Former People's National Party (PNP) Vice-President Dr Angela Brown Burke has confirmed that she is throwing her hat into the ring to become the first female chair of the 83-year-old political party.In recent days there have been incre...

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says it is working hard to source COVID-19 vaccines for countries, such as Jamaica, that are lagging behind with vaccinating their populations, but is urging those countries to make the necess...

Nearly 30 months after an initial draft Bill was rejected by the Constitutional Court, the National Identification and Registration Act, commonly called the NIDS Bill, was unanimously approved by the House of Representatives yesterday.T...

MANDEVILLE, Manchester - For half of his life, 60-year-old Malichi Sinclair has been a taxi operator in this south-central parish.Yesterday, he was among Jamaicans who turned up at the Manchester Health Department's COVID-19 vaccination...

In a report now before Parliament, the Portmore parish joint select committee has concluded that although the municipality does not currently have all the facilities of existing parishes, it should be given parish status.The committee ...

Acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education Dr Grace McLean has been sent on leave ahead of an investigation into the use of $124 million from Government coffers highlighted in an alarming audit report in which two senior c...

SIX fathers at Jamaica College (JC) are asserting that they have what they believe is part of the answer to the island's struggle to return to in-person learning.The group is led by Collin Greenland, who is vying for the post of preside...

MORANT BAY, St Thomas - Residents of St Thomas are hoping the Government's ambitious US$746-million tourism plan will transform it from the "forgotten parish" and spark a long-awaited rebirth. "We need at least US$205 million of public ...

Edmund Bartlett yesterday forecast Jamaica welcoming a total of 1.5 million visitors this year and earning more than US$2 billion from tourism.Bartlett, the tourism minister, made the prediction yesterday while giving a parliamentary up...

AS it looks to further grow its client base across its banking and investment segments, JMMB Group (JMMB) will be launching its long-awaited mobile app, along with a suite of other digital offerings, to complement its operations for its...

Today is 287th the day of 2021. There are 78 days left in the year.TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT1999: The monuments to the Right Excellent Nanny of the Maroons and Samuel Sharpe are dedicated in National Heroes' Park in Kingston, Jamaica. OTHER EV...

Private guarding and security solutions company the Guardsman Group last Saturday partnered with the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) to host a COVID-19 vaccination blitz in Kingston. The pop-up blitz, which forms a part of the group's vacc...

Fish vendors Namdi Thompson and his brother Jahmall wore broad smiles yesterday when a 220-lb June fish was delivered to them at their Rae Town Fishing Village shop on Norman Manley Boulevard, Kingston.The fish, which the Jamaica Obser...

MANDEVILLE, Manchester - Police in this parish say they are trying to use less lethal force when dealing with mentally challenged people, but there are times when the only option is the opposite. "There is sometimes some apprehension w...

Minister of state in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Robert Morgan, has promised that Jamaica will have a new Child Care and Protection Act within the next 18 months.Making his contribution to the State of the Constitu...

Petrojam Limited was one of 45 companies that came together to construct a COVID-19 field hospital at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), in order to enhance service delivery to COVID-19 patients admitted at the facility...

OCHO RIOS, St Ann - When Patrick Green shared the story of how he escaped extortionists and began a new life, he never expected that it would resonate with so many people. Since the story was published in the Jamaica Observer in July, h...

UNITED STATES (AFP) - Star Trek actor William Shatner finally became a real space traveller on Blue Origin's second crewed mission yesterday, calling it the most profound experience of his life."It was unbelievable," said the 90-year-...

MOSCOW, Russia (AP) - Russia is ready to provide up to 300 million doses of its Sputnik V vaccine to the United Nations-backed COVAX initiative, a top Russian official promoting the shot says, even though the World Health Organization (...

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC) - Caribbean Community (Caricom) Secretary General Dr Carla Barnett will address the United Nations Security Council on Friday when it meets to discuss the ongoing situation in Haiti, St Vincent and the Grenad...

WASHINGTON, United States (AP) - The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is wrestling with whether and when to offer another dose of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, while a new study out yesterday ra...

MANDEVILLE, Manchester - Scores of farmers across Jamaica are reeling from rising prices for fertiliser, crop seedlings, and seeds, which have significantly hiked their production costs.President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS...

PORT ANTONIO, Portland - Those wishing to honour the memory of former police commissioner and former custos of Portland Roy Thompson may express written condolence in a book that will be opened today at the Port Antonio Library. Thompso...

Sagicor Group Jamaica team members pause on Friday, October 8 to remind Jamaicans to get their breasts screened for abnormalities. Team members across the conglomerate will wear pink every Friday in Breast Cancer Awareness Month, in sol...

Whipping out numbers showing that the COVID-19 disease had taken a heavy toll on the company, NCB Financial Group President and CEO Patrick Hylton yesterday told the bank's staff they would henceforth have to be fully vaccinated."Unfor...

