HAVANA, Cuba (AFP)—Veteran Cuban leader Raul Castro appeared in public for the first time in months Thursday, attending an event in Havana to mark the centenary celebration of his brother Fidel's birth. The 95-year-old head of the Cuban armed forces and former president -- who was recently indicted by the United States -- appeared at the event dressed in olive-green military uniform, AFP reporters witnessed. He received a standing ovation...

MAY PEN, Clarendon — Sixty years after its inception, the National Farm Queen Competition is being repositioned for a new generation, with organiser Velonique Bowen determined to establish the event as a premier agricultural platform in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. Bowen, who spearheaded this year's staging alongside co-ordinator Jameika Johnson, described the 60th staging of the competition as a “resounding success”, saying the team had succeeded in increasing its...

The People’s National Party (PNP) has expressed deep concern at recent statements by President of the Senate, Tom Tavares-Finson, regarding Jamaica’s accession to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the country’s final appellate court. Tavares-Finson earlier this week declared that it would be "reckless" for Jamaica to commit to the Caribbean Court of Justice following leaked emails with allegations made by judges of the CCJ, including dictatorial tendencies in...

MANCHESTER, Jamaica—A man died as a result of injuries he sustained during a two-vehicle crash on the Williamsfield leg of Highway 2000 near Porus when he reportedly drove the wrong way on the dual-carriageway Thursday morning. The deceased has been identified as Parton Buchanan, 56, a resident of Blenheim district in Hanover. A police report said about 12:50 am, a Toyota Hiace was travelling easterly in the eastbound lane of...

KINGSTON, Jamaica—A firearm, several rounds of ammunition and US$1,780 in cash was seized by members of the National Strategic Anti-Gang Division (NSAD) of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) Specialized Investigation Branch at the Petrojam Montego Bay Terminal, in Freeport, Montego Bay on Tuesday. Reports are that about 11:40 am, lawmen executed a search warrant at the terminal. During the operation, a Palmetto State 9mm pistol, 101 rounds of mixed ammunition,...

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP)—Iran's military on Thursday rejected as "lies" remarks by US President Donald Trump claiming control of the Strait of Hormuz, saying the strategic waterway was fully under Iranian control. "The false claims of the United States that ships are passing through the Strait of Hormuz normally ... are nothing more than lies and fabrications," said Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the spokesperson for Iran's central military command, Khatam-al Anbiya. "The Strait...

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC)—Caribbean Community (Caricom) education ministers began a two-day meeting in Guyana on Wednesday amid concerns as to whether or not the education system is providing every learner with the foundation and confidence required to think critically and challenge the status quo. Guyana’s education minister Sonia Parag, who is chairing the meeting being held under the theme 'Educating for life, purpose and Caribbean progress,' said the theme calls for...

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APPEALING not just as a legislator, but also from his own experience with past convictions, Opposition Spokesperson on Youth and Human Rights Isat Buchanan has urged the Joint Select Committee reviewing the Child Diversion Act to make simple possession of a firearm or ammunition an offence that can be referred to child diversion, rather than leaving it solely to a judge’s discretion under Section 37 of the Act. He argued...