Strands of change A quiet shift is under way in some Jamaican schools, where long-standing rules governing how boys – especially those of African descent – wear their hair are being tested, stretched, and, in some cases, rewritten. For decades, school grooming policies have enforced a narrow standard, particularly for boys. While girls have gradually been granted more flexibility – through allowances for natural styles and, in some schools, extensions that match their hair – boys have remained tightly regulated. Now, that imbalance is drawing scrutiny from students, parents, and some educators.
TOTALLY PREVENTABLE Local women’s health experts are urging girls and women – particularly those aged 15 to 26 and in their reproductive years – to protect themselves against the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause several diseases, including cervical, vaginal, vulvar, anal and oral cancers. Cervical cancer remains the second most common cancer affecting women in Jamaica. The ICO/IARC Information Centre on HPV and Cancer notes in its 2023 Jamaica Fact Sheet that annually, some 390 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed in the island and nearly 250 deaths recorded.
Acquitted ex-WIPL director sues over ‘malicious’ prosecution A businessman who was acquitted of criminal charges has claimed in a multimillion-dollar lawsuit that police investigators ignored evidence that exonerated him and instead relied on “unreliable or incomplete” information. John Levy also claimed in the lawsuit that senior executives at energy company West Indies Petroleum Limited (WIPL) acted “maliciously” by making or causing complaints to be made to the police against him knowing that the allegations were false.
Church accused of squatting WESTERN BUREAU: Lucea Mayor Sheridan Samuels is accusing a church in the Hanover capital of squatting, saying the building it is occupying is owned by the Hanover Municipal Corporation (HMC), which needs it to establish a tourism training centre. “Right now, the building is captured by a church, and we need that building because we have plans for the youth within the parish. We are to put in place there a training centre in collaboration with the Grand Palladium Hotel and HEART/NSTA Trust,” Samuels said at Thursday’s HMC monthly meeting.
Mideast war threatens food security in Caribbean, CARICOM official warns Warning of the threat the ongoing Middle East conflict poses to the Caribbean’s food and economic security, Wendell Samuel, assistant secretary-general (ASG) of CARICOM, is calling for stronger regional coordination to enhance resilience, bargaining power, and capacity to absorb external shocks.
Month end autopsy set for CRH newborn An autopsy has been scheduled for April 28 to determine the cause of death of a newborn at Cornwall Regional Hospital as grieving mother Shandale Ballentine has launched a crowdfunding campaign to assist with funeral expenses for her son, Ramontay Rakai Ranger. Ballentine said the decision to seek public support came after family and friends, aware that both she and her partner are currently on unpaid leave, encouraged her to create a platform for donations. A distraught Ballentine told The Gleaner that she does not want to burn her son’s body.
Vendors cry foul after early-morning crackdown at Charles Gordon Market WESTERN BUREAU: Vendors at the Charles Gordon Market in Montego Bay are once again crying foul against the St James Municipal Corporation (StJMC) over the market’s conditions and accusations of unfair treatment by the municipal authorities, following the confiscation of several vendors’ carts and other items on Friday morning.
Man suspected of killing ‘Jaggy D’ shot dead WESTERN BUREAU: A man believed to have been the mastermind behind Tuesday’s murder of deejay Roger ‘Jaggy D’ Walker, a police source told The Gleaner, was shot and killed in a gunfight with the Hanover police early Friday morning. The deceased man, who was of Bamboo address on the outskirts of Hopewell, where Walker was killed, was identified by relatives as 30-year-old Romaine ‘CJ’ Humphrey.
Ja’s Angelita Graham takes helm at Canadian Institute of Actuaries The capacity of Jamaicans to claim positions of leadership while breaking barriers internationally has long been documented, so Angelita Graham, freshly minted president of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries (CIA) is in illustrious company. The first woman of colour to head the influential organisation, Graham rose from a modest home in a close-knit community off Waltham Park Road in Kingston, to the pinnacle of global leadership in her field.
Canon Collin Reid is Anglican bishop-elect of Montego Bay The Very Reverend Canon Collin Dave Reid, rector of the Cathedral of St Jago de la Vega in Spanish Town, is suffragan bishop-elect of Montego Bay. Reid secured 96 per cent of the votes by lay representatives and 94 per cent of clergy votes at an online Elective Assembly held Wednesday morning during the business session of the 155th Synod of the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands (Anglican). He succeeds the Right Reverend Leon Golding, who was elected bishop of Jamaica and The Cayman Islands in March 2025.