CARIBBEAN

Sabrina Dockery and Jodean Williams became the latest Jamaican women to run under 11 seconds in the 100m after impressive performances at Saturday’s USATF Lone Star Grand Prix, a World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event held at Cushing stadium in Texas.Eleven Jamaican women have now dipped under the 11-second barrier this year.World Athletics Under-20 championships relay gold medalist Dockery upset a strong field to win the women’s 100m with a big personal best, 10.92 seconds (1.6m/s). […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica – As at 2:00 pm Saturday, roughly 65,000 customers representing 12 per cent of the National Water Commission’s (NWC) total customer base remain without service following an islandwide blackout on Friday night that lasted into Saturday morning.Minister of Water, Environment and Climate Change Matthew Samuda, in sharing the information during a joint press conference with, Minister of Energy, Transport and Telecommunications Daryl Vaz at the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica— President and chief executive officer of the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) Hugh Grant says the company is looking into a “cascading” shutdown effect set off by lightning that caused the islandwide blackout experienced Friday night into Saturday morning, describing the phenomenon as unexpected.“We lost five of our transmission lines emanating from one of our significant substations in the corporate area.  In parallel with that, we had a cascading effect, causing a loss […]

Since Jamaica did not qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup which is to be held in North America starting June 11, Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president Michael Ricketts has shared that his favourites to win are France, Argentina and Belgium.“I like a few teams. I am a fan of Kylian Mbappé, so obviously France is one of them. I like Argentina and I do have a relationship with Belgium so I hope the winner will come from that group,” Ricketts, who is currently in Florida in the United […]

WESTMORELAND, Jamaica — A 21-year-old Westmoreland man has been charged with murder in connection with the May 22 killing of Negril restaurant owner Nashon McGibbon, otherwise known as "Bubba” or "Bubbanash".Police say Joshua Vaz, otherwise known as "Josh”, of Negril in Westmoreland, has been charged with murder, wounding with intent, robbery with aggravation, and using a firearm to commit a felony following the shooting incident at McGibbon’s restaurant in the parish.According to […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — With the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) indicating that power has been restored to customers islandwide, the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has requested a preliminary report from the company by Monday regarding the islandwide blackout which ran from about 9:00pm Friday, June 5 into Saturday, June 6.In a statement on Saturday, the OUR said it is actively engaging JPS to determine the cause of the outage, assess the adequacy of its response, and get an update on system […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Difficulty finding a willing and qualified retired high court judge has delayed the work of the Data Protection Oversight Committee.This was revealed by the Minister of Science, Technology and Special Projects, Dr Andrew Wheatley, during his June 3 contribution to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives. He also provided an update on delays to the work of the Office of Information Commissioner (OIC), despite the Data Protection Act being passed since […]

Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) president, Michael Ricketts has expressed that the JFF is intent on getting things right going forward, following the Reggae Boyz’ failure to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.The World Cup starts June 11 and will run until the final game is played on July 19.Ricketts is currently in Florida in the United States to observe a friendly match between Jamaica and Haiti’s Under-20 teams, put on by Caribbean Americas Soccer Association (CASA). […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — State Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Senator Abka Fitz-Henley, says the Holness administration has invested billions from the National Housing Trust (NHT) to respond to the need for shelter across the country, which has intensified in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.Fitz-Henley made the declaration during debate in the upper house of Parliament on Friday on a bill to continue a drawdown from the NHT for budgetary support, which commenced in 2013.The state […]

Jamaica is advancing plans to be among the small developing countries that use nuclear energy for domestic purposes.Minister of Science, Technology and Special Projects, Dr Andrew Wheatley, provided an update on the issue during his recent contribution to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives. He pointed to the damage to the electricity grid caused by Hurricane Melissa last October and the ongoing Middle East War that has caused oil prices to spike, as reasons why Jamaica must […]

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) – Guyana says it is confident the International Court of Justice (ICJ) will uphold the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Award and the country’s border with Venezuela after the completion of all submissions in the historic case, leaving only the court’s final judgment outstanding.Prime Minister Mark Phillips, delivering a statement in the National Assembly on Friday, said all submissions in the case have been completed, bringing to an end eight years of proceedings […]

There is a mento fever in the dancehall air, and Currentzicks is one of the artistes infected by that nostalgic bug as his song, Hill And Gully, was recently released on the Inviting ‘riddim’.The single is produced by Most Wanted Records, a label from Spanish Town.Currentzicks told Observer Online that he has always liked mento, a folksy genre that took off in the 1940s. He gave Hill And Gully a dancehall edge to bridge the generation gap.“It was always an idea I had to remix some […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition Spokesperson on Energy Phillip Paulwell is calling for the government, specifically Prime Minister Andrew Holness, to clarify the cause of the system failure responsible for Friday's islandwide blackout.In a statement on Saturday, Paulwell said Holness also needs to tell the people of Jamaica when they can expect full restoration and stability in power supply, instead of what he described as a vague promise and still no full restoration after 14 […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition Spokesperson on Justice, Zuleika Jess has described as “institutional exploitation”, the lack of monetary or other support for Jamaica’s Justices of the Peace (JPs).Jess addressed the issue on June 3 during her contribution to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives.“I move to address a deep inequity in our community justice system: the total lack of financial support, stipend or expense coverage for Jamaica’s JPs,” Jess told the […]

ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica— A toddler succumbed to injuries sustained in a two-vehicle crash on the Pepper main road in St Elizabeth on Saturday morning.Preliminary reports indicate that about 10:30 am, the child was among four people travelling in a Toyota Voxy when the vehicle collided with a pickup truck.Five injured people were rushed to the Mandeville Regional Hospital, where the child was pronounced dead on arrival.— Kasey Williams

BERLIN, Germany(AFP) —  A United States (US) man who caught Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo was discharged from a German hospital on Saturday after recovering from the often deadly infection following 17 days of medical care, the clinic said.The Charite public hospital in Berlin said the man -- who had been working as a surgeon for a Christian missionary group in the DRC -- and his five family members who had all been in quarantine, were in "good health" and permitted to leave.The […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica —  Opposition Spokesman on Productivity, Efficiency and Competitiveness, Peter Bunting, has called for the HEART/NSTA-Trust to be transformed to meet the needs of a constantly evolving workforce.Bunting made the call on June 3 during his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives.He described HEART as a “training institution whose curriculum evolves on a multiyear cycle, in an environment where the relevant AI driven technology changes every few […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — As Sts Peter and Paul Preparatory School gears up to defend its title at the 2026 Prep School Championships next week, the school's preparations have received a significant boost thanks to a J$1 million donation from Express Canteen Services.The contribution, presented this week by Express Canteen Services managing director Ryan Foster, doubles the company's support from last year and reinforces a growing partnership that school officials say has become instrumental to […]

ANTALYA, Turkey (AFP) — Iran's World Cup squad left Turkey for Mexico on Saturday, taking off under the shadow of a bitter diplomatic row between Tehran and Washington after the United States (US) refused to issue visas for some of the team's support squad.The dispute erupted just days before the June 11 start of the 2026 World Cup, which is being jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.The team took off around 6:10 pm (1510 GMT) for Tijuana in northwest Mexico, where they will […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — After a successful debut last year, Guinness Pull Up is set to make its return on June 20, bringing another night of dancehall, sound system culture and live entertainment to Stadium East Car Park.The event, which launched in 2025, is built around a familiar feature of Jamaican music culture, the moment when a song connects so strongly with a crowd that it demands a rewind. Organisers say this year's staging will continue to celebrate that energy through […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — As of 5:00 am today, electricity has been restored to approximately 500,000 of 700,000 customers following the all-island electricity outage Friday night.This update was provided by Energy Minister Daryl Vaz, on advice from the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS).Vaz noted that he has been further advised that service to JPS customers who remain disconnected will be restored during the course of the morning.He has called the leadership of JPS to an emergency meeting, […]

Canada-based reggae artiste Knotty Royal is paying tribute to Jamaica’s history, culture, and natural beauty with his latest single, Doctor Bird, recorded on the popular Hill and Gully Riddim.The inspiration for the song dates back to a visit to Jamaica in 2010, when a relative shared stories about Christopher Columbus’ arrival on the island. The story remained with him for years and resurfaced when he heard the Hill and Gully Riddim.“That story stuck to me like cedar stain. When I […]

There was a collective gasp inside the Miramar Cultural Center in South Florida when three men lifted reggae singer Stacey Mirander onto the stage during Spragga Benz's 'Journey to Kingston' birthday concert.The audience, uncertain of what was about to unfold, watched as Mirander — visibly surprised — was welcomed onstage by Miramar Commissioner Maxwell B. Chambers and reggae-dancehall veteran Spragga Benz. What followed became one of the evening's most memorable moments.Handed a microphone […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Island Traffic Authority (ITA) is reporting that 49 fewer people have been killed in road fatalities up to June 5 this year, when compared with the similar period in 2025.This is a big 30 per cent decline in road deaths from 103 fatal crashes. If the current 30 per cent decrease is maintained throughout the year, Jamaica would see road fatalities falling below the 300-mark for the first time since 2012 when 260 people were killed.Of note is that fatal crashes this year […]

ST JAMES, Jamaica — The body of a man was found at the Retirement landfill in St James a short while ago.It is believed that the man was killed about 8:00 am, although the circumstances of his demise are currently unknown.The body, which was clad in a yellow and black shirt, was found by workers at the facility, amid the mounds of garbage.The police have since been deployed to the scene.This development comes as a section of the landfill continues to burn, having been on fire since […]