Category Archives: Jamaica

Stop ‘draconian’ mass deportations of Haitians fleeing gangs, activists say

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Tens of thousands deported from Caribbean states, as Dominican Republic pledges to return 10,000 people a week

Activists have called on Caribbean governments to halt the mass deportation of Haitians fleeing escalating gang violence that has claimed thousands of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

In the past month, tens of thousands of people have been deported to Haiti, including 61,000 from the neighbouring Dominican Republic, whose president recently pledged to deport 10,000 migrants a week.

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Tropical Storm Rafael gains intensity in Caribbean as it nears Cuba

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Storm expected to reach hurricane status but should weaken before it hits the US Gulf coast

Tropical Storm Rafael has grown more powerful in the Caribbean Sea and is poised to reach hurricane strength on Wednesday, carrying the risk of damaging wind and rainfall. But it should weaken as it approaches the US Gulf coast, where several states have not been hit by a hurricane in November, according to records maintained since the early months of the US civil war.

Portions of the Florida Keys could see tropical storm conditions starting on Wednesday night, according to the National Hurricane Center.

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World watches with bated breath as US votes for Harris or Trump

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Election watchers in Europe, Asia and elsewhere will be tuning in – and some have a particular interest in the result

From Brazil to Ireland and Germany to the Caribbean, this year’s knife-edge – and more than usually momentous – US presidential vote will be watched at a multitude of election-night events, some with a particular interest in the outcome.

In St Ann Parish, Jamaica – and most particularly in Browns Town, where Harris’s father Donald was born and the Democratic candidate spent many happy childhood holidays – her supporters plan watch parties, drink-ups and other social gatherings.

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Tropical Storm Rafael triggers hurricane warning for Cayman Islands

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Storm expected to bring heavy rain to US Gulf coast later this week

Forecasters posted a hurricane warning in the Caribbean on Monday afternoon after a late-season disturbance south of Cuba strengthened into Tropical Storm Rafael and set its sights on the US Gulf coast.

The 17th named storm of an overactive Atlantic hurricane season will bring heavy rain to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands before strengthening to a hurricane and probably hitting Cuba, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said.

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A small town in Jamaica watches Harris campaign with pride – and wariness

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The Democratic nominee is proud of her Jamaican roots. Her story inspires some but others wonder if her presidency would benefit the country

Brown’s Town, in the Jamaican parish of St Ann – where as a child, Kamala Harris spent many holidays with her family – has the unmistakable atmosphere of a close-knit rural Caribbean community.

Narrow roads, cocooned by bowing trees and lush vegetation, wind past concrete houses and the rolling hills of the Dry Harbour mountain range.

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Archbishop of Canterbury reveals ancestral links to slavery

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Justin Welby says ancestor owned enslaved people in Jamaica and was paid compensation upon abolition

Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, has revealed that his ancestor owned enslaved people on a plantation in Jamaica and was compensated by the British government when slavery was abolished.

Welby disclosed his ancestral links in a personal statement that reiterated his commitment to addressing the enduring and damaging legacies of transatlantic slavery.

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Jamaica welcomes US move to clamp down on gun trafficking to Caribbean

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Horace Chang, deputy PM of country with highest homicide rate, praises US attorneys generals’ support for legislation

Jamaica’s deputy prime minister has welcomed a campaign by the New York attorney general, Letitia James, to push through new measures and legislation to tackle gun trafficking from the US to the Caribbean.

Horace Chang, who is also Jamaica’s minister of security, praised a coalition of 14 US attorneys general, led by James, that is backing the passing of the Caribbean Arms Trafficking Causes Harm Act. Introduced in both houses of the US Congress earlier this year, the act aims to help curb illicit arms trafficking from the United States to the Caribbean.

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Jamaica declares state of emergency after eight killed in weekend shootings

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Two attacks in Clarendon killed eight and injured nine as government looks to focus on gang violence

Jamaica’s prime minister has issued a 14-day state of emergency in the country’s southern Clarendon parish amid fears of further violence after two shootings on Sunday left eight dead and nine wounded.

Seven people were killed when gunmen fired indiscriminately at a birthday party in Cherry Tree Lane, Clarendon; the eighth victim was killed in a second shooting.

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Stephen Lawrence’s father says he was not told son’s body was being exhumed

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Neville Lawrence says he learned of plans to return remains to UK after he saw video of damaged grave in Jamaica

Stephen Lawrence’s father has said he was not informed of the decision to exhume his son’s body in Jamaica and return it to the UK, and that he is “appalled” at the condition his grave was left in.

It comes after Stephen’s mother, Doreen Lawrence, said her family had decided to “bring Stephen home to be closer to us” after originally burying him on the Caribbean island because they felt “he would not be at peace in this country”.

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Stephen Lawrence’s body to be returned to UK 31 years after murder

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Doreen Lawrence announces son’s body has been exhumed in Jamaica, after photos of open grave posted online

Stephen Lawrence’s body will be returned to the UK from Jamaica 31 years after his racist murder, his mother, Doreen, has said.

In a statement issued through her lawyer, Lady Lawrence said images of her son’s grave had appeared on social media after his body had been exhumed, which had caused the family “distress”.

