CARIBBEAN

KINGSTON, Jamaica— Subsidised nursery and daycare fees, universal pre-K for all four-year-olds, and after-school care at primary schools to support parents are part of a five-pillar policy initiative to be explored by the Government to tackle Jamaica’s total fertility rate, which, at 1.3 children per woman, is worryingly below the replacement level of 2.1.Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher has declared that “It’s time to have a conversation in the interests of preserving […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Two police constables charged with the fatal shooting of three men in Shrewsbury, Westmoreland, in 2013 were acquitted on three counts of murder following a four-week trial which ended in the Supreme Court on Wednesday.Constables Damane Campbell and Kenroy Hinds were formally found not guilty after the presiding judge, Leighton Pusey, directed the jury to enter verdicts of acquittal, having considered no-case submissions put forward by the defence teams of both accused.The […]

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Britain's media regulator on Wednesday slapped the United States (US) based host of an online forum blamed for 130 deaths in the United Kingdom (UK) with a £950,000 fine ($1.3 million) for "content encouraging and assisting suicide".Without naming the site, Ofcom said that the regulator had "concluded that the forum's provider has failed -- and continues to fail -- to comply with its duties to assess and mitigate the risk of people in the UK encountering […]

ST ANDREW, Jamaica — Road work will resume on Oakland Crescent and Oakland Road in St Andrew on Thursday under the Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network (SPARK) programme, following a suspension earlier this year.In a statement on Wednesday, Manager of Communication and Customer Services at the National Works Agency (NWA), Stephen Shaw, said that the $92 million project had encountered some technical issues, which have now been resolved.The project scope […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Reggae-dancehall artiste Frassdon is using his music as a weapon of truth and healing, as he continues to promote his powerful single, We Are.Released in March, We Are was co-produced by Frassdon and Kenneth Wright, and distributed through Studio Yard Music and Bylavibe Production.The song is deeply rooted in personal experience, inspired by a painful betrayal that saw the artiste losing his life savings at the hands of a former business partner.“This song is special […]

In the 40 years Joanna Marie knew Ernie Smith, their relationship spanned musical and personal mentorship. At the time of the singer-songwriter's death on April 16, she was his manager.As a tribute to Smith — who was 80 when he passed away at the University of Miami in Florida — she recorded Walk Good, My Friend. The song is produced by Ed Robinson, her husband."It was deeply emotional for me. This was not just another recording — it was a moment of reflection, loss and love. There were […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Government is moving to address period poverty, which Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has acknowledged, often causes girls to miss school, and women to miss work.The minister said, beginning this year, the Government will establish the National Menstrual Health Equity Initiative to alleviate period poverty among school-aged girls in Jamaica through strategic partnerships with the Ministry of Education and existing civic and multilateral groups such […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The American Friends of Jamaica (AFJ) has provided a grant award of US$20,000 for the development of teaching space for neurodivergent students in the Grade 7 Academy.St Michael's College, in a media release on Wednesday, said the grant was provided to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kingston, which is ultimately responsible for the academy."It will enable the retrofitting of a container that will provide smaller classrooms at Holy Trinity High School, appropriate for […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — With research suggesting that up to one in four Jamaican children are routinely “given” to the wrong father, with such children commonly referred to as “jackets”, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton has noted that this practice is compounding the low fertility rate problem Jamaica is facing.He also warned that it has serious health implications as it relates to family medical histories.Tufton spoke to the matter in the House of Representatives on […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica —Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Energy, Transport and Telecommunications Kedesha Rochester, has underscored Jamaica’s commitment to building a maritime sector that fully embraces its talent and potential, including now under-represented women.Pointing out that women represent just over one per cent of the global seafarer workforce, Rochester said Jamaica will fully participate in activities to recognise the contribution of women in the sector on May 18.“The day […]

ST JOHN’S, Antigua and Barbuda — Jamaica’s Minister of Tourism  Edmund Bartlett has issued a call to action to the Caribbean Community (Caricom), urging member states to formally recognise tourism as the region's single largest economic activity and to act collectively to protect, develop and future-proof the industry.Speaking ahead of the start of the Caribbean Travel Marketplace 2026 trade show in Antigua and Barbuda, Bartlett noted that while tourism contributes more than 40 per cent […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica has gone backwards in its development of a logistics hub, according to Opposition Spokesperson on Trade, Industry and Global Logistics, Anthony Hylton.Hylton, who led the development of a logistics hub during the last People’s National Party administration, made the assertion in the House of Representatives on Tuesday during his contribution to the Sectoral Debate.He noted that Jamaica has for decades functioned primarily as a trading economy rather than a […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — House Speaker Juliet Holness will make her grand return to the stage, while Opposition Leader Mark Golding and Minister of Tourism Ed Bartlett will debut their acts during the return of the Powerful Women and Men Perform for Charity show on Sunday, June 21.Other first-timers on the show, set for 7:00 pm at the Jamaica College Auditorium, will include Managing Director of Spectrum Management Authority Dr Maria Myers-Hamilton, while popular sets booked to return include […]

