair man whose body was found in Whitney Turn near Porus a week ago.Police on Friday said the man’s relatives identified the body as that of Steven Clayton, otherwise called “Baps”, a resident of Confidence Avenue in Mandeville who operated an auto body repair business. Clayton was reported missing last Friday, September 11. Police reports are […]

MANCHESTER, Jamaica — A 53-year-old man is suspected to have drowned in the St Toolies River near Porus in Manchester Thursday evening.Police identified the deceased as 53-year-old Antonio Thomas otherwise called “Stram”, a construction worker and resident of Kendal district in Manchester.It is reported that about 6:00 pm, Thomas and his stepdaughter were at the river when he noticed that she got into difficulty in a 17-foot deep section of the river and tried to save her. During his […]

The People’s National Party (PNP) is mourning the passing of Jamaican-Canadian journalist and diaspora community leader Philip Mascoll, who died earlier this week after ailing for sometime. He was 77."Mascoll lived a life defined by service, using journalism and public communication to inform, advocate and build stronger communities," the PNP said in a release on Friday.The PNP noted that Mascoll's career took him from newsrooms in Britain and Jamaica to the Toronto Star, where he spent 27 […]

ST THOMAS, Jamaica -- A sensitisation meeting over a controversial aquaculture project in Barking Lodge, St Thomas erupted in chaos Tuesday as tensions boiled over amid continued opposition to the development near a primary school in the community.The meeting, held at the Barking Lodge Primary and Infant School, the institution located behind the proposed fish ponds, ended abruptly when Member of Parliament for St Thomas Eastern Rose Shaw and her team walked out. Dr Michelle Charles, the former […]

Lisbon, Portugal (AFP) -- Cristiano Ronaldo was called up for the start of Portugal's Nations League campaign on Friday as Jorge Jesus named his first squad since taking over as coach.The 41-year-old Ronaldo said last month this would "probably" be his final season in football, bringing the curtain down on a remarkable career during which he has scored more than 950 goals for club and country.Jesus, 72, coached five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo at Al-Nassr before leaving in May after guiding […]

PARIS, France (AFP) -- France captain Kylian Mbappe has signed with Swiss sportswear brand On, ending a long association with Nike that stretched back to the start of his career, the company announced on Friday."Today, Swiss sportswear brand On announces its entry into football alongside football champion Kylian Mbappe, marking the beginning of the brand's journey into the world's biggest sport," read a company statement.On also announced that 1998 World Cup winner Thierry Henry had been […]