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Jamaican dancehall star Vybz Kartel released from prison after 13 years

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Court of appeal rules against a retrial for artist convicted of murder in 2014

Jamaican dancehall vocalist Vybz Kartel has had his conviction quashed due to bribery attempts by one of the original jurors and been freed from prison after 13 years.

The artist, real name Adidja Palmer, was arrested in 2011 along with three other men for the murder of their associate Clive “Lizard” Williams, whose body has never been found. In 2014, Palmer was sentenced to 35 years in prison, later reduced on appeal to 32 and a half.

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Slave trader Colston left bequest to Church of England, archive shows

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As archbishop of Canterbury visits Jamaica, research reveals trader left money to church’s missionary arm

The archbishop of Canterbury has spoken of the work to address the Church of England’s historic links to chattel slavery on a trip to Jamaica, as archive research reveals that the slave trader Edward Colston left a bequest in the 18th century to the church’s missionary arm.

Justin Welby is on a three-day visit to the West Indies to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. He said a £100m fund set up by the church would be used to benefit communities “which still bear the scars” from slavery.

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Tropical Storm Beryl smashes through Caribbean and heads for Texas coast

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Earliest category 5 hurricane on record is 495 miles south-east of Corpus Christi, with winds near 60mph

Tropical Storm Beryl, which has already smashed its way across the Caribbean as a hurricane before slamming into the Yucatán peninsula, is intensifying once again and expected to make landfall as a hurricane for the third time along the Texas coast.

The powerful hurricane – Beryl is the earliest category 5 hurricane on record – was by early Saturday approximately 495 miles (797km) south-east of Corpus Christi, Texas. The storm is forecast to turn toward the north-west later Saturday and then north/north-westward by Sunday night.

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Hurricane Beryl barrels through Cayman Islands after battering Jamaica

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Category 3 storm with wind speeds of up to 120mph continues to wreak ‘utter devastation’ in Caribbean

Hurricane Beryl is barrelling through the Cayman Islands after causing death and destruction in Jamaica.

The British overseas territory is bearing the brunt of the hurricane, which has been causing “utter devastation” in the Caribbean since Monday, when it almost destroyed parts of Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

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Hurricane Beryl hits Jamaica after leaving ‘Armageddon-like’ trail in Grenada

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Jamaican PM says worst is yet to come as category 4 storm hits southern coast after causing at least seven deaths in region

Hurricane Beryl has hit Jamaica after leaving an “Armageddon-like” trail of devastation in Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) and killing at least seven people across the region.

The category 4 storm hit the island’s southern coast on Wednesday afternoon with maximum sustained winds of 140mph (225km/h), pummeling communities and knocking out communications as emergency groups evacuated people in flood-prone communities.

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Four dead as category 5 Hurricane Beryl wreaks havoc across Caribbean

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With winds up to 160mph, the monster storm pushed through Grenada and is on track for Jamaica and the Yucatán peninsula

At least four people have died after Hurricane Beryl wreaked “almost complete destruction” on small and vulnerable islands in the Caribbean.

The monster hurricane, which is now barrelling towards Jamaica, has strengthened to category 5 status, which means it can achieve wind speeds of over 157mph (253km/h).

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‘Extremely dangerous’ Hurricane Beryl makes landfall in Grenada

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Roofs blown off by 150mph winds and thousands hunkered down as hurricane reaches Caribbean island of Carriacou

Hurricane Beryl has made landfall on the Caribbean island of Carriacou after becoming the earliest storm of its strength to form in the Atlantic, fueled by record warm waters.

Carriacou is one of the islands of Grenada, where officials said winds increased up to 150mph (240km/h), blowing off roofs and causing other damage.

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Tropical Storm Beryl predicted to turn into first hurricane of season

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Storm is forecast to glance off Barbados on Sunday before heading through Caribbean and toward the Yucatán

Tropical Storm Beryl is forecast to become the first hurricane of the season before skirting the southern tip of Barbados in the south-eastern Caribbean on Sunday.

Beryl currently holds maximum sustained winds of 60mph (95km/h) and is traveling west at 21mph (34km/h), according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Hurricane Center.

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Jamaica condemns Frank Hester’s Diane Abbott comments amid concern over contract

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Ministers condemn allegedly racist remarks and say they knew about them only after signing deal

The Jamaican government has joined widespread condemnation of comments by the Conservative’s party’s biggest donor, Frank Hester, amid concerns about a contract it signed with his digital health company.

Earlier in March, the Guardian revealed that during a meeting in 2019 Hester had said Diane Abbott, Britain’s first black female MP, made you “want to hate all black women” and that she “should be shot”, remarks that are now subject of an investigation by West Yorkshire police.

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Jamaican musician Vybz Kartel has murder conviction quashed

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Dancehall star was sentenced to life in prison in 2014 for the murder of an associate

The Jamaican musician Vybz Kartel’s conviction for the murder of an associate more than a decade ago has been quashed, with a London court ruling that attempts to bribe the trial jury meant the conviction was unsafe.

The dancehall star, whose real name is Adidja Palmer, is one of Jamaica’s most popular artists and has collaborated with performers such as Jay-Z and Rihanna.

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