News

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Floyd Green.
Updated 22 hours ago

Water at last - Essex Valley irrigation nears finish

WESTERN BUREAU: Agriculture Minister Floyd Green says farmers in Essex Valley, St Elizabeth, should begin receiving irrigation water by the end of September, as the Government moves to complete a…
Marylin Falconer, president of the Old Fort Craft Market.
Updated 21 hours ago by Albert Ferguson

Crafting a comeback - Old Fort gets $53.5m makeover

WESTERN BUREAU: Vendors at the Old Fort Craft Market on Jimmy Cliff Boulevard in Montego Bay, St James, are hailing the $53.5-million rehabilitation of the facility. Their president, Marylin Falconer,…
Delano Seiveright, chairman of the National Craft Council.
Updated 22 hours ago

Imported imitations put local artisans under siege

WESTERN BUREAU: Chairman of the National Craft Council, Delano Seiveright, is warning that imported products imitating Jamaican cultural symbols and designs are putting local artisans at an unfair…
Matthew Samuda (left), minister of water, environment and climate change; Kevin Kerr (right), president of the National Water Commission (NWC); and Gary Walters (centre), senior project manager, take part in a tour on Tuesday of the pipeline project curren
Updated 21 hours ago

Pipe after dark - Munroe Road-Wellington Drive project moving to night-time operations

The pipeline upgrading works from Munroe Road to Wellington Drive are shifting to night-time operations, with the corridor closing almost entirely on Sundays to allow for up to 24-hour construction.…
Woodhead reservoir is visible amid a drought near Manchester, England, August 13.
Updated 21 hours ago

Study finds climate change is strengthening El Niños

A new study suggests that El Niños, the natural climatic chaos agents that appear periodically and drive up global temperatures, are becoming stronger because of human-caused climate change. El Niños…
Florence Harrison (centre) with former students at the launch of a tribute book in her honour at the Blackhurst Cultural Centre in Toronto, Canada.
Updated 21 hours ago by Neil Armstrong

J’cans publish tribute book to teacher who shaped their lives in Canada

Years after his former teacher Florence Harrison retired, O. Dane Lawrence set out to find her. He found it hard to believe he was the only student whose life she had touched so deeply. “I realised…
Sonel Telemaque (left) wipes sweat from his brow while installing a new air conditioning unit alongside Brian Hermosillo during record-breaking heat on March 19 in Tempe, Arizona.
September 4, 2026

Keeping cool saves thousands of lives yearly, but at a cost

Cooling from air conditioning saves lives – more than 5,000 a year in the United States alone – but it also heats up the planet and taxes our electrical grid, scientists say. As the world warms,…
Earl Jarrett, chief executive officer of the JN Group, speaks with participants in the Valda Mae Cares Foundation’s (VMCF) NextGen Leadership Programme during their visit to the JN Group Corporate Offices in New Kingston recently.
September 4, 2026

Youth gain leadership, career exposure through JN Group

Eight young Jamaican participants in the United States-based Valda Mae Cares Foundation’s (VMCF) NextGen Leadership Programme gained practical exposure to leadership, business and professional…
State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information and Member of Parliament for Manchester Central Rhoda Moy Crawford, shares a photo opportunity with students from her constituency as they display tablets received during the Univer
September 4, 2026

630 PEP students receive tablets under USF programme

Some 630 high-performing students in this year’s Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations have received tablets under the Universal Service Fund’s (USF) Connect-a-Child Programme. The students, drawn…