Lead Stories

Mickel Jackson, executive director of Jamaicans for Justice.
Updated 17 hours ago Tanesha Mundle and Carl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writers

Jamaica faces UN scrutiny - Advocates say proposed gun sentence hike a step in wrong direction as country faces human rights test

The Advocates’ Association of Jamaica (AAJ) is raising concern over the announcement of a proposed increase in the mandatory minimum sentence for illegal gun possession to 20 years. The revelation came on Sunday on the eve of a human rights country review by the United Nations (UN). The current mandatory minimum sentence for illegal possession of a firearm is 15 years. The UN Human Rights Committee’s 146th session is currently under way in Geneva, Switzerland, from October 19 to November 6, and is reviewing Jamaica, Austria, Rwanda, and Cameroon.

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26 Oct, 2026 0

J’can rape convict fights deportation from UK

A Jamaican man serving a 14-year prison sentence in the United Kingdom (UK) for rape could potentially be returned to the island, but a legal battle over whether he would be adequately protected from…
Inside the Mount Hermon United in Westmoreland after Melissa’s blow.
26 Oct, 2026 0

MELISSA 365 | 'We want to build back lives'

WESTERN BUREAU: A year after Hurricane Melissa damaged 54 United Church congregations, destroying eight of their sanctuaries, the denomination is stressing that rebuilding church buildings is its last…
Reggae artiste JahDore, whose real name is Sean McDonald.
26 Oct, 2026 0

JahDore walks free in police assault case

Reggae artiste JahDore, who was accused of assaulting a policeman and tearing his shirt during an incident at a police station in 2019, after his children and their mother were detained, was on Friday…
Audley Gordon, executive director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority.
26 Oct, 2026 0

Derelict car crackdown runs into roadblocks

More than 1,500 abandoned cars have been removed from the nation’s streets since the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) launched its clean-up drive two years ago, reducing eyesores but…
25 Oct, 2026 0

MELISSA RELIEF UNDER SCRUTINY - CAPRI report flags delays in spending donations, gaps in roof-repair records and lingering disruption to schools

Nearly a year after Hurricane Melissa devastated sections of Jamaica, a new Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI) report has raised questions about the country’s ability to turn disaster…
Classes in session at Petersfield High School pre-Hurricane Melissa.
25 Oct, 2026 0

Petersfield High still feeling effect of bad shelter management experience

Western Bureau: Nearly a year after Hurricane Melissa battered western Jamaica, students at Petersfield High School are still attending classes just twice a week, leaving parents worried about lost…
The 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report
25 Oct, 2026 0

Children in the crossfire - CPFSA says youths reported to agency screened for human trafficking, but no specific record kept on victims forced into gangs

Children involved in crime may themselves be victims of human trafficking, but the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) says no suspected child trafficking case brought to its attention…
Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness.
24 Oct, 2026 0

GROUNDED - PNP questions fiscal restraint amid travel ban, NaRRA Spending

The People’s National Party (PNP) is questioning whether the Government’s ban on official overseas travel is a genuine cost-cutting measure or a public relations exercise, given millions of dollars…
Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett.
24 Oct, 2026 0

... But Bartlett takes flight - Excluded by ban, tourism minister embarks on five-city campaign in Canada

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett left the island on Friday for a five-city tour of Canada aimed at wooing more Canadian visitors to Jamaica in the upcoming winter tourism season. Bartlett will visit…