Opposition spokesman on health Dr Alfred Dawes has painted a picture of a Jamaican healthcare system where there are two Jamaicas – one for the wealthy and the other serving the poor. “In one, your surgery is done in a day. In the other, you join a list and fast and pray,” said Dawes on Sunday as he addressed the public session of the 88th Annual Conference of the People’s...

President of the People’s National Party (PNP) Patriots, the Reverend Paul Blake says Jamaicans have been forced to take their calculators along with them whenever they go grocery shopping because of the frequency of price increases. Blake made the charge on Sunday while addressing the public session of the PNP’s 88th Annual Conference at Independence Park in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland. “Too many Jamaican families are now living in fear of the...

WESTMORELAND, Jamaica -- The energy at the People's National Party (PNP) 88th Annual Conference is reaching a fever pitch as patrons continue to stream into the venue. The earlier downpour has eased, giving way to an ever-thickening crowd eager for the evening's main event. ​At 5:20 pm, the venue erupted in excitement as the party leader made his grand entrance, greeted by a vibrant sea of orange waving banners and...

SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland — Persistent showers of rain failed to dampen spirits at the People’s National Party’s (PNP) historic 88th Annual Conference on Sunday, as thousands gathered at Independence Park in Savanna-la-Mar. Marking a significant departure from tradition, this year's staging is the first time in the party's history that the national conference is being hosted outside of Kingston. ​Under the theme, "We Put People First," the PNP intentionally chose Westmoreland...

WESTMORELAND, Jamaica — People's National Party (PNP) President Mark Golding on Sunday reiterated the party's rationale for hosting the public session of its annual conference this year in western Jamaica instead of the usual National Arena in Kingston, stating that the PNP is standing in solidarity with the people of the region who were severely impacted by the passage of Hurricane Melissa last October. The PNP’s 88th annual conference, which...

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Eighteen suspects in the 2021 assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moise have been transported to Florida to stand trial, US officials said Sunday. Moise, 53, was gunned down on July 7, 2021, at his private residence by a hired group of about 20 military-trained Colombian mercenaries. His security detail did not intervene to protect him. "Today's multi-location and international arrests underscore the FBI's continued commitment to...

Gospel artiste JoZee grew up in Chicago with Sicily in her blood—but Jamaica has been beating in her heart for decades. Now the Italian-American is turning a childhood obsession with reggae into a full-circle musical moment with Who God Says I Am, her first reggae gospel album, produced by veteran Jamaican hitmaker Danny Brownie for Main Street Records. The 15-track project, due October 6, 2026, explores faith, identity and the...

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Social Development Commission (SDC) Community Research and Development Planning Programme (CRDPP) continues to be guided primarily by targeted research and data-gathering practices, enabling the agency and other stakeholders to plan development strategies across Jamaica. Speaking during a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) “Think Tank”, SDC Deputy Executive Director for Community Research, Development Planning and Programmes, Juanita Reid, said the agency utilises an integrated community development approach to...

Farmers in St Mary are counting the mounting losses of weeks of bush fires – worsened by prolonged dry conditions – that have swept through agricultural communities, destroying crops, irrigation equipment and farm infrastructure. Farmer Owen Hanshard said large sections of the parish have been affected by fires that have moved across mountainsides and into farming areas, leaving some properties almost unrecognisable. “Most of St Mary is being gutted by...

ST JAMES, Jamaica — Montego Bay is set to strengthen its flood-monitoring and early warning capabilities after being selected for a US$3.5-million grant programme supported by the Mayors Migration Council’s (MMC) Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees. Mayor of Montego Bay Councillor Richard Vernon, who is currently overseas attending the conference, said the city is one of 10 selected for this year’s programme. According to Vernon, the funding will...

At the time Colin “Iley Dread” Levy started Kings Of Kings Productions in Montreal in 1995, Canada had no record company promoting reggae on the scale of VP Records in the United States or Greensleeves in the United Kingdom. Iley Dread, who is from St James, will be in Jamaica to celebrate his birthday on December 16, with an event at Louise Bennett Garden Theatre in Kingston. It will also...

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Long before Mount Alvernia High School student in Montego Bay, St James, Kenya Gardener, sat her first Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations in the May/June 2026 sitting, her mother had been teaching her lessons that extended beyond the syllabus: how to stay organised, believe in her abilities and approach her studies with consistency and discipline. That foundation, coupled with Kenya’s determination and academic ability, has helped her...