Tourism bubble Bridgetown, Barbados: Barbados’ Minister of Tourism Ian Gooding-Edghill yesterday told attendees at the opening of the 2025 State of the Tourism Industry Conference (SOTIC), in Bridgetown, that the Caribbean’s record-breaking tourism rebound could...
Judicial anguish Western Bureau: As members of the legal fraternity grieved the shocking death of Trelawny Parish Judge Ruth Lawrence, police yesterday outlined how her spouse’s detailing of the 14 hours leading up to the loss of the almost 30-year veteran of the...
Caribbean tourism shows resilience amid mixed markets Bridgetown, Barbados: Caribbean tourism recorded 18.5 million arrivals in the first half of 2025, up nearly two per cent on last year and six per cent above pre-pandemic levels, according to new data presented at the CTO’s State of the Tourism...
Coffee farmer bats for price increase Buff Bay Valley, West Portland: For coffee farmer Dian Ellis of Hart Hill, Portland, whose five acres of fully grown berries are now ready for harvesting, insurmountable challenges continue to impact her farm, along with others, on a daily basis,...
Health officials in Westmoreland raise leptospirosis concerns after flood rains Western Bureau: With sections of Westmoreland swamped by floodwaters over the weekend, the health authorities in the parish are once again warning residents to take precautions against leptospirosis, a potentially deadly bacterial disease often...
Recalled witness frustrated with legal process A Kingston delivery man hired by Constable Noel Maitland to remove a sofa from his apartment expressed frustration yesterday after being recalled to the witness stand. “A hope mi naa fi come back yah, mi tiad a unuh. Unuh a stress out mi and mi...
Mixed bag for Gov’t in fiscal assessment The Independent Fiscal Commission (IFC) has signalled that additional revenue efforts might be required to meet budgetary amounts this year as the $14.2-billion tax shortfall at the end of the 2024-2025 financial year overstated the base for the...
NEW VISA FEE KICKS IN NEW YORK: Effective immediately, Jamaicans applying for visitor, student, or work visas to the United States must now pay an additional US$250 visa surcharge, bringing the total cost of a standard tourist visa to US$435 per person. The surcharge,...
GUILTY Former INSPORTS financial controller and party promoter Andrew Wright, along with two co-defendants, was found guilty of multiple fraud-related charges yesterday in the Home Circuit Court, stemming from a $222-million scheme uncovered at the state-...
DPP mulls appeal after ‘lenient’ sentence in endangered animal smuggling case The country’s prosecutorial authority is contemplating whether to lodge an appeal against what environmental watchers call a “tap on the back” sentence imposed on three men – two of them Honduran nationals – for smuggling over a dozen endangered...