In Focus

The results of a vote on ending the United States’ blockade of Cuba are displayed at United Nations headquarters.
November 8, 2026

Jalil Dabdoub | Inebriated with words, practising hypocrisy

There was much in Jamaica’s recent statement to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) with which no reasonable Jamaican could quarrel. Foreign Affairs Minister Kamina Johnson Smith spoke eloquently of the UN Charter, international law, civilian protection, the rules-based international order and respect for decisions of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). At times, she appeared almost inebriated with her own recital of international law.

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The Jamaica Labour Party has condemned the conduct of People’s National Party members during Tuesday’s heated parliamentary sitting, calling for sanctions against Opposition MPs Mikael Phillips and Angela Brown Burke over what it described as unparliam
08 Nov, 2026 0

Anthony Hylton | Censoring the government: “The Constitution says the Cabinet answers to Parliament”

The Government has claimed that a motion of censure cannot be brought against the Government as a whole. The leader of government business, therefore, attempted to end debate on a censure motion…
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness making his contribution to the Budget Debate in Parliament on March 20.
08 Nov, 2026 0

Gordon Robinson | ... Lest we perish!

As we draw closer to Jamaica’s electoral cycle mid-term a mad scramble for potential occupancy of Jamaica house as future PM is on in earnest.
Member of Parliament for St Andrew North Central, Delano Seiveright, speaks during the State of the Constituency Debate, in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
08 Nov, 2026 0

Mark Wignall | Seiveright again and again

One of the Jamaicans who seems insistent on taking us to the rest of the world is Delano Seiveright. As a new member of parliament (MP), he swept to victory with magic and since then has not failed to…
Hurricane Melissa left the St. John Anglican Parish Church in Black River, St Elizabeth in ruin.
08 Nov, 2026 0

Ansord Hewitt | Reflections on utilities restoration post-Hurricane Melissa

October 28 marked the anniversary of Hurricane Melissa’s passage across western Jamaica, leaving unprecedented destruction and hardship in its wake. Less than two weeks later, I joined an OUR team to…
Representational image of students in STEM class.
01 Nov, 2026 0

Densil Williams | Modernise or die: It is that simple

The literature on economic competitiveness, both at the microeconomic and macroeconomic levels, was not born by accident. It is derived from deep analytical and reflective work on what we refer to as…
Dignitaries pose for a photo at the launch of the CHOGM 2026 in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda on November 1.
01 Nov, 2026 0

Shirley Botchwey | The Commonwealth has 2.7 billion reasons to act

Ours is not a new realisation. The Commonwealth is responding to what world leaders have acknowledged for many years: ‘business as usual’ cannot reverse the unsustainable course on which the world…
01 Nov, 2026 0

Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie | Is oil really the light at the end of the tunnel for Jamaica?

On October 22, the Jamaica Observer published an editorial “The Long Hunt for Oil: Is This the Light at the End of the Tunnel?” I had just finished watching a TVJ feature on Black River, almost one…
Half of this home in Bog, Westmoreland crumbled during the passage of Hurricane Melissa last October.
01 Nov, 2026 0

Dayton Campbell | We survived the storm, but we are still waiting for the recovery

On October 28, 2025, the eye of Hurricane Melissa came ashore at New Hope, and for a few terrible hours the wind took everything that was not tied down and much that was. The roofs were gone, but the…
Representational image
01 Nov, 2026 0

Mark Wignall | When the dangerous lottery scam sneaks up decently

The lady rented the two rooms under the accommodation set out on the Airbnb platform, and for two days, the specific guests in question met all of the requirements of basic honesty and the standard…