Category Archives: Jamaica

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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Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett, bassist with Bob Marley and the Wailers, dies aged 77

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Influential musician also co-produced group’s albums and mentored many Jamaican artists

Aston “Family Man” Barrett, bassist for Bob Marley and the Wailers, has died aged 77.

The news was confirmed on Saturday by Olivia Grange, Jamaica’s minister for culture, who wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “I share with you my deep regret at the passing of Aston Francis Barrett, popularly known as ‘Family Man’ or ‘Fams’ … He died at the University of Miami Hospital in Florida in the United States early this morning.”

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Industrial Revolution iron method ‘was taken from Jamaica by Briton’

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Wrought iron process that drove UK success was appropriated from black metallurgists, records suggest

An innovation that propelled Britain to become the world’s leading iron exporter during the Industrial Revolution was appropriated from an 18th-century Jamaican foundry, historical records suggest.

The Cort process, which allowed wrought iron to be mass-produced from scrap iron for the first time, has long been attributed to the British financier turned ironmaster Henry Cort. It helped launch Britain as an economic superpower and transformed the face of the country with “iron palaces”, including Crystal Palace, Kew Gardens’ Temperate House and the arches at St Pancras train station.

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What’s the Caribbean without its beaches? But the people are losing access to them

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Barring public access to beaches and other sites is not a model for development. Transparency and engagement are needed

Walk along a Caribbean beach, which may stretch for miles, and your stroll is guaranteed to be cut short by an angry hotel security guard. In recent years, the Caribbean has seen a worrying trend of governments readily selling off assets to foreign corporations and political financiers.

Prime real estate, protected land and valuable resources are being relinquished without consideration for long-term consequences. It raises questions about whether remnants of the colonial mindset still prevail in political ideologies and decision-making.

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Commonwealth Indigenous leaders demand apology from the king for effects of colonisation

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Exclusive: Aboriginal Olympian Nova Peris says ‘change begins with listening’ as campaigners from 12 countries ask for ‘process of reparatory justice to commence’

Australians have joined Indigenous leaders and politicians across the Commonwealth to demand King Charles III make a formal apology for the effects of British colonisation, make reparations by redistributing the wealth of the British crown, and return artefacts and human remains.

Days out from Charles’s coronation in London, campaigners for republic and reparations movements in 12 countries have written a letter asking the new monarch to start a process towards “a formal apology and for a process of reparatory justice to commence”.

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Can you copyright a rhythm? Inside the reggaeton lawsuit that could shake the pop world

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Two dembow progenitors are suing superstars including Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee – in a case that also names Justin Bieber – claiming that they deserve credit for birthing the genre

With the release of their song Fish Market in 1989, the Jamaican duo Cleveland “Clevie” Browne and Wycliffe “Steely” Johnson inadvertently changed the course of pop music. The track featured the first known example of what would come to be known as a “dembow” rhythm – the percussive, slightly syncopated four-to-the-floor beat that travelled from reggae to become the signature beat of reggaeton, today the world-conquering sound of Latin American pop.

Now, more than 30 years after Fish Market was released, Steely & Clevie Productions is suing three of reggaeton’s most celebrated hitmakers – El Chombo, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee – for what they characterise as unlawful interpolation of Fish Market’s rhythm (or “riddim”), and are seeking the credit – and royalties – they say they deserved from the start.

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‘A win for Jamaica’: 15 people convicted in landmark gang-busting trial

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Marathon trial, which lasted a year and a half, sees people convicted on charges ranging from gang membership to murder

Fifteen people have been convicted on charges ranging from gang membership and gun possession to murder, in a landmark gang-busting trial hailed by Jamaican authorities as a major blow to one of the island’s deadliest criminal organisations.

Twelve other defendants were acquitted and the cases against five others were not pursued, but police and prosecutors described the verdicts this week as historic. One defendant was murdered while on bail.

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Usain Bolt lawyers say $12.7m is missing from Olympic champion’s account

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  • Jamaican authorities investigating after alarm is raised
  • Firm says several clients may be missing large sums

A lawyer for Usain Bolt said on Wednesday that more than $12.7m is missing from his account with a private investment firm in Jamaica.

Linton P Gordon, a lawyer for Bolt, provided the Associated Press with a copy of a letter sent to Stocks & Securities Limited demanding that the money be returned. Gordon said the Olympic champion’s account once had $12.8m but now reflects a balance of only $12,000.

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Usain Bolt reportedly missing millions from investment accounts

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  • Athlete’s manager says Jamaican authorities investigating
  • Olympic champion noticed discrepancies this week

An investigation has been launched after millions of dollars reportedly went missing from an account belonging to eight-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt.

