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WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US forces on Friday launched a strike against alleged drug traffickers in the Eastern Pacific, killing three people, the military said. "Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations" along an apparent narco-trafficking route, the US Southern Command posted on X, adding that "three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action." The United States began...

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced that he will accept the substantial salary increase implemented under the 2023 compensation review of the public sector that will see his annual pay more than triple to nearly $30 million. In a statement on Friday Holness’ office said after careful review and internal consultations, it was agreed that the prime minister should conform to the established emoluments and remuneration for...

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) - President Donald Trump imposed on Friday an additional 10 per cent tariff on imports into the United States (US) after the US Supreme Court struck down many of his sweeping and often arbitrary duties, delivering a stinging rebuke on his signature economic policy. Trump signed the tariff order in the Oval Office -- saying on social media it was "effective almost immediately" -- after he spent the...

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Floyd Mayweather is coming out of retirement and will return to professional boxing after his exhibition fight with Mike Tyson this spring, he announced Friday. Former multi-weight world champion Mayweather retired from boxing in 2017, unbeaten in 50 bouts, though he has appeared in several exhibition fights since. "I still have what it takes to set more records in the sport of boxing," Mayweather,...

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Seven young ladies are lined up to compete for the Miss George Alleyne Hall title come March 7. According to Coordinator and Hall Culture and Entertainment Affairs Chairperson Domonique Williams, the selection process to whittle down the number to seven contestants, was an easy one. “The selection process was fairly easy for the planning committee. When we were sending out the forms for the girls to enter,...

KINGSTON, Jamaica — A sum of $1.08 billion has been allocated in the 2026/27 Estimates of Expenditure for upgrading Tax Administration Jamaica’s (TAJ’s) Revenue Administration Information System (RAIS). Upgrading the RAIS will improve the user experience and provide access to modern technological features and enhanced security systems. It is also intended to improve voluntary tax compliance and satisfy the requirements of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Programmed targets...

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Two serving members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and a 19-year-old man have been charged after they were reportedly held with a gun connected to a recent murder. In a statement Friday, the police said what began as a firearms investigation later evolved into a murder probe spanning multiple divisions. Reports are that on February 9, during an operation on Port Henderson Road in Portmore, officers...

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Residents in mining communities now have access to an app through which they can directly report concerns about mining operations to the authorities in real time. The Mining Matters mobile app, developed by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, through the Mines and Geology Division (MGD), was launched on Tuesday at the Wembley Centre of Excellence in Clarendon. READ: App coming to allow quick reporting of mining...

KINGSTON, Jamaica -- As Jamaica continues its recovery from Hurricane Melissa, prices for agricultural produce at Coronation Market in Kingston are trending downward, with tomatoes now selling for as low as $50, signalling a strong rebound in local food production. On this week’s episode of the Jamaica Observer’s Market Bag, Minister of Agriculture Floyd Green joins host Carlysia Ramdeen to highlight some initiatives introduced by the ministry that have contributed...

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The United States (US) dollar on Friday, February 20, ended trading at $156.74, down by 18 cents according to the Bank of Jamaica’s daily exchange trading summary. Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar ended trading at $116.64, up from $115.47 and the British pound at $210.98, up from $210.97.

GENEVA, Switzerland (CMC) – There has been an “alarming increase” in the number of children being recruited into gangs in Haiti with “devastating consequences” for children, families and society as a whole, the United Nations (UN) reported on Friday. It said that the French-speaking Caribbean Community (Caricom) country is in the grip of a deepening security, humanitarian and governance crisis and that armed gangs control large swathes of the capital,...

PARIS, France (AFP) — Paris Saint-Germain have decided against appealing a French labour court ruling that forced them to pay their former forward Kylian Mbappe up to 61 million euros ($71.8 million) in unpaid wages and bonuses, the club told AFP on Friday. PSG, who had been ordered in December to pay the Real Madrid star within a month even if they decided to appeal, said they had decided to...