Mining Minister Floyd Green says the Government will adopt a zero-tolerance stance towards companies that delay or evade their legal obligations to rehabilitate exhausted mining pits. Speaking last week during his post-Sectoral Debate press conference, Green pledged greater environmental stewardship going forward. 

A war of words has developed between attorneys representing University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) CEO Fitzgerald Mitchell and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament. The row has arisen after the CEO’s legal counsel demanded an apology from both the committee and its chairman for comments he made about Mitchell at a meeting in late April.

The Government has signalled to taxi operators in the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region (KMTR) that they will receive word on an outstanding 16 per cent fare increase on June 1. The promise came from Finance and Planning Minister Fayval Williams and Transport Minister Daryl Vaz during a meeting with representatives of taxi associations at the Half-Way Tree Transport Centre in St Andrew on Monday.

WESTERN BUREAU: Tensions flared in Granville, St James, on Monday as angry residents mounted fiery roadblocks to protest the fatal police shooting of 45-year-old Latoya ‘Buju’ Bulgin under controversial circumstances. By the time The Gleaner arrived in the community shortly after 10 a.m., firefighters from the St James Division of the Jamaica Fire Brigade had already extinguished most of the fires.

Gordon House has made no commitment to tabling any of five Integrity Commission reports, including one on the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) submitted seven weeks ago, pointing out that the Integrity Commission Act sets no deadline for such reports to be laid in Parliament. “The Integrity Commission Act does not prescribe a specific timeline or procedure for the tabling of reports submitted to Parliament. The reports will therefore be dealt with in accordance with Parliament’s constitutional, legal and procedural responsibilities,” Parliament said in a statement yesterday.

Keisha Hill/Senior Gleaner Writer  Jamaica-born entrepreneur, philanthropist and global youth advocate Dr Ni’Cola Mitchell has transformed personal adversity into one of the most impactful girls’ empowerment movements in North America. From humble beginnings in Jamaica to having her life story adapted into a film and featured on Netflix, Mitchell’s journey is rooted in resilience, faith, healing and purpose.

Dear Mr Bassie,  I would like to know if someone under 18 years old and born in the United Kingdom can claim British citizenship. I hope you can shed some light on this for me.

Mrs Walker-Huntington: I’ve been in the United States for several years. I’m now 34 years old and from Jamaica. My mom is married to a US citizen for two years and is awaiting an interview date (she also lives here). Can she file for me as soon as she becomes a permanent resident? If yes, do I have to go back to Jamaica to complete the process? And, how long would it take?

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) got a failing grade from the Auditor General’s Department for the financial management of funds donated to assist the victims of Hurricane Melissa that devastated western and southern sections of the country on October 28, 2025.

Residents in sections of Westmoreland affected by a recently imposed curfew are pleading with the Government to ease restrictions, arguing that the measure is crippling livelihoods and worsening hardships already caused by Hurricane Melissa.

WESTERN BUREAU: The official opening of Treasure Beach Village at Beaches Resorts in the Turks and Caicos Islands on Saturday marked the first major step in a planned US$1-billion expansion for the Jamaican-owned hospitality brand. The investment will see Beaches Resorts double its footprint across the Caribbean over the next several years.

It was as if the vehicles vanished into thin air — some in under 60 seconds — leaving owners and investigators stunned by the thieves’ speed and precision. The criminals have remained relentless, targeting communities including Hope Pastures, Karachi and Mona in St Andrew, along with sections of Greater Portmore in St Catherine, Barnett Street in St James, and sections of Ochi Rios, St Ann, almost nightly.

The Opposition is demanding the tabling tomorrow of an Integrity Commission (IC) investigation into alleged corruption and irregularities at the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA), six weeks after the IC submitted the report to Parliament. Mark Golding, the leader of the Opposition, wrote to Speaker of the House of Representatives Juliet Holness after the parliamentary leadership signalled that the report was not tabled due to judicial proceedings and that the matter was sub judice.

Ewayne Price, a Kingston music producer, who told investigators that imitation firearms found at his home were being used as props in music videos, has been sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and life behind bars under the controversial Firearms Act.

A St James man who was being sought in connection with the death of an American tourist last month turned himself in to the St Mary police on Friday. The man was being sought by investigators probing the death of Melissa Kerry Samnath, who was killed hours after arriving in the island to celebrate her 37th birthday.

The nightmares came after the funeral. Months after 16-year-old Devonie Shearer died from injuries sustained when another student hit him with a chair at Ocho Rios High School, teacher Mikhail McKenzie still found himself haunted by the tragedy. To cope, he turned to writing – a letter to the Gleaner editor.