Bolt’s manager, Nugent Walker, told the Gleaner that Jamaica’s Financial Investigations Division and Financial Services Commission are looking into the case at investment firm Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL). SSL is also understood to have called the police.

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Briton shot dead in Jamaica was victim of contract killing, police say

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Jamaican police say fatal shooting of Sean Patterson, 33, was ‘contract killing that emanated from Britain’

A British man who was shot dead in Jamaica this week was the victim of a contract killing ordered in Britain, according to local police.

Sean Patterson, 33, a personal trainer from west London, was found with gunshot wounds to his upper body and head at about midday on Monday in Bogue Hill, St James, police said.

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Jamaica broadcasting regulator bans music and TV deemed to glorify crime

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Musicians criticise ban that includes ‘urban slang’ to do with making money or acquiring wealth

Jamaica’s broadcasting regulator has banned music and TV broadcasts deemed to glorify or promote criminal activity, violence, drug use, scamming and weapons.

The government has said the ban is meant to cut back on material that “could give the wrong impression that criminality is an accepted feature of Jamaican culture and society”.

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‘End of an era’: how the Queen’s funeral was seen around the world

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From Melbourne to Paris, New York to Delhi, the solemn events in London resonated around the globe

As the doors to Westminster Abbey opened to allow guests to take their seats, across the other side of the world, Australians sat down in front of their TVs to watch the historic event.

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‘Moment of reckoning’: Queen’s death fuels Jamaica’s republican movement

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Ascension of King Charles III has prompted renewed questioning of a British monarch as head of state

In a crisp black suit, white shirt and black tie, Daniel Pryce reached the end of a mile-long driveway flanked by palm trees and clipped lawns. He had come to King’s House to perform his duty, as he put it, by signing a book of condolence for the Queen, whom he served as equerry on her final visit to Jamaica in 2002.

“The very last moment of that visit, as she was about to alight the aircraft, she turned around and she shook my hand and she said ‘Thank you, Daniel’,” the 58-year-old recalled on Tuesday as flags flew at half mast in serene sunshine. “It was the first time she referred to me by my first name and that was special for me.”

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King Charles’s ascension ignites debate over royals across Commonwealth

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Head of state role in doubt in realms from Jamaica to New Zealand after death of Queen Elizabeth II

King Charles’s ascension to the throne has reignited a debate over whether the royal family deserves a global role in the 21st century, no more so than in the 14 Commonwealth realms where the British monarch remains the head of state.

A legacy of empire and slavery that was entwined with British royalty for centuries has raised tough questions about the place of a foreign king, and republican movements from the Pacific to North America to the Caribbean will be assessing whether they should seize the moment.

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Commonwealth Games must do more for LGBT rights, says former swimmer

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Michael Gunning calls for event to push for change after a ‘petrifying’ visit to his home country, Jamaica

The former Team GB swimmer Michael Gunning has called on the Commonwealth Games to do more to help improve LGBTQ+ rights in member countries as he talked of his “petrifying” experience visiting his home country, Jamaica, for the first time since he came out as gay.

Gunning, who retired from swimming earlier this year to help promote equality in sport, said the event could do more on the global stage to push the issue.

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Home Office grants baby stranded in Jamaica leave to return to UK

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24 hours after Guardian revealed family’s plight Home Office does U-turn and grants baby visa

A British resident stranded in Jamaica with her baby, who was told by the Home Office the boy could not come to the UK because he had an “established life” on the Caribbean island, has now been told by the Home Office that she can bring him, after the Guardian exposed the family’s plight.

Just 25 hours after the Guardian’s article was published, the Home Office granted the baby’s visa and informed his mother, Tiffany Ellis – who has indefinite leave to remain in the UK, where she has lived since the age of eight – that it was ready for immediate collection.

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UK deportation flight to Jamaica takes off with seven onboard

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Home Office initially had 100 people on list of Jamaican nationals to be removed, say reports

A Home Office deportation flight to Jamaica took off in the early hours of Wednesday morning with seven people onboard.

Some media reports said the Home Office initially had 100 people on the list of Jamaican nationals that officials hoped to remove.

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Commonwealth rift in Caribbean as re-election of Lady Scotland challenged

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Jamaican minister’s entry to race for secretary general called ‘monumental error’ by Antigua

Patricia Scotland’s hopes of being re-elected Commonwealth secretary general are under threat, after Jamaica’s foreign minister, Kamina Johnson-Smith, announced that she was challenging Scotland for the post.

The decision has sparked controversy in the Caribbean, which had previously met to back Scotland’s bid for a second term. The Antiguan prime minister, Gaston Browne, has described Jamaica’s decision to break ranks as a “monumental error”.

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