ONLINE SHIELD - Study finds widespread support for regulating social media use by minors One in every four Jamaican caregivers says children under their supervision have experienced sexual exposure or grooming attempts linked to social media use. The finding formed part of a national study commissioned by the Ministry of Health & Wellness to guide potential state regulation of social media use for minors. Of the 1,027 adult participants asked to indicate the kinds of negative encounters minors in their care have been exposed to, 16.5 per cent said sexual content, while 9.1 per cent said unwanted sexual messages or grooming.
Donor data row The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is scrambling to assuage donors and international partners who contributed more than $1.4 billion to the SupportJamaica.gov.jm website that the platform is owned by the Government and not Amber, a private company which developed the platform.
Anglican Church packs out for Caribbean ‘debut’ of Bob Marley Mass WESTERN BUREAU: As Rita Marley celebrated her 80th birthday in Montego Bay, St James, on Sunday, an Anglican church in Barbados drew an overflowing congregation for what organisers described as the Caribbean’s first Bob Marley Emancipation Mass.
Police deny hijacking event permit process The Opposition has accused the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) of usurping the role of municipal corporations (MCs) by effectively deciding which entertainment events receive permits, depriving cash-strapped councils of a major revenue stream. But the police have rejected the claim. At a press conference yesterday, Councillor Scean Barnswell, minority leader of the Clarendon Municipal Corporation, accused the police of increasingly blocking approvals for places of amusement, despite municipal corporations having the legal authority to issue the permits.
Auditor general awaits proof of $34m in supplies delivered to JDF The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is still yet to submit signed documents to the auditor general confirming that the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) received $34 million in donated roofing materials. The revelation was made on Tuesday during a meeting of the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), where members continued for a second week a review of the auditor general’s Hurricane Melissa Relief Initiative Audit report.
Rooted in agriculture, growing in science When Monique Holder chose agricultural science in high school, she was not choosing between practical skills and academic achievement. Unknowingly, she was preparing herself for both. Today, the former St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) student is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences at Northern Caribbean University (NCU), where she will begin her second year in September. Earlier this year, she was named the education ministry’s 2025 TVET Student of the Year, earning a two-year scholarship.
EX-COP ARRESTED AT AIRPORT The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) says it will this week provide a comprehensive account of the circumstances surrounding the arrest and murder charge laid against former policeman Odain Williams, who was removed from a departing flight last week. The Gleaner understands that Williams was detained after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) ruled that he should be charged with murder in connection with an incident that allegedly occurred while he was a serving member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).
Blood shortage forces choices between patients, says NBTS chief A senior health official is warning that critically low blood supplies at the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) are putting lives at risk, with current stocks at just half the level needed to meet demand. In a candid interview with The Gleaner on Monday, Dr Kamille West-Mitchell, director of the NBTS, said the shortage means some patients are being denied urgently needed blood transfusions. “Every day or night or weekend, there is somebody who needs it and did not get it because we don’t have it,” she said.
Former constable loses JCF fight - Privy Council tosses appeal for reinstatement Former police Constable Joel Lewis was left disappointed after the Privy Council ruled that his challenge to the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s refusal to re-enlist him three years ago raised no arguable point of law. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, in a decision last month, refused Lewis’ permission to appeal, ending his attempt to overturn the decision that prevented him from pursuing judicial review of his discharge from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).
Jamaica needs ‘a new kind of emancipation’, says Pastor Brevitt WESTERN BUREAU: As Jamaicans prepare to celebrate Emancipendence 2026, outspoken Seventh-day Adventist pastor Charles Brevitt is challenging the nation to pursue a new kind of emancipation – one that frees citizens from violence, moral decay, greed and spiritual complacency. “We need a new kind of emancipation,” said Brevitt, while delivering the sermon at the St James Municipal Corporation’s Emancipation and Independence Church Service, held at the Norwood Seventh-day Adventist Church on Saturday.