[New Times] A new National Insurance Strategy aimed at transforming the insurance sector by addressing long-standing challenges such as low insurance penetration, limited public awareness, and slow claims processing has been unveiled.

[New Times] François Twagirumukiza, a businessman and shareholder in CHIC Ltd, has been elected as Chairperson of Rwanda's Private Sector Federation (PSF).

WESTERN BUREAU: Garth Russell, who recently demitted office as the chief commissioner of the Scout Association of Jamaica, says he is leaving with “a heart full of gratitude and deep respect”, though his six-year tenure was marked by crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and hurricanes Beryl and Melissa. According to Russell, the pandemic and the hurricanes not only tested the resolve of the movement but allowed scouts to practically demonstrate the Scout Law, which states that “a scout has courage in all difficulties”.

WESTERN BUREAU: A newly retrofitted probation office, which was officially commissioned into service in St James yesterday, forms a part of the Government’s continued push to strengthen rehabilitation within Jamaica’s correctional system. The commissioning was carried out by Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, state minister in the Ministry of National Security and Peace.

Opposition Spokesman on Finance Julian Robinson has argued that meaningful growth in the Jamaican economy will remain elusive unless and until the Government takes concrete steps to unclog the bottlenecks that are preventing the full spend of the capital budget. In his contribution to the 2026-2027 Budget Debate on Thursday, Robinson contended that one of the clearest indictments of the Government’s management of the economy was the problem of the underspending of the capital budget.

Western Bureau: Dr Carey Wallace, executive director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), says Jamaica’s tourism sector is poised for further growth as global travel disruptions on account of the ongoing war in the Middle East is redirecting visitors to the Caribbean. Speaking with The Gleaner during the Tourism Linkages Network’s speed networking forum, in Negril, Westmoreland on Thursday, Wallace said the resort town was deliberately selected as the host location due to its strong recovery following Hurricane Melissa.

Nearly four years after the disappearance of social media influencer Donna-Lee Donaldson shocked the nation, a judge yesterday ordered that her boyfriend, former Police Constable Noel Maitland, serve a life sentence and spend more than three decades behind bars before becoming eligible for parole.

Abu Dhabi police have said that they have arrested 45 people for sharing videos of Iranian strikes Read Full Article at RT.com

Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk's detention under the National Security Act has been revoked by the Centre with immediate effect. Wangchuk was detained over allegations of inciting unrest in Ladakh, with the government citing his remarks as potentially destabilizing. His wife had challenged the detention in the Supreme Court.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday criticised the Congress during a public address in Silchar, Assam, accusing the party of neglecting the Barak Valley for decades after Independence. He said the region lost its historic trade strength after its link to the sea was cut due to the way borders were drawn. Modi also inaugurated projects worth around Rs 24,000 crore, including the Shillong–Silchar high-speed corridor.

[Vanguard] Abuja -- The Economic Community of West African States has expressed concern over rising tensions along the borders between Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, urging the countries involved to exercise restraint and resolve their differences through peaceful dialogue.

[Ghanaian Times] THE United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has condemned the March 6, 2026, missile attack on Ghanaian troops in Lebanon.

[Capital FM] Nairobi -- At least 62 people have died across the country following ongoing flooding triggered by heavy rains, according to the Ministry of Interior and National Administration.

Locals described the bored groups of men taking pictures of schoolgirls, blowing kisses at female staff in beauty salons and making teenagers cry by wolf-whistling at them.

Seeking a motive for the assassination of Kenneth Marston, an upright and much-admired English executive, investigators would explore every imaginable theory.

There are moments in the life of a nation when everything changes − not with a bang, not even with a conscious decision, but with a quiet, creeping loss of confidence.

The study found the Chancellor will net around £20million extra a month in VAT on petrol sales if average pump prices remain around their current level.

LIVE: Follow the latest developments on the US-Israel war with Iran as Iranian drone strike causes buildings to shake in the city's financial centre.

