CARIBBEAN

Kingston, Jamaica— It is time for Jamaica to claim a larger share of the US$3 trillion global creative economy, says Opposition Spokesperson on Culture, Creative Industries and Information, Nekeisha Burchell.Burchell addressed the issue on May 13 during her contribution to the Sectoral Debate at Gordon House.She noted that the global economy is increasingly shaped by streaming, digital media, artificial intelligence, influencer economies, creator platforms and direct-to-audience monetisation. […]

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) – Several islands in the eastern Caribbean were rocked by a 6.0 magnitude earthquake Saturday morning .The affected countries were the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, US Virgin Islands, Venezuela, Caribbean Netherlands, Saint Barthélemy, Antigua and Barbuda, and Anguilla.The epicenter was measured about 43.5 miles from the village of Codrington on the island of […]

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP)—Manchester City beat Chelsea 1-0 on Saturday to win the FA Cup and complete a domestic cup double.Antoine Semenyo scored the only goal of the game in the 72nd minute to ensure City prevailed after two successive FA Cup final defeats.More to come.

UNITED NATIONS (CMC)–Senior United Nations officials warned on Friday that blackouts and shortages are disrupting healthcare in Cuba.Edem Wosornu of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and Altaf Musani of the World Health Organization (WHO), told reporters in New York via video link that hospitals across Cuba are suspending surgeries, struggling to keep lifesaving equipment running and facing severe medicine shortages as blackouts and fuel shortages push the […]

ST MARY, Jamaica—A man wanted in connection with the death of his American girlfriend surrendered to police on Friday, May 15, after family members intervened to bring him in safely.Thirty-one-year-old Dane Watson had been on the run since April 29 when 42 y-o Melissa Sammoth of New York was found with multiple injuries at Cornwall Regional hospital.She was later pronounced dead.Police said Watson had taken Sammoth to the hospital before leaving her there.Investigators believe Watson fled the […]

Kingston, Jamaica— Opposition Spokesman on Transport, Mikael Phillips, is once again laying the blame for the shambolic state of Jamaica’s public transportation system squarely at the feet of the Transport Authority.He pointed the finger at the regulatory body on May 13, during his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives.“Consider the sheer absurdity of doubling taxi licenses from 13,963 in 2016 to nearly 28,000 in 2025, while providing no meaningful parking […]

NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC)—The Bahamas Department of Immigration says it has deported 107 Haitians to the French-speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) country as part of ongoing enforcement efforts by the Bahamas aimed at ensuring compliance with its immigration laws.In a statement, the Department said the group included 22 women and five minors and that many of the Haitians had overstayed their permitted landing time, while others were detained for illegal landing offences.The Department said […]

KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP)—A new Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo that has caused scores of deaths has a "very high lethality rate" and no vaccine nor specific treatment, the country's health minister warned Saturday."The Bundibugyo strain has no vaccine, no specific treatment," Kamba told a press briefing in Kinshasa."This strain has a very high lethality rate which can reach 50 percent," Samuel-Roger Kamba told a press briefing in Kinshasa.Earlier Saturday, ministry […]

BANGKOK, Thailand (AFP)—A collision between a freight train and a bus killed at least eight people and injured more than 30 in the Thai capital Bangkok on Saturday, police said.Firefighters and rescue workers cordoned off the collision site, with investigators seen peering into the burnt-out shell of the bus.Pedestrians were ushered away from the busy downtown intersection, which is used by tens of thousands of vehicles each day."Eight people have died and 35 others were injured," Bangkok […]

MALE, Maldives (AFP)—A rescue diver in the Maldives searching for the bodies of four Italians, who drowned in the deadliest diving disaster in the Indian Ocean tourist destination, has also died, authorities said Saturday.Teams from the Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF) were searching for a third day for the Italians who failed to return after a dive on Thursday, officials said.One body from the group of five was recovered the same day.Search operations are being carried out despite bad […]

Jamaica’s Nickisha Pryce and Shericka Jackson were winners at Saturday’s opening Wanda Diamond League meet in Shaoxing, China, taking the women’s 400m and 200m events respectively. Both were opening their outdoor seasons and laid down top five times.Pryce, the national champion, produced a strong final 50 metres to catch American Aaliyah Butler just before the finish line to win with 49.75 seconds, third-fastest in the world so far this year. Stacey-Ann Williams was fourth with 50.59 […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica –  Jamaicans Despiro Wray of Florida State University and Brandon Pottinger were winners on Friday’s second day of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Outdoors track and field championships in Louisville, Kentucky.Wray threw a personal best 18.63m, sixth best ever at FSU, to win the men’s shot put event, first for the school since 2018, breaking his previous best 18.25m set in March.His teammate Shamar Reid was fifth with 18.12m.Pottinger improved on his second-place […]

