Summit snub WESTERN BUREAU A diplomatic dispute within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has intensified after Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) stayed away from an emergency meeting convened to address concerns it raised about the reappointment of the regional bloc’s secretary general. Dr Terrance Drew, chairman of CARICOM and prime minister of St Kitts and Nevis, confirmed that neither T&T Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar nor any representative of the twin-island republic attended the 25th Special Emergency Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government on Saturday.
From Churchill Downs to Serenity Ranch For more than 150 years, the Kentucky Derby has stood as one of the most iconic and prestigious traditions in American history. Established in 1875 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, the Derby quickly became known as ‘The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports’. Yet, its significance reaches far beyond the race itself. It represents discipline, legacy, culture, and the pursuit of excellence at the highest level.
100-member team of Jamaican-American cops visit island this month A 100-member-strong mission from the Jamaican-American Law Enforcement Organization (JAMLEO), comprising officers in the New York Police Department (NYPD), will arrive in Jamaica on April 26 for a three-day visit to uplift and empower students at Unity Primary School in Westmoreland. This will be the third such visit by JAMLEO to schools in Jamaica. The first visit in 2024 focused on schools in St James where they visited Mount Alvernia and Cornwall College and the second visit last year focused on Marcus Garvey Technical High School in St Ann.
Slight uptick in murders a concern in Hanover Western Bureau: Despite the best efforts of the police and an overall decline in major crimes in the parish, Superintendent Andrew Nish, the police commander for Hanover, says there has been a slight uptick in murders over the corresponding period last year, which has prompted a new drive to blunt lawlessness. Nish, who started the year with a resolve to have Hanover reclaim the title as the nation’s safest parish, said that while the serious crime portfolio, which includes murders, shootings, rape and break-ins, continues to be an area of concern.
Orbán concedes defeat in European electoral earthquake BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP): Hungarian voters yesterday ousted long-serving Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after 16 years in power, rejecting the authoritarian policies and global far-right movement that he embodied in favour of a pro-European challenger in a bombshell election result with global repercussions.
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.