CARIBBEAN

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) has once again been recognised as the international tourism board providing the Best Travel Advisor Support at the TravelAge West WAVE Awards, presented June 4 at The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey, California.The recognition marks the 14th time Jamaica has claimed the title across the 21-year history of the WAVE Awards.Describing the award as an “unmatched run”, the JTB says it affirms the destination’s enduring partnership with the […]

ST JAMES, Jamaica — A father and a son are reportedly among four men killed Wednesday morning in an alleged confrontation with members of the security forces near the Retirement landfill in Montego Bay.The two men have so far only been identified as Brian 'Teezy' Fairclough and Brian 'Teejay' Fairclough Jr.Teezy, the elder, is a tractor operator who works on the nearby quarry and Teejay is a security guard at the same location.Another man has been identified as "Tallis" while a name has not […]

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) —  Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates arrived on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning for questioning from United States (US) lawmakers over his relationship with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whose network of wealthy and powerful associates has fueled years of scrutiny and conspiracy theories.Gates, one of the world's richest men and a leading philanthropist, was appearing before the House Oversight Committee for a transcribed interview about the disgraced […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — An accused man was ordered to return to court in September to answer to charges in a $93 million fraud case when he appeared at the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Tuesday.Prosecutors say Ricardo Dennis was recently arrested as part of an investigation already before the courts and involving several other accused.He is charged with conspiracy to defraud, engaging in transactions involving criminal property, and possession of criminal property.It is alleged that the […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — A young woman is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to several charges in a case brought by the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA).Briana Smikle pleaded guilty in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Tuesday to several counts of receiving stolen property and engaging in transactions involving stolen property after attorneys from MOCA alleged that she had received money on different occasions that she knew or ought to have known was […]

ST JAMES, Jamaica —  Four men were reportedly killed in an alleged confrontation with members of the security forces near the Retirement landfill in Montego Bay on Wednesday morning.Reports coming forward so far are that the men were killed near a quarry in St Johns, just metres from the Retirement dump.The identities of the deceased have not yet been ascertained.The Independent Commission of Investigations (Indecom) has dispatched a team to investigate the incident.More to come.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition Spokesperson on Tourism and Linkages Andrea Purkiss, says in her constituency and others, very few people are benefitting from the Tourism Housing Assistance Recovery Programme (THARP) designed to assist hospitality workers after the passage of Hurricane Melissa.Speaking during her maiden sectoral contribution in Parliament on Tuesday, the Hanover Eastern Member of Parliament said that from her constituency office alone, 30 names of tourism workers were […]

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) —  United Nations (UN) rights chief Volker Turk urged the United States (US) to reconsider its immigration practices for the football World Cup, after fans, a top referee and team officials found themselves barred from the tournament."I really hope that there's a massive re-think of how immigration enforcement is impacting human rights and human dignity, and that especially for the World Cup, there is a re-think of the policies that we have unfortunately seen […]

PARIS, France(AFP)—The world experienced its second-hottest May on record, with Europe baking under an unusually early heatwave as climate extremes become the "new normal" on the continent, the EU's climate monitor said Wednesday.Records were broken in Britain, France, Ireland and Portugal last month as a "heat dome" of warm air from northern Africa pushed temperatures well above normal levels across western Europe."The month was marked by a rapid transition from much cooler-than-average […]

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AFP)—Somalia on Tuesday defended award-winning referee Omar Artan after he was denied entry to the United States and prevented from becoming the first Somali official to officiate at a World Cup finals.Somalia's Ministry of Sports expressed "deep regret" over Artan's denial of entry, saying that despite diplomatic engagement with US authorities and world football's governing body FIFA, it was "not possible to achieve a positive outcome".Artan, who in 2025 was named men's […]

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP)—Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was set to face questioning Wednesday from US lawmakers over his relationship with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whose network of wealthy and powerful associates has fueled years of scrutiny and conspiracy theories.Gates, one of the world's richest men and a leading philanthropist, was due to appear before the House Oversight Committee for a transcribed interview about the disgraced financier, who died in a New York jail […]

Texas teen Karmelo Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison Tuesday, just hours after being found guilty of murder in the death of a fellow high school student at a track meet.The 19-year-old had faced a maximum of 99 years imprisonment for the April 2025 fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf.Even though Anthony was just 17 at the time of the incident, Texas law allowed him to be charged as an adult. READ: Texas teen Karmelo Anthony found guilty of murder in death of Austin […]

ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica—Some residents of the Hurricane Melissa ravaged seaside community of Parottee are adamant that they will not leave the area following an announcement of relocation by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness recently.During the National Housing Trust’s (NHT’s) handing over of 27 service lots in Malvern, St Elizabeth last Thursday, Holness pointed to the coastal community of Parottee, which was among the areas hard hit, as one of the areas to benefit from relocation and […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica—Opposition Spokesperson on Tourism and Linkages Andrea Purkiss has accused Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett of remaining “completely silent” on the state of the cruise shipping sector, which she said, has shrunk over 28 per cent since 2019.Purkiss, the Member of Parliament for Hanover Eastern, said the world is experiencing a boom in cruise shipping while Jamaica is losing business. She addressed the matter on Tuesday during her maiden contribution to the Sectoral Debate […]

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP)—The United States (US) Congress on Tuesday passed a $70 billion bill funding President Donald Trump's hardline immigration crackdown through the rest of his term, ending months of bitter partisan fighting over the future of deportations and border enforcement.The measure -- approved roughly along party lines in the House after clearing the Senate last week -- now heads to Trump's desk and gives the Republican leader a major victory on one of his signature […]

ST JAMES, Jamaica— The Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA) has announced the reopening of the Catherine Hall Health Centre in St James following the completion of rehabilitation works due to significant damage sustained during the passage of Hurricane Melissa.The reopening represents another significant milestone in the authority’s ongoing recovery and restoration efforts across the western region.Since the hurricane, the WRHA has worked diligently to restore healthcare services, […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica—Twelve of the just over 30 Jamaican student-athletes who have qualified for individual finals at the NCAA Division 1 outdoor track and field championships that are set to start on Wednesday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, were finalists last year.Led by Ralford Mullings of the University of Oklahoma, who won the men’s discus throw last year, and Dejanae Oakley of the University of Georgia, who was second in the women’s 400m, the Jamaicans will be eyeing honour for […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica—Opposition Spokesperson on Tourism and Linkages, Andrea Purkiss has charged that Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett is promoting a “diversification myth” over his frequent promises of expanding Jamaica’s tourism dependence to other markets other than the United States, from which Jamaica gets over 80 per cent of its visitors.Purkiss made the charge on Tuesday during her contribution to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives.She cited that the tourism […]

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP)—United States (US) forces carried out strikes against Iran on Tuesday in what President Donald Trump said was retaliation for the downing of an American helicopter a day earlier by the Islamic Republic.Trump, in a telephone interview with ABC News, said the United States was responding "in a strong manner" to "what they did with our helicopter last night.""And I believe the response should be very strong, very powerful, and that's what this one is," he said.US […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica—CIBC Caribbean Bank has launched Google Pay in Jamaica, but local customers will initially be limited to using credit cards, even as customers in four other Caribbean markets are able to add both debit and credit cards.Google Pay is a digital service offered in the Google Wallet mobile application which allows users to add their debit or credit cards to conduct transactions with their mobile devices. This service enables users to pay online or make contactless payments with […]

TRELAWNY, Jamaica—A growing rivalry between motorsport drivers Doug Gore and Raynor King will take centre stage on Sunday, June 14, when the highly anticipated Skate Revenge event unfolds at the Trelawny Multi-purpose Stadium.The event, organised by the Montego Bay Racing Association (MRA), gets underway at 10:00 am with gates opening at 6:00 am and promises a thrilling day of speed and competition featuring some of Jamaica's top rally, circuit, drift, and drag racing competitors.The name […]

An American teenager was found guilty of murder Tuesday in the death of another teen in a high profile case that sparked debates over self-defense, race and school safety.Now 19, Karmelo Anthony, who is black, was convicted over the fatal stabbing of 17-year-old Austin Metcalf, who was white, at a school stadium in a Dallas, Texas suburb in April 2025.According to the Associated Press, Prosecutors argued that the stabbing of Metcalf was an unjustified attack related to a dispute over whether […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica— The Hadeed family have become the second-largest shareholder in General Accident Insurance Company Jamaica Limited (GENAC) following the sale of Trinidadian-based Beacon Insurance Company Limited.In a release published on May 28, it was revealed that CGH Limited was allocated 150,021,478 new GENAC ordinary shares and 9,700 new GENAC redeemable preference shares. These shares were issued as consideration for the acquisition of general insurer Beacon, which was acquired by […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica—Any Jamaican who moves onto Crown lands as of Tuesday, June 9, with a view to squatting, will not be considered for any type of settlement programme by the Government.Minister with responsibility for Land Titling and Settlements Robert Montague gave the warning in the House of Representatives on Tuesday during his contribution to the Sectoral Debate.“If you’re there already yuh there already, but we not dealing with the new people,” he said.Montague, the Member of […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The United States (US) dollar on Tuesday, June 9, ended trading at $158.93, up 42 cents, according to the Bank of Jamaica’s daily exchange trading summary.Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar ended trading at $114.14 up from $114.02 and the British pound at $213.03 up from $211.24.