More than 13,000 residents from Green Pond and surrounding communities in St James are accessing primary healthcare in more spacious and comfortable surroundings, following the completion of renovations at the Green Pond Health Centre. This work was completed at a cost of $30 million under the Government’s Operation Refresh initiative. It included expansion of the building to provide air-conditioned medical records and consultation rooms, enclosing the main waiting area and installing air conditioning, erecting perimeter fencing, paving of the car park, general painting and more. Green Pond Health Centre provides maternal and child healthcare, including antenatal, postnatal, child health, and family planning, as well as wound care and dressing services to residents of Green Pond, Farm Heights, Porto Bello Mews and Cornwall Courts. Health and Wellness Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, in his address at the official reopening of the facility on Thursday, January 16, informed that it is the 13th...

Jamaicans are being urged to familiarise themselves with the layout of their homes in the dark as a crucial step in earthquake preparedness and general safety. This advice was issued by Director General, Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Richard Thompson, during a recent Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ focused on Earthquake Awareness Month, being observed in January. “Learn [the layout of] your house so you can navigate that space in the dark. I don’t know how many persons try to just shut off all the lights at home and navigate in the dark. [This is] a practice that persons need to [constantly] do,” Thompson said. Power outages are common occurrences during emergencies such as earthquakes, and knowing how to move around the house in darkness is essential. “It’s not only for earthquake preparedness; it’s for general security. You don’t want to hear a sound and [you’re...

The US Supreme Court on January 17, upheld a law requiring TikTok’s China-based parent company, ByteDance, to sell the video app by January 19, or face a nationwide ban on the app. In a unanimous decision, the court rejected TikTok’s claim that the law violates its First Amendment rights. The company shut down the app shortly before midnight on January 18. The court’s ruling is the latest development in a lengthy saga over the fate of an app that is widely popular, especially among young Americans, but that many politicians in Washington say is a security risk. The ruling is unlikely to be the end of the story. Outgoing President Joe Biden said that he will not enforce the law in the waning hours of his administration. President-elect Donald Trump said he will reverse the ban and is reportedly considering an executive order to do so. But why is TikTok...

The Kingston Eastern police have launched an investigation into the fatal gun attack on a 34-year-old man in the division on Saturday. The victim has been identified as Rayon Oneil Wright, otherwise called ‘Bapo’, a farmer of Llandewey, St Thomas, and Black Street, Kingston 16. Reports are that about midday, Wright was attacked along a section of Windward Road in Kingston. Headlines Delivered to Your Inbox The police were summoned and Wright was found along the roadway with what appeared to be gunshot wounds to the upper body. He was taken to the Kingston Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead. – Rasbert Turner Follow The Gleaner on X and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at [email protected] or [email protected].

A 41-year-old Jamaican man convicted of raping a sleeping woman has successfully avoided deportation from the United Kingdom after arguing that his bisexuality would put him at risk of harm in Jamaica and that he had been beaten by members of the One Order gang. The man – who cannot be identified due to an anonymity order by the court and was referred to only as AA – was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2018 for forcing himself on a woman after a drinking and cannabis session at a party. He was released in June 2021 after serving half of his sentence and handed a deportation order. The Home Office sought to remove AA from the United Kingdom following his release, arguing that he remained “a danger to the community” and should be sent back to Jamaica. It turned down his request for asylum on June 28, 2021....

TORONTO: The chairperson of the board of Canada’s largest public transportation system says its 2025 operating and capital budget is a massive step in the right direction for the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). Jamaal Myers, who was elected the Toronto city councillor for Ward 23, Scarborough North, in October 2022, and was appointed chair of the TTC board in August 2023, said, as a daily TTC rider himself, he is proud that they are addressing two things that are important to their customers: safety and customer experience. “This budget will help us build a transit system where parents don’t worry about their kids using the subway at night, and vehicles that arrive when they’re supposed to arrive,” said Myers – who is of Jamaican heritage – about the budget which also plans to freeze fares for the second straight year, add the most service in a decade, improve system safety...

The pair of Roje Stona and Shanieka Ricketts were crowned winners of the 2024 RJRGleaner National Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year this evening at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. The 25-year-old Stona had a stellar year which saw him kick-starting the season with a win, in May, at the LA Grand Prix as he managed to cover the field in a distance of 66.93 metres. A month later, he had two runners up finish at the New York City Grand Prix then at the National Championships, punching his ticket to the Paris Olympics. It was at the Olympics Games his crowning moment arrived. Stona produced a lifetime best throw of 70 metres to win the country’s first goal medal in the event. Stona’s 2024 performance also saw him winning the People’s Choice Award. Shanieka Ricketts was also in sublime form as she won her sixth national championships with a leap...

HARTFORD, Jan 17, CMC – The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency says it has arrested two Jamaican nationals convicted of criminal offences in the US, including one wanted in Jamaica. ICE said they had arrested Sanjay Sivan Walsh, 28, convicted of sexually assaulting two children and tampering with evidence, on December 17. “Mr Walsh was convicted of committing unspeakable crimes against two children, and he was sentenced to prison for it,” said ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston acting Field Office Director, Patricia Hyde. “ERO Boston lodged an immigration detainer against him so our officers could safely arrest him upon his release, but the Connecticut Department of Corrections officials refused to honour the detainer. “Our officers had to arrest Mr Walsh in the community after his release from prison, even though he was convicted of terrible crimes against children and is removable from the US based...

Earth Today | Success! | News | Jamaica Gleaner Published:Thursday | January 16, 2025 | 12:08 AM Members of the Reggae Hikers group and the Forestry Department celebrate after conquering the hiking trail at Forest Trek II in the Bogue 2 Forest Reserve late last year. Registration will open soon for the March 2025 staging of the trek, which is intended to promote tree planting and the protection of Jamaica’s forest cover. Have questions or concerns? Chat with our virtual assistant.

AS CELEBRATIONS for another International Day for Clean Energy near, the observance’s ambitions have been validated by the findings from the 2024 Emissions Gap Report, which makes it clear that the world may be losing the battle against the climate crisis. This is even as there are prevailing human development issues associated with the failure to significantly progress the shift to renewables, including access to power supply. According to the report, titled ‘No more hot air … please!’, countries must demonstrate ambition and commitment to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are the fuel that fire global warming and the associated impacts and threats. “The increase in total GHG emissions of 1.3 per cent from 2022 levels is above the average rate in the decade preceding the COVID-19 pandemic (2010-2019), when GHG emissions growth averaged 0.8 per cent per year. The rise is in all sources of GHGs, except land...