Published:Wednesday | February 18, 2026 | 11:12 AM
In Apocrypha, our favourite Fantasyland far, far away, where all politicians are friends and Oma D’unn solves political problems by parable, justice was the hot topic. Oma’s hobby of advising his political pal, R. U. Shaw, became so popular that,...
Bad Bunny is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, record producer and professional wrestler. Born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, he began his music career in 2013, performing reggaeton and Latin trap primarily. An immensely popular global superstar, he...
With the Fiftieth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) fast-approaching, an uncomfortable reality hangs over this high-profile moment in regional politics: The bloc – comprising 14 sovereign...
At first glance, the recent news that Malaysia and Indonesia, having banned X’s (formerly Twitter) artificial intelligence tool, Grok, might seem like a distant, foreign issue, something happening “over there”, with little relevance to Jamaica....
Pain may be considered a silent epidemic. One in five people worldwide suffers from chronic pain. Pain is subjective and all-encompassing, only he who feels it truly knows it. To the observer, doubt often creeps in because pain is intangible: we...
The aspiration of making Jamaica “the place of choice” for its citizens to “live, work, raise families, and do business” remains relevant. There are still four years in the two-decade timeframe since the launch of Vision 2030 for their achievement...
There have been several proposals for the adoption of impeachment in Jamaica. The most notable is what may conveniently be called the Golding Model. A bill for the inclusion of impeachment in the Jamaican Constitution was first tabled in Parliament...
The Standing Finance Committee of Parliament will soon begin its examination of the proposed ways in which nearly $ 1.5 trillion of your money and mine is going to be spent. Although we don’t perceive it, the annual budget exercise is a sacred...
The J$1.44 trillion expenditure budget – with its J$18 billion in new taxes – presented by Fayval Williams last week has to be read in the context of Hurricane Melissa. It is a stabilisation plan drafted under pressure: an attempt at balancing...
While February 14 is often reserved for tokens of affection, for thousands of Jamaicans, it marks a more profound commitment: the birth of a more inclusive nation. It is the anniversary of the Disabilities Act coming into effect in 2022, a...
Words matter. Undeniably, the language that we use to refer to persons with disabilities has an impact, as it shapes our perception of the world. This language has evolved over time, and terms that were commonly used some years ago are no longer...
The expression varies from as salaam aleikum to something like as salaam waleikum. Black populations such as Tanzania and its territory Zanzibar, the common salutation vary somewhat from the Arabic. Islam carved a positive image in the face of...
Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. It is celebrated every February 14. On Valentine’s Day people overtly express their affection to that special someone, or even to friends with flowers, chocolate, other gifts or going on a date. The day was named...
In Jamaica, girls, as they do almost every sphere of education, outperform boys in maths and science in primary and high school. By age 15 – according to the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report for 2025 – the gap...
Recent reports, from a primary school in Spanish Town, St Catherine, where students’ jackets were reportedly confiscated by school administrators during a cold weather front, have ignited public concern. Children were allegedly left exposed to...
I was just over four-years old and was heading to the village standpipes with two of my young neighbour’s carrying “pans” or buckets to go to the village standpipe when we heard big men shouting, “Pan, Pan.” At first, I thought they were laughing...
Much is publicly known about The Rt Hon Marcus Mosiah Garvey ONH (1887-1940) – Jamaica’s first National Hero, so in this article I will focus on what I think are not so well-known details of Garvey’s life. Garvey always wanted to be buried in...
Moral and ethical considerations notwithstanding, there is little doubt that the People’s National Party (PNP) members of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) were on sound legal grounds this week when they voted one of their...
I think it would be fair to say the public sector now sets the standard. The public sector wage restructuring exercise which saw public sector salaries increasing by as much as 300 per cent in some cases, played a significant role in elevating the...
The announcement from the Finance Ministry for the new financial year has once again placed taxation at the center of national conversation. For many Jamaicans already navigating rising food prices, transportation costs, utility bills, and housing...
Hurricane Melissa did more than rip off roofs and flatten farms. It tore through the foundations of Jamaica’s public finances. The Independent Fiscal Commission’s January assessment places the damage at US$8.8 billion, roughly 41 per cent of GDP....
If there is a positive take away for Jamaica from Transparency International (TI) latest Perception Corruption Perception Index (CPI), published this week, is that nothing has changed. Jamaica’s situation hasn’t worsened. The island still ranks...
At the beginning of 2025 I examined several situations under the caption ‘2025 – Another year of questions without suitable answers.’ This article revisits the past and looks also at other incidents that merit our attention going forward. The...
‘He’s a real rum head, he doesn’t know when to stop.’ All too often, we blame others for their lack of self-control – for not stopping after “just one” alcoholic drink. Our medical models reinforce this thinking, focusing heavily on individual...
Global education systems often create barriers for girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Data clearly states that such discrimination is both systemic and persistent. Unfortunately, the historical legacies of...