A report on an Integrity Commission investigation into alleged corruption and irregularities at the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) remains untabled in Parliament six weeks after its submission, amid a legal challenge by the gun regulator in the Supreme Court. The Integrity Commission confirmed to The Sunday Gleaner last Tuesday that a report was had been submitted to Parliament on March 30, 2026, and was formally received and signed for at 1:02 p.m. that day. 

WESTERN BUREAU: Despite currently enjoying a 38 per cent decline in major crimes, there remains heightened concern in St Elizabeth about an uptick in murders, according to Superintendent Coleridge Minto, the police commander for the parish. 

There was a quiet authority in the way Fione Collins addressed the room — less a ceremonial overview, more a reflection shaped by lived experience at the frontlines of care. As the 2025-2026 LASCO/Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) Nurse of the Year, Collins used the International Nurses Day press briefing, held on Tuesday at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, not just to look back, but to challenge how Jamaica — and the wider world — understands and supports its nurses.

WESTERN BUREAU:  Michael Troupe, the leader of the People’s National Party’s (PNP) minority in the St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC), on Thursday angered his colleagues on the opposite side when he blamed recent police killings in his Granville division on Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness' 'meet a judge or meet your maker' utterance in 2025.

The Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information has hit back after Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon was taken to task on Wednesday over comments she had made regarding delays in the approval process for a perimeter fence at Naggo Head Primary School in Portmore.

Jamaica, with the help of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has completed the draft for a 10-year National Agricultural Development Plan, Grow Forward, that will now seek feedback from stakeholders before finalisation.

A vicious daylight attempted robbery in Half-Way Tree, St Andrew, on Friday afternoon left an elderly man dead and triggered major traffic congestion across sections of the Corporate Area as police launched a probe into the brazen attack.

Jamaicans with United States (US) citizenship who owe outstanding child support payments are being encouraged to urgently rectify their status or risk having their US passports cancelled, leaving them unable to travel.

There was a quiet authority in the way Fione Collins addressed the room — less a ceremonial overview, more a reflection shaped by lived experience at the frontlines of care. As the 2025-2026 LASCO/Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) Nurse of the Year, Collins used the International Nurses Day press briefing, held on Tuesday at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, not just to look back, but to challenge how Jamaica — and the wider world — understands and supports its nurses.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Alando Terrelonge, says the Government looks forward to working with the new US ambassador. 

Western Bureau: With some 20 persons still being housed in the four shelters that are still open in Hanover, there are now concerns over whether they will be properly settled ahead of the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, which is looming on the horizon. 

WESTERN BUREAU: Dr Francine Phillips-Kelly, the medical officer of health for St  James, says the parish’s health department is paying keen attention to the cruise ship piers in both Montego Bay and Falmouth, in Trelawny, as it takes steps to prevent the spread of the deadly hantavirus disease in western Jamaica. 

Five residents of Salt Spring have been recognised by Project STAR as community champions, honoured for their consistent volunteerism, leadership and commitment to community development.

As global fertiliser and oil prices climb in the wake of the Strait of Hormuz closure amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Jamaica’s Ministry of Agriculture says it is rolling out a comprehensive strategy to lessen the potential fallout on the country’s agriculture and fisheries sectors.

St John’s, Antigua: Jamaica’s move to tighten regulations on Airbnb and other short-term rental operators is gaining wider Caribbean backing, with regional hoteliers now demanding equal taxation across the accommodation sector while also pushing back against new commission practices by Booking.com that they say could drain millions from the region.

Persons residing in Jamaica shelled out almost J$500 million on OnlyFans last year, more than any other English-s Speaking Caribbean country. This is according web activity tracker OnlyGuider, which reviewed the subscription-only social media platform famous for facilitating the sharing of adult content.

Business executive Alpha Smith was yesterday found guilty of assault occasioning grievious bodily harm, bringing to an end a four-year court case arising from an incident involving a United States citizen.

WESTERN BUREAU: Black River Mayor Richard Solomon says St Elizabeth remains dangerously unprepared for the Atlantic hurricane season, which begins in another two weeks, with more than half of its emergency shelters left unusable after Hurricane Melissa’s destruction last year.

Western Bureau: Residents of Woodsville, in Hanover, who have been operating with a makeshift bridge they created following the collapse of the 100-year-old Woodsville bridge four years ago, are making yet another plea to the authorities to replace the bridge immediately. They say  the one they created from logs and trees has become structurally unsafe, following recent rains.