‘Humanitarian crisis’ - Holness pledges Government support to displaced families at Cooper’s Pen demolition site WESTERN BUREAU: Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has described Monday’s mass demolition at Cooper’s Pen in Trelawny as a “humanitarian crisis”, declaring that neither he, his ministers nor the constituency’s member of parliament (MP) had prior knowledge of the operation. Addressing the controversial demolition exercise yesterday, Holness said images of displaced families, including a mother with a newborn baby, were disturbing and that the Government would have to find ways to support those affected.
CCJ president rejects ‘panel fixing’ claims - Anderson pushes back amid emails controversy plaguing court Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) President Justice Winston Anderson has rejected allegations that judges at the region’s highest court have been subjected to improper influence or that judicial panels have been manipulated to secure particular outcomes. In a lengthy statement issued against the backdrop of reports of tensions among judges, Anderson said allegations of “panel fixing” and attempts to influence judgments were “wholly untrue”, while acknowledging that some of his own decisions could have been handled differently.
JFJ raises rights alarm over arrest of men at Cooper’s Pen demolition Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) wants the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) to indicate why its members were present as part of what appears to have been a private demolition exercise. The lobby made the demand yesterday, citing human rights concerns in the wake of the destruction of houses in Coopers Pen, Trelawny, and the detention of several men from the community by the police before the incident.
Jamaican drafts legacy in Commonwealth The Caribbean has strengthened its influence in legislative drafting across the Commonwealth with the presidency now occupied by Jamaican attorney-at-law and legislative drafter Michelle Daley, who was elected president of the Commonwealth Association of Legislative Council (CALC) at the body’s conference in Singapore last month.
Sweet truth - Beekeepers to be educated on how to identify genuine honey WESTERN BUREAU: Beekeepers and other stakeholders in Jamaica’s apiculture industry are poised to receive educational sessions on how to identify genuine honey and distinguish it from fake or synthesised honey, as well as how to help bee farmers get their honey-based products regularised for the local and international markets.
Melissa clips bird hunters’ wings - Major restrictions bar shooting in sections of five western parishes in 2026 season WESTERN BUREAU: Scientific concerns over the impact of Hurricane Melissa on Jamaica’s game birds almost resulted in no shooting in western Jamaica this year, with some experts going even further and recommending that the entire 2026 season be cancelled. Instead, the Natural Resources Conservation Authority (NRCA) has opted for a shortened five-week season with unprecedented restrictions in the hurricane-ravaged west, where approximately 40 per cent of the country’s hunting activity takes place.
'I prefer to die' - 75-y-o man, wife, kids face eviction from family land after 41 years An elderly St Elizabeth man is appealing for the intervention of Justice Minister Delroy Chuck after a court ordered him to vacate land he has lived on for 41 years by Sunday, insisting that he is not a squatter.
Petrojam worker faces charges in alleged ammo-selling ring An employee of the state-owned oil refinery Petrojam has been arrested and charged by the police arising from allegations that he was part of a ring that illegally sold bullets and gun parts for high-calibre rifles, law- enforcement sources have disclosed. Vashel Witter, 52, a line engineer based at Petrojam’s Montego Bay terminal, was apprehended in the Freeport area on August 6 during a sting operation in which the police allegedly found more than 200 rounds of ammunition for AK-47 rifles inside his vehicle, sources told The Gleaner.
JCA says two tonnes of cocaine, plus ganja seized at KFTL The Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) said last week’s seizure of drugs at the Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) was its largest drug seizure since the start of the year. More than two tonnes of cocaine and 256 pounds of ganja were intercepted in operations conducted between August 5 and 7. The seizures, carried out in collaboration with the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Firearms and Narcotics Investigation Division and Specialised Operations Branch, involved approximately 1,813 parcels of cocaine in containers destined for Spain and Florida.
Use law to halt demolitions, Cousins urges Gov’t WESTERN BUREAU: Lothan Cousins, the opposition spokesman on land, is calling on the Government to invoke a decades-old law to halt any further demolition of homes at Cooper’s Pen, Trelawny, arguing that the State has the legal power to protect the remaining residents. Cousins said Section 4 of the Local Communities Amenities Improvement Act provides a mechanism that could be used, pointing to what he described as a similar intervention by the Government at Red Hills in St. Andrew in 2016.