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — A United States (US) court on Wednesday overturned the conviction of a prominent lawyer serving a life sentence for killing his wife and son in a sensational case that drew national attention.Alex Murdaugh, 57, scion of an elite family of judges and attorneys, was denied a fair trial because a court clerk influenced the jury, the South Carolina Supreme Court said.Murdaugh was found guilty in March 2023 of shooting his son, Paul, 22, with a shotgun and his […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Marva Brodie, co-founder and director of the community newspaper, The News (originally Boulevard News), died from a heart attack at her Havendale home on Thursday, May 7.She was 82 years old.Her husband, veteran newsman and co-founder and managing editor of The News, Ben Brodie, told Observer Online that his wife suffered a seizure shortly after she woke.She was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.The funeral for Marva Brodie will take place at St Richard […]

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says the country will not recognise Dr Carla Barnett as the Caribbean Community (Caricom) secretary general (SG) after August, when her first five-year term ends, even as regional countries maintained that she had been reappointed to the position for another five years.“Trinidad and Tobago only recognises Barnett as SG until the end of her term this August 2026. All Caricom leaders could do as they […]

TRELAWNY, Jamaica — Five members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), assigned to the Trelawny Division, escaped with minor injuries after the service vehicle in which they were travelling overturned along Foreshore Road on Wednesday morning.A police source said the incident happened about 7:15 am as the driver was travelling toward Montego Bay when control of the vehicle was lost on a section of the Foreshore roadway in Falmouth.The cops, three men and two women, were reportedly en route […]

Two giants of lovers rock will be honoured at the second edition of ‘Lovers Rock: A Night of British Reggae’, which takes place on May 17 at Pon Top Seafood Grill & Bar in Kingston. The songs of singers Vivian Jones and Bitty McLean, who represent different eras of that genre, will be featured.Jones, born in Trelawny, migrated to the United Kingdom in the late 1960s. He rose to prominence there during the 1970s with a blend of roots-reggae and ballads that announced the lovers rock […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The RJR Gleaner Communications Group has agreed to sell its property located at 7 North Street in Kingston, the former home of the Jamaica Gleaner, to LP Azar Limited.In an announcement on Tuesday, it was revealed that the company entered into a binding agreement with LP Azar Limited to sell the building together with adjacent lots and parking areas.“The transaction forms part of the group’s broader strategic restructuring and modernisation initiatives aimed at […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Mayor of Kingston Andrew Swaby has raised concerns about the financial constraints being experienced by the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) amid the establishment of the One Road Authority.“It is still not clear how the establishment of the One Road Authority will address the issue of inadequate financial resources for local authorities. There has been no clear indication on how municipal corporations will gain access to increased allocations needed […]

BORDEAUX, France (AFP) — French authorities on Wednesday confined more than 1,700 passengers and crew on a British cruise ship docked in Bordeaux after an elderly passenger died, said officials, who played down any links to the hantavirus scare.Dozens also suffered from upset stomachs aboard the Ambition -- most of whose 1,233 passengers are from Britain or Ireland -- which arrived in the western port of Bordeaux on Tuesday, with 514 Indian crew members also on board.But health officials said […]

PARIS, France (AFP) — Vin Diesel and Michelle Rodriguez will lead a cast reunion of "The Fast and the Furious" stars on Wednesday in Cannes ahead of a special screening to mark the 25th anniversary of the original movie.Diesel and Rodriguez posed with fellow actor Jordana Brewster and the daughter of late co-star Paul Walker, who died in a car crash in 2013, at the French film festival Wednesday."The Fast and the Furious" will be screened in a midnight slot later in the day, bringing some […]

ST THOMAS, Jamaica — A 4.4 magnitude earthquake was recorded in eastern Jamaica early Wednesday morning, according to the Earthquake Unit at the University of the West Indies (UWI).Preliminary reports indicate that the quake struck at approximately 3:20 am and was felt across sections of eastern Jamaica.The epicentre was located approximately 10 kilometres south of Albion, St Thomas.The earthquake had a focal depth of 11 kilometres

Buzzing recording artiste Marcue is breaking barriers locally and internationally.The multifaceted entertainer says he is happy with the direction his career is headed at present, as his songs are becoming staples on local and international radio playlists and charts.The singer, who recently peaked at number 10 on the USA iTunes Singles Chart with his latest single entitled Just Can’t Let Go, says he believes it is his time to stamp his class in music.“Everything is coming together […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica—Newly appointed technical director of Calabar High football, Kemar Ricketts, said he is grateful to be a part of a school with such history, as he hopes to build something special with the school.“First off, let me say thanks be to God for allowing me to get another opportunity, a great opportunity of being a part of a school with history. You know, a lot of stars, a lot of sportsmen and different people would have been through this school, so it's a pleasure to be a part […]