TRELAWNY, Jamaica — The Caribbean Export Development Agency is taking a more targeted approach to attracting investment into agriculture, with three agro-processing projects to be pitched to investors at the Caribbean Investment Forum (CIF) 2026 in Bridgetown, Barbados, next week. Chief Executive Officer of the Caribbean Export Development Agency Damie Sinanan said the projects represent an initial effort to demonstrate how investment-ready ventures can be packaged and presented to international...

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition Senator Ramon Small-Ferguson has questioned why the Government has moved to reduce fines for breaches of certain provisions under the Jamaica Consumer and Competition Authority (JCCA) Act, 2026. Once established, the authority will merge the functions of the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) and the Fair Trading Commission (FTC). Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Senator Aubyn Hill, opened the debate on the JCCA Bill in the...

United Kingdom-based dancehall star Stylo G has once again teamed up with award-winning international production duo The FaNaTiX, and according to several musical pundits, it seems as if they may have once again found the winning formula. This follows their previous collaborative effort entitled Touch Down, which achieved international success. The new single is titled CHOSEN and is scheduled to be officially released later this month on all major digital...

KINGSTON, Jamaica—The Rockfort Moving Forward Annual 5K Run & Walk is set to take place on Sunday, November 15, with organisers aiming to promote fitness, community unity and progress while raising funds to support three primary schools. The event, which is being staged under the theme: “Fitness, Community, Unity, Progress — Together We Move Forward,” will start at 6:30 am from Windward Road Primary School. Organised by Rockfort Moving Forward,...

KINGSTON, Jamaica—Mayor of Kingston Andrew Swaby met on Friday with transport stakeholders amid concerns surrounding parking for taxi operators in downtown Kingston. The mayor met with representatives of the Transport Authority, the Jamaica Constabulary Force and the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) to discuss ways to ease parking pressures in the busy city centre. "Customarily, we would have our stakeholders meeting in preparation for the Christmas season and all the...

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Lettuce is selling for as much as $1,800 per pound at the Coronation Market, adding to concerns that Jamaicans could face a pricey Christmas as drought conditions continue to squeeze agricultural production. With the festive season fast approaching, vendors are keeping a close watch on the volume of produce entering the market amid expectations that demand will rise in the weeks leading up to Christmas. At ‘Curry’...

For Simon Woodward, losing his job after years of dedication was a painful ending. But rather than allow redundancy to dictate what came next, the executive producer, known as Sir Simon D’First, turned the setback into an opportunity to invest in something he believed in — reggae music. The money he received after being made redundant became seed capital for a new chapter, helping to move Ras Wires from a...

An everyday remark at a factory and a phone call from a friend gave reggae singer Milton Blake the inspiration for his latest single, We Almost Lost It. Blake had heard one worker tell another, “We almost finished”, as he was preparing to leave the factory. The phrase caught his attention, and he wrote it down as a possible starting point for a song. Later, while listening to a rhythm...

KINGSTON, Jamaica—Swiftly executed, last Thursday’s fire drill at TotalEnergies’ Manor Park service station got the nod of the Jamaica Fire Brigade for having met required standards, though “there is no perfect drill”, as pointed out by Acting Sergeant Lecia Oliver, who, along with District Officer Shaun Hamilton, oversaw the mid-morning forecourt-fire simulation in the heart of busy upper Constant Spring Road, St Andrew. “The protocols—shutting down all systems and quickly...

David Smith, the triggerman in the murder of Member of Parliament Phillip Paulwell’s 10-month-old daughter, Sarayah, and her mother, Toshyna Patterson, has been sentenced to life in prison for the crime. The Kingston-based painter is to serve a minimum of 45 years behind bars before becoming eligible for parole. The sentencing was handed down by Chief Justice Bryan Sykes on Friday under a reported plea deal. Smith was among a...

OpenAI held its developer conference on September 29 and the announcement that matters to a business owner is not a model. It is a colleague. OpenAI calls them Dots: agents that live inside ChatGPT, run on the GPT-6 Astra model this column covered three weeks ago, and, in OpenAI’s words, “can work towards your goals 24/7.” Each Dot gets its own computer in the cloud with its own browser. It...

Government says its "committed to a fair, lawful and peaceful resolution" to the standoff over overtime pay that has led to junior doctors taking industrial action on Friday. READ: Brace for delays in health services, JMDA warns amid pay dispute In a release on Friday, the Minister of Labour and Social Security said it acknowledges the concerns of members of the Jamaica Medical Doctors’ Association (JMDA) as they await the...