As more young Jamaicans turn to digital spaces for emotional support, demand for the U-Matter Chatline continues to grow, reinforcing its role as a critical mental health lifeline for youth.

WESTERN BUREAU: Agriculture Minister Floyd Green wants local farmers and their counterparts in the Diaspora to be strategic in their planning, noting that those who plant crops without first identifying a market are setting themselves up for disappointment.

WESTERN BUREAU:  Alexander Williams, Jamaica’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK), wants Jamaica to train more engineers and maritime experts so that the nation can become a naval power in the Caribbean region and improve its capacity to combat the illicit trans-shipment of contraband.

WESTERN BUREAU: Eleven-year-old Jassonia Beadle, head girl of Park Mountain Primary and Infant School in St Elizabeth, is Jamaica’s top performer in the 2026 Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examination, having attained the highest national score among primary school students — 394.2 out of a possible 400 points. Beadle, who hails from the Longwood district in St Elizabeth and aspires to become a doctor or nurse, achieved the feat despite her school being damaged by Hurricane Melissa last October, which caused scheduling setbacks.

The Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information says performance in this year's Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations remained stable, with most students achieving proficient or highly proficient ratings despite the disruption caused by Hurricane Melissa last October. “It was a difficult year with the hurricane, but we persevered,” said Education Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon as she announced the 2025-2026 results during a news conference on Monday.

WESTERN BUREAU:  Business leaders in western Jamaica have endorsed a call by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness for a national culture of efficiency, saying productivity and accountability are critical to Jamaica's long-term prosperity. Addressing the approximately 1,000 delegates at the opening ceremony of the just-concluded 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference, Holness argued that Jamaica's future prosperity will depend as much on its culture and values as on its natural resources.

As the summer holidays begin and children spend more time online and away from direct supervision, the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) is raising concerns about the growing risks facing minors. The CPFSA’s concerns follow two recent cases in St Thomas and St Elizabeth that have reignited discussion about child safety in both physical and digital spaces.

CMC: The University of the West Indies (UWI) has joined the international community in mourning the passing of Emeritus Professor John Agard. Agard, who was 71, died on Friday, has been a colossal figure on the global landscape for decades.   “He was a brilliant, innovative, enterprising person who gave so much to The UWI, his community and beyond.

WESTERN BUREAU: The Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) is pushing back against criticism of managed beach access, arguing that proper regulation rather than unrestricted entry is essential to protect beach users, coastal environments, and the country's tourism industry.

Growing unease over the controversial third-country nationals (TCN) agreement between Jamaica and the United States (US) has triggered pushback from trade union leaders, amid fears that the island could become a holding ground for undocumented migrants.

Anthony Simpson never knew his father; the story he was told is that soon after he was born, his father came to see him at the hospital, took one look at him, and concluded he was not his child. Simpson was born with only one leg and eight fingers. After his father’s declaration, his mother panicked and abandoned him at the health facility. Neglected by his parents, he was nurtured by hospital staff and, eventually, caregivers at the SOS Children’s Village in Stony Hill, St Andrew, where he grew up.

For many Jamaican fathers, farming is more than a livelihood; it is a way of life. It is a profession that requires patience, resilience, sacrifice, and faith. These same qualities are often reflected in how they raise their children and build strong families.

One has lived 106 years, most of that as a father, watching Jamaica, his family and generations of children grow around him through joy, hardship and loss. The other is just 37, still learning fatherhood in real time, raising three children on his own, including a daughter with autism, while trying to stay ahead of life's daily demands.

Western Bureau:         The National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA), is calling on communities to abandon outdated beliefs and embrace efforts to protect children’s mental health and well-being as they too experience the stress, trauma and anxiety associated with adults.

WESTERN BUREAU: Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton says Jamaicans living along the island’s north coast will soon begin to benefit from significantly improved healthcare services as restoration work on Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) nears completion and the new Western Child and Adolescent Hospital is almost ready to open.

Charging that the Government has abandoned rural development as a national priority, Opposition spokesman on rural and community development Dr Kenneth Russell on Wednesday proposed sweeping reforms, including a National Rural Development Framework and updated legislation to strengthen community development across Jamaica.