A 36-year-old motorcyclist died after colliding with a taxi on the Seletar Expressway (SLE) in the early hours of Thursday (March 12).A video posted on Facebook by SG Road Vigilante on Friday (March 13) initially shows dashcam footage of a Comfort DelGro taxi stationary on the third lane of the expressway, with its hazard lights on and passenger side door open.The motorcycle seems to have crashed into the same taxi.Stills from the same video show the aftermath of the incident, with the back of the taxi crumpled and the motorcycle severely damaged with debris strewn across the road. Blood can be seen on the back window of the taxi and on the road.Another dashcam clip shows motorists standing around the wreckage with their phone torches on, alerting others of the road accident.

When Tiong Jia En's mother lost her sense of smell due to Covid-19 in 2021, she was none the wiser.Her mother, who enjoys cooking, began to ask her for help with little things, from taste-testing food to smelling if milk was going bad.«She subtly gave me hints,» the 19-year-old told AsiaOne on Thursday (March 12). «But I never picked up on it immediately that there was something wrong.»I just thought like it was normal, maybe… she just wanted to include me in the cooking experience.«It was only two years later in 2023 when Tiong brought something to her mother to smell that she started to realise something was amiss.»I kept repeatedly asking her over different [occasions] to smell different things. And then that's when it occurred to me that there might be an issue there that she's not willing to say out loud.«When I persisted, that was when she actually admitted to me that she hasn't been able to smell since Covid-19 happened.»While she does enjoy helping out her mother in the kitchen, it came as a bittersweet experience for her.

US President Donald Trump said in response to the corresponding question from journalists

According to the news agency, the artist changed his name as he grew up

According to unconfirmed information, the target was the air defense systems station located on the territory of the US diplomatic mission in the Iraqi capital

170 of the 200 wounded personnel have already returned to duty

Dmitry Peskov noted that the markets are indeed vast

About 90 percent of the country’s oil exports move through facilities on Kharg Island, located some 15 miles from the mainland in the Persian Gulf.

Amid US President Donald Trump’s new unfair trade practices probe into excess industrial capacity in 16 major trading partners, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has launched a second investigation on 60 economies, including Singapore.The latest investigation relates to acts, policies, and practices associated with the importation of goods produced with forced labour.USTR Jamieson Greer said on Thursday (March 12) that he wanted countries to enforce ban on goods produced with forced labour, similar to those enshrined in a nearly century-old trade law.Responding to the investigations on forced labour, Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said on Friday night that it will engage the USTR on the investigations.The 60 economies under investigations include Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.These also include the 16 economies which are the subject of investigations relating to structural excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors.

A batch of processed food from China is being recalled after Singapore Food Agency (SFA) detected the presence of sulphur dioxide — an allergen — in them. The food additive was not declared in the packaging label.Y K Pte Ltd, the importer of the affected product — Longan Pulp (500g) — has been directed to recall them, the agency said on Friday (March 13) night.One batch of the product, with a production date of January 2026, is being recalled.SFA said that while sulphite does not pose a food safety issue to consumers at large, those who are intolerant of, or allergic to, sulphites may either develop or experience hives, itchiness, stomach ache, diarrhoea, or vomiting.Those who have purchased the affected product, and are intolerant of or allergic to sulphites, should not consume them. They may contact their point of purchase for enquiries.Persons who have consumed the implicated product should seek medical advice if they have concerns about their health. Under Singapore's food regulations, food products containing ingredients which are known to cause hypersensitivity must be declared on food packaging labels.

A truck with a trailer tipped over after making an ill-fated turn on Thursday (Feb 12), dropping a large metal cylinder on the road.As seen in car dashcam footage posted to Facebook by SG Road Vigilante on Friday, the truck pulls out of a construction site and attempts to make a sharp left turn to get onto Sengkang East Road.However, a large metal cylinder slides and tips the vehicle onto its right and rolls onto the road before coming to a stop on the median.Some netizens were bemused, wondering if the driver was qualified for carrying the load, while others joked about the incident.«Luckily that thing didn't roll back to Buangkok,» a comment read.Another commenter said: «Wrong trailer used. Should use a lowbed trailer for this load.»  

A parliamentary panel urged the finance ministry to allocate fertilizer subsidy funds at the budget estimate stage to align with actual needs. The committee also recommended boosting domestic production due to higher subsidy burdens on imported urea and NPK fertilizers, citing significant cost differences.