On October 7, 2023, Kfir Bibas, a one-year-old baby, was kidnapped along with his four-year-old brother, Ariel, and their parents, Yarden and Shiri. Dragged into Hamas terror tunnels, their fate was unknown for over 500 days. For 16 months, the...
I have lived in Portmore for 41 years, and I believe Portmore can thrive with or without parish status. As the debate intensifies – especially in an election year – many are taking sides on whether Portmore should become Jamaica’s 15th parish. But...
On February 23, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness wrote an article in The Sunday Gleaner titled “Time to build.” In this article, he sought to express some of the achievements of his administration where housing is concerned. He also took the...
The Caribbean is caught in a vortex. This was recognised by the CARICOM Heads of Government at the recently concluded 48th meeting of the conference in Barbados. The heads identified, as among elements of the world wind: 1. Global change and...
Despite learning my mathematics only in English class, numbers are indispensable for making assertions. One cannot disregard statistics, simply because they do not match a narrative, but when they are favourable, hug them up. Many a belief have...
At first, I was not interested in smartphones. However, a colleague told me that, if he finds himself in dull conferences with subdued lighting, busy slides and monotonous, droning voices, he takes out his smartphone to entertain and distract...
It appears that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has grasped, and is moving to put into effect, what many people have been preaching all along: using the Caribbean’s tourism industry as an incubator of sorts for a CARICOM-wide industrial policy....
Jamaicans have cause to celebrate Winston Anderson’s elevation to the presidency of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) – a decision to which Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness was party. Highly respected as an academic and jurist, Justice Anderson...
The campaign for the position of secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS) has been tainted by misinformation and political distortion, particularly on social media. A misleading narrative has emerged, falsely framing the...
To my friend and colleague Zeno Obi Constance, and one of the people who has supported my work since I started this series in 1993, Pat Landreth-Smith The great Lord Kitchener came up with Pan in A Minor in 1987. The Merchant calypsonian sang...
As the AI revolution surges, Jamaica and the Caribbean find themselves at critical crossroads. While the world adapts to the transformative potential of AI, our region risks falling behind without a unified, forward-thinking strategy. It is...
The last time a new civil parish was carved out in Jamaica was in 1901 when the Palisadoes peninsula – including the town of Port Royal – was constituted as a separate parish called Port Royal, bringing the total number of parishes in Jamaica to 15...
At their summit in Barbados last week Caribbean Community (CARICOM) teased the possibility of some countries, by June, being able to accept, with full rights of residence, other members’ citizens. That, however, will depend on all members...
In her eloquent assertion of kinship with Africa at the African Union (AU) summit in Addis Ababa this month, Mia Mottley spoke only obliquely of two of the continent’s biggest and most intractable wars: the conflict in Sudan and the ongoing, Rwanda...
SOME TIME ago, around 2010 to be exact, Jamaicans were treated to the wonderfully simple yet effective social media news outlet known as On the Ground News Reporting, OGNR, as it was more popularly known. OGNR was a ‘news outlet’ that hired zero...
WE ARE fast approaching another general election in Jamaica, one in which promises will be made on how each party seeking power will make our nation the safest place on earth. Listening for over six decades and living the reality, there is one...
Published:Wednesday | February 26, 2025 | 12:07 AM
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) governments have it mostly right as they begin to think about what Big Tech and social media companies extract from the region’s economies. But based on the outline sketched last week by the community’s chairman, Mia...
Published:Wednesday | February 26, 2025 | 12:07 AM
“… In this world of grave difficulty confronting us at all levels, partnerships across the world will be important if we are going to survive the many challenges that are not unique to any one region, but hold all of us in a very, very difficult...
Published:Wednesday | February 26, 2025 | 12:07 AM
INTERNATIONAL TRANSFERS of personal data are a complex and contentious topic, but also one that cannot be avoided. Unless someone doesn’t use the internet or modern software, they will be transferring data to other countries and, therefore, need to...
The recent media announcement indicating that retired Justice Seymour Panton is not seeking re-engagement with the Integrity Commission (IC), consequent upon the end of his contract, is sad but not surprising. On the one hand, and I’m sure he...
Over the last few decades, Jamaica’s housing development motivations have gradually shifted from providing homes that meet basic living needs to treating real estate as a financial commodity. While this trend has been observed globally for some...
It is sensible that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has begun to assess the likely impact of Donald Trump’s trade policies on the region. What is surprising, assuming this newspaper correctly interpreted the post-summit statement by Jamaica’s...
Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.” The way we care for our older adults reflects our values and priorities as a nation. As Jamaica faces the realities of an ageing...
A human being really has an advantage in life when he or she can read, compute and behave sociably. Do we really believe that? Low literacy is one major cause of anti-social behaviour, below useful work skills and limited scope for productivity and...
The Gleaner reiterates its endorsement of Holy Trinity High School’s initiative to ensure that every student who enters the institution leaves fully literate, capable of absorbing more than basic education. If it works, the Holy Trinity High...
