KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) is calling on the Government to disclose whether Ambassador Anthony Anderson applied for the post of chief executive officer of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) following his appointment by Prime Minister Andrew Holness. In a statement shortly after the Wednesday morning announcement, the PNP said, “This appointment raises serious questions that the Government must answer openly and without delay. In...

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The United States (US) states of New York and New Jersey announced a probe Wednesday into whether FIFA has exploited football fans with "impossibly high" World Cup ticket prices. Prosecutors in the two states said they would investigate ticket practices by the game's governing body and organiser of the tournament starting June 11 in the United States, Mexico and Canada. "FIFA has turned buying...

  KINGSTON, Jamaica — The World Bank on Tuesday issued a catastrophe bond providing the Government of Jamaica with US$200 million in insurance coverage against hurricanes. The bond, which was provided through the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), replaces the previous catastrophe bond, which provided US$150 million in coverage and was fully paid out in 2025 following the impact of Hurricane Melissa on the island in October 2025. In...

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC), under its Cleaner Kingston initiative, is continuing efforts to clear downtown streets of garbage and other impediments, including tarps that are affecting the police’s camera visibility. “We have gotten some complaints from the police as it relates to tarps, which at times would [cause] poor visibility for the cameras in the area, which would affect their enforcement activities,” said...

KINGSTON, Jamaica — At least four people were taken to hospital on Wednesday following an explosion at Guardsman Group's corporate office on South Camp Road in St Andrew. Speaking with Observer Online, the Jamaica Fire Brigade confirmed that it responded to the scene shortly before 9:00 am. According to the brigade, welding work was being carried out on one of the security provider's armoured trucks before the explosion occurred. The police...

Shenseea has earned her fifth entry on Billboard's Rhythmic Airplay chart, thanks to her collaboration Echo (FIFA World Cup 2026) with reggaeton artiste Daddy Yankee. It debuted at #36 on the chart for the week of May 30. Released April 28, the song is the third release off the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Album compilation which features various artistes. Shenseea first made this particular Billboard chart in 2022 with R U...

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Prime Minister Andrew Holness has announced the appointment of Ambassador Major General Antony Anderson as chief executive officer of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA). Anderson, who currently serves as Jamaica’s ambassador to the United States, will assume duties on June 1, Holness said at a special post-cabinet press briefing on Monday. The prime minister said the appointment comes at a critical stage in Jamaica’s post-Hurricane...

Double World Under-20 record holder Jaydon Hibbert is set to return to competition on Wednesday when he competes in the men’s triple jump at the JBL Jump Fest in Košice, Slovakia. Hibbert will face fellow Jamaican, world leader Jordan Scott, in the men’s triple jump, while World Athletics Indoor finalist Nia Robinson and Ackelia Smith are set to contest the women’s long jump at the event that is being held...

PARIS, France (AFP) — YouTube will in future automatically detect artificial intelligence (AI) generated content and flag the information to viewers on its platform, the Google-owned company said Wednesday. The move reverses a previous policy of relying on video creators to self-report if they had used generative artificial intelligence tools. "If a creator doesn't specify whether or not they used AI, but our systems detect significant photorealistic AI use, we will...

An analyst from the Government Forensic Laboratory revealed on Tuesday that DNA belonging to an unidentified male was found in the motor vehicle in which Matthew Lee, Ucliffe Dyer and Mark Allen were travelling when they were fatally shot during an alleged confrontation with a police team on January 12, 2013. The police had reported that a fourth man who was in the car escaped during the incident which occurred...

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization (WHO) chief warned Wednesday that conflict raging in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo was dramatically complicating efforts to rein in a deadly Ebola outbreak and urged an immediate ceasefire. "Eastern DRC now faces a catastrophic collision of disease and conflict with the Ebola outbreak in Ituri province outpacing the response," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X. The WHO has recorded 10 confirmed Ebola...

PARIS, France (AFP) — The United Nations (UN) climate chief said Wednesday that a record-breaking early heatwave scorching a swathe of western Europe was "a brutal reminder of the spiralling impacts of the climate crisis". The United Kingdom (UK) and France have reported their hottest ever May days this week as a "heat dome" brought sizzling temperatures more typical of midsummer to western Europe. UN climate chief Simon Stiell said the...