In a damning report tabled in Parliament yesterday, Auditor General Pamela Monroe-Ellis called on Education Minister Fayval Williams to refer the findings of a probe into the operations of the Joint Committee for Tertiary Education (JCT...

The hearing into the suspension of Merl Grove High School (MGHS) Principal Dr Marjorie Fullerton was adjourned after just over an hour yesterday to allow the MGHS Personnel Committee to review and respond to documents submitted by Fulle...

A day after police cut down gangster Christopher "Dog Paw" Linton tension yesterday remained high in Tavern and Bedward Gardens, two of the gritty St Andrew communities that were under his control and where residents painted him as eith...

An afternoon of fun and enjoyment for a group of young people turned into a nightmare Monday when one of the teenagers got into difficulties and drowned in a section of the Rio Minho in Clarendon.The Jamaica Observer was told that short...

AS a pre-teen growing up in Portland, Jamaica, the words: "BBC News with Marion Marshall", accompanied by a sweet-sounding voice at the end of a radio newscast, was Andrea Chisholm's cue to leave home in the mornings for primary school....

Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke last night won full support from parliamentary colleagues for his $33-billion health and economic rescue plan supplementary budget designed to help Jamaicans cope with the economic effects of the novel c...

One year after the education ministry launched virtual learning , and five months shy of two years since public school doors closed due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, about 26 per cent of the school population is still not showing ...

The Resilient Islands project team in Jamaica recently planted mangroves in Old Harbour Bay, St Catherine, as part of its efforts to protect communities against the impacts of climate change by promoting the use of coastal habitats to ...

MANDEVILLE, Manchester - Two months after the Melrose Yam Park was ordered closed by the local health department, vendors say they are fed up and are demanding answers from the Manchester Municipal Corporation.The facility was closed in...

Jamaican attorney-at-law Michelle Thomas has applauded a move by California Governor Gavin Newsom to make it a civil offence to remove a condom during sexual intercourse without the other party's consent, and has called for a similar la...

HEAD of the Anglican Diocese in Jamaica, Archbishop Howard Gregory yesterday announced the appointment of a new board of management for Clifton Boys' Home in Darliston, Westmoreland.The new board, he said, will be chaired by retired edu...

SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland - Members of the teenage gospel group the Foster Triplets have set their sights on improving the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital's paediatric ward where they were born 19 years ago.Last Friday they donated the facil...

Today is the 286th day of 2021. There are 79 days left in the year.TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT1957: The East German Government seals its borders and recalls all East-mark holdings for conversion into a new currency. OTHER EVENTS1775: The US Navy...

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) - Cuba's Government yesterday rejected a request from the Opposition to stage a protest on November 15, claiming the organisers are backed by the United States and want to overthrow the regime.The proposed demonstrati...

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (AP) - The county government that is home to Florida's capital was fined US$3.5 million yesterday by state health officials for requiring its employees to get COVID-19 vaccines and for firing 14 workers who failed t...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The family of a slain journalist is asking the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to take action against Facebook for failing to remove online footage of her shooting death.Andy Parker said yesterday the company is violati...

WASHINGTON, DC United States (AFP) - President Joe Biden's opposition to capital punishment will be put to the side today when the US Justice Department tries to convince the Supreme Court to reinstate the death penalty for Boston Marat...

GREAT BAY, St Elizabeth - Like farmers everywhere, Flagaman resident Arden Ebanks says the business has its ups and downs.For him, there was considerable dip in fortunes recently when heavy rains did extensive damage to his crops, inclu...

Mark Golding has reiterated the Opposition's disapproval of mandatory COVID-19 vaccination and decried what he said were injustices in the application of penalties for breaches of the Disaster Risk Management Act.As Opposition spokesper...

With the opening of the economy and people returning to work, the Government must now reopen schools, using the approaches and best practices taken by other jurisdictions which have successfully done so, as the benefit of face-to-face ...

Medical cannabis company Jacana, its eyes firmly set on becoming an "oasis" in New Kingston, officially opened a new store in the business district last weekend.Located in the newly refurbished New Kingston Business Centre on Grenada Cr...

SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland - According to weary vendors, the Savanna-la-Mar market has been looking and smelling more like a dump than a place where food is sold on a daily basis. However, local waste management officials have hit bac...

The Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ) was yesterday heavily criticised by Jamaicans who turned out in large numbers at its constituency offices in Kingston and St Catherine to collect new voter registration identification cards.The long...

Just under six months after his release from prison and four months after being shot and injured by gunmen in Bull Bay, St Andrew, along with three other people, gangster Christopher "Dog Paw" Linton was shot dead by police yesterday a...

Today is the 285th day of 2021. There are 80 days left in the year.TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT1822: Brazil becomes independent of Portugal. OTHER EVENTS1492: Christopher Columbus makes his first landfall in the New World, in present-day Bahamas ...