The completion date for phase one of the SPARK (Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network) programme has been officially revised from the end of 2026 to March 31, 2027, says Works Minister Robert Morgan, who stressed on Wednesday that the administration is prioritising quality and comprehensive infrastructure — such as installing water and sewer utilities alongside repaving — over rushed, short-term patching.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding’s recommendation for the Jamaican Diaspora to be integrated into the country’s governance structure has been dismissed as “farfetched” by political commentator Lloyd B. Smith, who insists that focus should instead be placed on developing local talent.

The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) is intensifying its call for Cabinet Minister Dr Andrew Wheatley to be removed from the Cabinet following the Integrity Commission’s (IC) recommendation that he be charged with illicit enrichment.

Past and present staff of The Gleaner gathered on Thursday evening at 7 North Street in downtown Kingston for a symbolic farewell to a building that has stood for decades as one of the country’s most recognisable media landmarks. Perched on the rooftop of the iconic premises, journalists, editors, retirees, and support staff looked out over the city as they marked the closing chapter of a site sold as part of a wider rationalisation exercise by the RJRGLEANER Communications Group.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding has drawn a sharp distinction between the agreement signed by Dr Peter Phillips in 2004 and one inked just days ago by Deputy Prime Minister Dr Horace Chang, calling the former a routine national security arrangement, while slamming as “unprecedented” the other, which he says turns Jamaica into a dumping ground for migrants.

President Donald Trump’s nominee for United States Ambassador to Jamaica has pledged to strengthen security cooperation with Kingston, intensify efforts to combat lottery scamming and drug trafficking, and push back against China’s growing influence in the Caribbean if confirmed to the diplomatic post.

WESTERN BUREAU: As part of an ongoing effort to solidify its bilateral trading partnership with Ghana, Jamaica will be sending a trade mission to the African country next month to seek out additional avenues for investment. Speaking on Wednesday’s final day of the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference, in Montego Bay, St James, Foreign Affair and Foreign Trade Minister Senator Kamina Johnson Smith outlined details of the upcoming trade mission. 

WESTERN BUREAU:  Jamaicans in the Diaspora are being encouraged to invest in Jamaica’s expanding private real estate market, with Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness arguing that their homeownership can help stimulate economic growth while creating opportunities for more affordable housing for locals through the National Housing Trust (NHT).

WESTERN BUREAU: Jamaicans are being cautioned to dismiss any notion that artificial intelligence [AI] will take over their jobs, and should instead learn to treat the technology as a tool to help them become more productive in the workforce. Trevor Forrest, senior adviser in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), told delegates at the 11th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference, in Montego Bay, St James that it would be logistically harmful to completely replace human workers with AI.

Between 2013 and 2022, Cabinet Minister Dr Andrew Wheatley had approximately $164 million in assets that were disproportionate to his lawful sources of income over the nine-year period, an investigation by Jamaica’s main anti-corruption body has revealed.

A diplomatic note from the United States (US) Embassy in Kingston has stated  that a Cabinet minister proposed a controversial deal to Washington that would have had Jamaica “receive” up to 10,000 third-country nationals (TCNs).  The note, sent to the Jamaican Government, said former Ambassador to the US and Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Efficiency, Innovation, and Digital Transformation Audrey Marks made the proposal.

WESTERN BUREAU: As the world continues to monitor the current Ebola crisis in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the St James Health Department is reminding the public that persons who disobey established quarantine protocols can be fined up to $1 million.

WESTERN BUREAU: Opposition Leader Mark Golding is calling for the Jamaican Diaspora to be formally integrated into the nation’s governance structure, arguing that their expertise and resources should be harnessed at the highest levels of decision-making, including serving on boards.

WESTERN BUREAU: Greater international cooperation in combating organised crime is being urged by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, who, yesterday, reiterated that the threat is taking root in the Jamaican Diaspora through illicit networks involved in lottery scamming and firearms trafficking.

 A public official, who was a no-show yesterday at a meeting of the parliamentary committee examining governance and procurement issues flagged at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), could face a criminal charge that carries a maximum penalty of $200.

The Dr Andrew Holness administration is facing pressure to justify Jamaica’s involvement in a controversial United States (US) deportee arrangement as political analysts raise questions about the country’s role as a transit point for third-country nationals.

For many students, science can seem intimidating — a subject of complex formulas, unfamiliar terms and difficult ideas. For Donnell Dunkley, however, it represents something quite different: curiosity, discovery and opportunity. 

Efforts to expand Jamaica’s avocado (pear) industry gathered momentum last week as stakeholders in Clarendon launched a festival intended to spur rural development and exports.