Hero image
Top Story...

Jamaica rejects St Kitts’ claim of first legal recognition of Rastafari

April 07, 2026 | News
WESTERN BUREAU: The Government of Jamaica has pushed back against claims that St Kitts and Nevis is the first Caribbean nation to recognise Rastafarianism in law, insisting that Jamaica has long acknowledged the faith within its constitutional and parliamentary framework. Speaking with The Gleaner on the sidelines of the 63rd anniversary of the 1963 Coral Gardens Incident last Friday, Culture Minister Olivia Grange said that Jamaica’s legal system has historically recognised Rastafari as a legitimate religion.
Read More

Top News

Latest News

World News

Hundreds of Cuban women rally against US energy blockade as crisis deepens

HAVANA (AP) — Hundreds of Cuban women gathered Tuesday in Havana to decry a US energy embargo and other measures imposed by US President Donald Trump that are strangling the Caribbean island. The rally was organised by the Federation of Cuban Women, a massive organisation with close ties to the government and the Communist Party, to honour the late Vilma Espín, the federation's founder, a guerrilla fighter and Raúl Castro's wife.
News

$500,000 bail for farmer accused of machete attack in goats trespass row

A St Catherine farmer who allegedly chopped another man with a machete during a reported dispute over goats that trespassed onto his farm, has been granted $500,000 bail. The accused, 45-year-old Dwayne Gibson, is charged with wounding with intent. Parish Court Judge Janelle Nelson-Gayle granted bail on Tuesday on condition that he reports to the Linstead Police Station three times per week - on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The judge also ordered that he be fingerprinted and barred from visiting Portmore for the duration of the matter.
News

INDECOM flags ‘urgent need for transparency’ in police operations after 11 killed over four days

The Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM) has raised “grave and escalating concern” over Easter weekend fatal shootings, citing 11 deaths over the period. It also renewed concerns about the absence of body-worn cameras during planned police operations. "These incidents continue to reflect an alarming trajectory in the use of lethal force and underscore the urgent need for transparency and accountability in policing operations," said Deputy Commissioner Yanique Taylor-Wellington in a statement on Tuesday.

News

See All
Monitoring devices connected to Shandale Ballentine during her recent stay at the Cornwall Regional Hospital to give birth.
Updated 6 hours ago

NEWBORN HEARTACHE

What should have been one of the happiest moments of Shandale Ballentine’s life ended in heartbreak on Good Friday. Instead of leaving the Cornwall Regional Hospital cradling the baby boy she had spent months preparing for, the 33-year-old first-time mother said she returned home “empty-handed”, struggling to make sense of how her long-awaited delivery ended in tragedy. Ballentine said she lost her son, Ramontay Rakai Ranger, during labour at the Montego Bay, St James-based hospital during what she described as the “worst” ordeal of her life.

Sports

See All
Shanoya Douglas
Published 16 hours ago

‘I WAS HERE’

Shanoya Douglas was in imperious form on yesterday’s third and final day of Carifta Games inside the Kirani James Athletic Stadium in St George’s, Grenada, demolishing Bahamian Shaunae Miller-Uibo’s 2013 record of 22.77 seconds on her way to winning the Girls’ Under-20 200 metres in a lifetime best, 22.11.

Entertainment

See All
The late Bunny Wailer.
Updated 8 hours ago

Shashamane to honour Bunny Wailer on his birthday

Reggae icon Bunny Wailer will be honoured by the Jamaican/Rastafarian community in Shashamane, Ethiopia, on his birthday, April 10, as part of the Rastafari Month celebrations in that country. This event honours the reggae legend, who died at age 73 on March 2, 2021, as well as Donald ‘Flippins’ Leach, a Jamaican stalwart of Ethiopia’s Rastafari repatriation movement who passed away in 2012. The event, a joint Bunny Wailer and Flippins tribute, will be held at the Lily and Vernon Leach Lounge in that city.

Business

See All

Lifestyle

See All
Kristen Lewis (left), the 2025 National Champion for the 12-14 age group, alongside Samantha Charles, CEO, VM Foundation, title sponsor of the National Reading Competition. Lewis is encouraging this year’s young entrants to be determined, ambitious and c
April 4, 2026

GoodHeart | Kristen Lewis encourages young readers to ‘go for what they want’

Kristen Lewis’ passion for reading has taken her from the classroom to national acclaim, as she emerged as the 2025 National Reading Competition champion in the 12–14 age group. An avid reader since primary school, Lewis was introduced to the competition last year while in Grade 9 by her English teacher, Miss Rogers. She entered through the Manchester Parish Library. Now in its 38th year, the Jamaica Library Service (JLS) continues to host the National Reading Competition, encouraging Jamaican youth to develop a love for books and literacy.

Commentary

See All
Prime Minister, Dr Andrew Holness, delivers his contribution to the 2026/27 Budget Debate.
Published 16 hours ago

Editorial | Making NaRRA better

In Jamaica, public institutions often fail because of bad policy design. They are given sweeping mandates, blurred lines of authority, weak performance systems, and too much dependence on the supposed brilliance of one chief executive.

Videos

Can't Miss