Pioneer of rap reggae, King Stitt, dies at 72
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — King Stitt, a pioneer in rap reggae, died Tuesday in his Caribbean homeland of Jamaica. He was 72. Stitt died at his home in the capital of Kingston after a long fight with prostate cancer and…
Jamaica launches emergency jobs initiative
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaica’s month-old government on Wednesday launched the first phase of an emergency jobs programme that was the centerpiece of its winning election campaign. The government formed by the People’s National Party said some 700 jobless people will…
Renowned Jamaica producer Winston Riley dies at 65
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Winston Riley, an innovative reggae musician and producer, has died of complications from a gunshot wound to the head. He was 65. Riley died Thursday at University Hospital of the West Indies, where he had been…
Grieving daughter suspended for Facebook comments
Mum-of-two Zoe Bennett, 35, who works for the Jamaican Tourist Board, faces a disciplinary probe over comments she made after her dad, Errol, was brutally murdered in a machete attack on the Caribbean island. Zoe, who is pregnant, received an email…
New PM wants to break ties
Jamaica’s new prime minister has declared that “the time has come” for her country to break its ties to the monarchy. In her inaugural address, Portia Simpson Miller, first paid tribute to the Queen: “I love the Queen. She is…
Jamaica to review China deal
Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has held initial talks with China’s Ambassador to Jamaica on adjusting the structure and implementation of the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP) funded by the Asian country. The discussion with Ambassador Zhen Qingdian took…
Simpson Miller sworn in 2nd time as Jamaica PM
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Portia Simpson Miller was sworn in for the second time as Jamaica’s prime minister Thursday, pledging to ease its deep poverty, boost the sputtering economy, heal political divisions and sever colonial-era links with Britain. Cayman Premier…
Family killed in crash
A Canadian couple were rushing their toddler to hospital in Jamaica when their car collided with an oncoming truck, killing all three and another relative, police say. Local authorities said that at 6 a.m. Wednesday, Garina and Diane Dixon and…
Jamaica’s opposition party wins big in elections
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaica’s opposition capitalised on discontent over the economy to return to power Thursday, as voters gave the country’s first female leader a second chance to govern the island. Supporters of former Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller,…
Election race neck and neck
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Jamaica’s two main political parties are in a neck-and-neck race to capture a majority of the country’s 63 parliamentary seats and win control of the government for the next five years. Both sides were predicting victory…