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — For most national soccer teams, playing a tournament on home turf is a huge advantage. For the United States, it can be the opposite.In the Gold Cup final last year, the US lost in a Houston stadium overwhelmingly packed with rival Mexico fans. The semi-final in St Louis, Missouri, was a sea of light blue for their opponents Guatemala.There were similar scenes at the US-hosted Copa America a year earlier.It is a huge concern for the US players under […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — A bearer employed at a popular financial institution was shot dead during an attempted robbery on a section of Half- Way Tree Road, St Andrew, on Friday afternoon.The dead man, identified as 68-year-old Lawrence Kessna from Phase 2, Seaview Gardens in St Andrew, was killed following a tussle with a wannabe thief.While expressing condolences to the family, friends and the business community affected by the killing, head of the Area Four police, Assistant Commissioner […]

ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica — Police in St Elizabeth on Friday distributed 30 helmets to motorcyclists in Junction as part of a road safety initiative.Head of the St Elizabeth police Superintendent Coleridge Minto, said the division has recorded 12 road fatalities so far this year compared to 14 for the corresponding period last year.“While we are seeing a decline in road fatalities motorcyclists continue to lead in the number of fatalities. In 2024, 14 motorcyclists died in crashes. In 2025, 16 […]

The nomination of controversial political figure and former TV anchor Kari Lake Halperin as the next United States ambassador to Jamaica has drawn mixed reactions from local commentators over what the potential appointment could mean for the island’s relations with Washington.Lake Halperin is considered a MAGA (Make America Great Again) diehard, whose time as the head of the US Agency for Global Media saw her controversially move to terminate hundreds of jobs at global broadcaster Voice of […]

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — The Airports Authority of Trinidad and Tobago  (AATT) Friday night said that a Ukrainian aircraft impounded at the Piarco International Airport after explosives were discovered onboard, had been given the authorisation to leave following extensive investigations by security agencies.In a statement, AATT said that Flight CVK-7078 had arrived in Trinidad and Tobago from The Bahamas on May 14 for a technical refuelling stop while en route to Cape Verde, with […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness departed the island on Friday for the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) where he is scheduled to participate in the official opening of Sandals Resorts International’s Treasure Beach Village.The prime minister will return to the island on Sunday.During the prime minister’s absence, Dr Horace Chang, deputy prime minister and minister of national security and peace, will be in charge of the Government.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – The NCB has donated $525,000 in vision kits for children through the Jamaica Society for the Blind (JSB) as the country marks Child's Month.“I couldn’t see what the teacher wrote on the board, and after a while my eyes would start to hurt,” said Ashayna Williams, a Grade six student at John Austin Primary School.“With the glasses, I can see so much better already! At first, I thought I would hate wearing glasses, but I love them. They look like regular […]

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) — Power was restored across Cuba on Friday following a large-scale blackout, but the island's energy crisis remained acute, with oil supplies tapped out.The Caribbean island of 9.6 million people, under a United States (US) energy blockade since January, has suffered critically low energy supplies in recent days.Some 65 per cent of Cuban territory endured simultaneous blackouts on Tuesday, data compiled by AFP showed.And on Wednesday, Energy Minister Vicente de la O Levy […]

Falling electricity rates pushed Jamaica’s inflation rate back into negative territory in April, offering consumers some relief from rising food and fuel costs and strengthening expectations that inflation could remain within the Bank of Jamaica’s target range in the near term.Data released Friday by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) showed that the All Jamaica Consumer Price Index declined 0.3 per cent in April, reversing the 0.3 per cent increase recorded in March, as lower […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Scotiabank Jamaica launched audio guidance at some of its automated teller machines (ATM) across the island, the bank said Friday.“We believe banking should be accessible to everyone and we are proud to introduce that our ATMs now have audio guidance. This feature enables individuals in the sight loss community to conduct transactions with greater independence, facilitating a seamless experience at our ATMs,” the bank said in a release to customers.To access audio […]

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The United States (US) dollar on Friday, May 14, ended trading at $159.02, down 17 cents, according to the Bank of Jamaica’s daily exchange trading summary.Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar ended trading at $115.78 down from $116.42, and the British pound at $213.08 down from $216.88

TACOMA, United States – A Jamaican man who was extradited to the United States (US) on lottery scam charges in 2025 was sentenced to three years in prison on Thursday.Roshard Andrew Carty,34, was sentenced in a US District Court in Tacoma after pleading guilty to a lottery scheme that cost an elderly victim more than $600,000, the United States Attorney’s office said on Friday.According to records filed in the case, Carty first contacted the 73-year-old southwest Washington victim in 2020. […]

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) — Haiti coach Sebastien Migne said Friday his team are targeting a place in the knockout rounds of the World Cup as he named a 26-strong squad for the tournament.Haiti are returning to the World Cup this year for the first time since qualifying for the 1974 finals, where they have been placed in a daunting Group C that includes Brazil, Morocco and Scotland.Migne said while Haiti's main goal is to win a first ever point in the World Cup, the bigger challenge was to […]