News

From left: Tishauna Mullings, mental health and psychosocial support (MHSS) coordinator with Project HOPE; Gloria Reid, an 86-year-old resident of Catherine Hall; Bishop Conrad H. Pitkin, Custos of St James; Bishop Wellesley Plummer, pastor of the Word of
December 31, 2025 by Albert Ferguson

Mental health advocate says trauma from Melissa only now surfacing

WESTERN BUREAU: Mental health advocate Tishauna Mullings is warning that the psychological toll of Hurricane Melissa is only now beginning to surface, two months after the storm left widespread…
Providence Baptist Church in Hodges Land, St Elizabeth, after Hurricane Melisa struck on October 28.
December 31, 2025 by Albert Ferguson

Storm damage cancels watch night services

WESTERN BUREAU: Reverend Godfrey Watson, chairman of the St Elizabeth Ministers’ Fraternal, says many churches across the parish will forgo their traditional watch night services to welcome the New…
Milbert Miller, principal of the Sydney Pagan STEM Academy in St Elizabeth, shows damage done to some of the school’s facilities by Hurricane Melissa.
December 31, 2025 by Sashana Small

Storm-hit Sydney Pagon Academy engages shifts

Students at the Sydney Pagon STEM Academy in St Elizabeth will return to school on a shift system when classes resume on January 6 as the institution continues to recover from extensive damage caused…
The Wheeler’s Mount Basic School in St Catherine, which was damaged by Hurricane Melissa.
December 31, 2025 by Ruddy Mathison

Crawford threatens court action over early childhood education

Opposition spokesman on education, Damion Crawford, says he is prepared to take the Government to court to defend what he describes as the constitutional right to early childhood education, citing…
JTA President Mark Malabver.
December 31, 2025 by Christopher Thomas

Malabver wants mandatory programme for learning-challenged students

WESTERN BUREAU: Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA) President Mark Malabver is calling for the mandatory installation of a diversion programme in schools to assess children who may have learning…
TUI UK passengers on arrival into the arrivals hall just outside customs at the Sangster International Airport earlier this month. They were among the first UK passengers to arrive on a charter flight from the UK since the passage of Hurricane Melissa.
December 31, 2025 by Janet Silvera

Bartlett hails strong tourism rebound

WESTERN BUREAU: As 2025 draws to a close, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett says Jamaica’s tourism sector is staging a strong and confidence-boosting recovery just weeks after the island was battered…
From left: Nadine Bell, dietitian at St Ann’s Bay Hospital; CEO Dennis Morgan; Rodroy Thomas, executive chef; and Lyndsay Isaacs, regional public relations manager at Sandals Ochi, during the handover of a restaurant range stove donated by the Sandals Fo
December 31, 2025

Sandals Foundation injects $3m into St Ann’s Bay, Cornwall hospitals

Medical teams at St Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital and Cornwall Regional Hospital are better placed to serve patients following a $3-million injection of resources from the Sandals Foundation. The…
Volunteers unpack water and meals donated by Olympian Claston Bernard and the JN Foundation.
December 31, 2025

‘More than a drop in the bucket’

When Hurricane Melissa tore through western Jamaica on October 28, it left a trail of destruction that crippled communities and disrupted lives. Among the hardest hit was Belmont Academy in…
From left: Tamara Dunbar, president, Kiwanis Club of CyberConnect Jamaica, Anadeen Nembhard, VP and head of people, culture and talent management, Sygnus Capital, and Martin Nesbeth, co-founder and CFO, Carbyne Capital.
December 31, 2025

Sygnus and Kiwanis Support Bustamante Hospital for Children

Sygnus has again partnered with the Kiwanis Club of CyberConnect Jamaica to support its annual Christmas initiative at the Bustamante Hospital for Children, donating essential items and cash to…