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...

Jamaica’s first-ever representative to the international Mister Cosmopolitan pageant, Gladstone Johnson, finished in the Top 12 of the competition and walked away with two sectional awards. The 32-year-old Clarendon resident, who works as a science educator at a secondary school, described his experience at the pageant, which concluded on September 12 in Nha Trang, Vietnam, as amazing. “⁠It was a warm yet fulfilling feeling to be recognised as one of...

ST JAMES, Jamaica — As Jamaica approaches the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Melissa, which swept across the island, the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) used this year’s International Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday, September 19 to highlight the importance of ongoing efforts to protect the country’s coastal environment. Observed under the theme, “Sea the Change”, the agency used the annual initiative to reinforce the need for year-round collaboration among Jamaicans...

ATHENS, Greece (AFP) — An 82-year-old man died Sunday after he got into a fight over a sun lounger on a beach in Greece near Athens, local media reported. The octogenarian had a dispute with a 76-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman over the sun lounger, with the argument degenerating into a scuffle between the two men, according to police, the ANA news agency and ERT state television channel reported. The...

ST ANN, Jamaica — Guided by its motto, “Protect, Restore, Educate and Engage,” the St Ann Marine Association joined communities across the island in observing International Coastal Cleanup Day on Saturday, leading environmental efforts in the St Ann area. According to Asha Issa, a director of the organisation, the initiative forms part of the association’s wider outreach efforts, which include plans to establish a marine sanctuary in the area. “We...

KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Government has begun providing relocation assistance to vulnerable residents displaced during the eviction exercise at Cooper’s Pen, with 19 humanitarian grants valued at $9.9 million distributed to affected families. The grants were issued on Saturday, September 19, by Minister with responsibility for Land Titling and Settlements, Robert Montague, and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Infrastructure Development, Arlene Williams, as part of a...