News

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett (second left) cuts the ribbon at the opening of Dumfries Infant and Primary School in St James in 2024 with Natasha Borota (left) and volunteers looking on.
January 3, 2026 by Neil Armstrong

Helping Hands Foundation sets July date to rebuild St Elizabeth school

Helping Hands Jamaica Foundation, a North America-based charity supporting Jamaican schools, has postponed its 20th anniversary voluntourism trip to Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth, until July. The…
Residents watch as fireworks light up the seafront for the first time in Black River, St Elizabeth, during the New Year’s fireworks show staged by the Urban Development Corporation.
January 3, 2026

Festival fireworks

The 2025 National Fireworks Festival has been hailed by the Urban Development Corporation (UDC) as a resounding national success, drawing thousands of Jamaicans across five locations: Kingston; Ocho…
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, December 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
January 3, 2026

US strikes Venezuela and says Nicolás Maduro has been captured and flown out of the country

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — The United States hit Venezuela with a “large-scale strike” early Saturday and said its president had been captured and flown out of the country after months of intense…
Custos of Clarendon Edith Chin (second right) speaks with Ashella Baker (second left) from Middle Quarters in St Elizabeth, while in the community recently to hand over a container house to the mother of six. Sharing in the discussion is representative of
January 3, 2026

More families receive container houses

Four additional families in hurricane-impacted parishes have received container houses through the Hurricane Melissa Relief Mission spearheaded by Custos of Clarendon Edith Chin. Two of the units were…
Kamla Persad Bissessar, prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago.
January 3, 2026

PM says Trinidad not part of US military operation against Venezuela

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Saturday said that Trinidad and Tobago did not participate in the United States military action against Venezuela, following…
Superintendent Rochelle McGibbon-Scott
January 3, 2026

Police warn of broker scams, counterfeit notes at Kingston port

Superintendent Rochelle McGibbon–Scott, commanding officer of the Newport West Police Formation, has urged members of the public, both in Jamaica and overseas, to exercise heightened caution amid two…
CARICOM Secretariat.
January 3, 2026

CARICOM leaders meet on US invasion of Venezuela

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC - Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders met early on Saturday to discuss the United States' invasion of Venezuela and the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife.…
Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks to the media, Friday, June 27, 2025, in the briefing room of the White House in Washington, as President Trump looks on. (AP Photo/Manuel Ceneta)
January 3, 2026

US attorney general says Maduro and wife to face criminal charges in New York

United States Attorney General Pam Bondi says deposed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores will face criminal charges after an indictment in New York. Bondi vowed in a social…
President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, December 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
January 3, 2026

Trump says US will decide on what’s next for Venezuela

President Donald Trump said in an interview Saturday morning that the United States will be making decisions on what is next for Venezuela after capturing the Latin American country’s president and…