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  • Amber Group CEO says digital identity is humanity’s biggest challenge at global engineering summit

    Amber Group CEO says digital identity is humanity’s biggest challenge at global engineering summit

    At a high-profile gathering of the world’s top engineering and technology minds in New York last week, Dushyant Savadia, chief executive of Jamaican-headquartered Amber Group, brought a pressing underdiscussed global challenge to the forefront: the crisis of unrecognized legal identity for roughly 1.1 billion people worldwide. Framing the issue as one of humanity’s most persistent unaddressed gaps, Savadia pointed to Jamaica’s ongoing rollout of the National Identification System (NIDS) as a actionable blueprint that other nations, particularly small island developing states, can adapt to close the identity gap.

    Savadia’s appearance marked a historic milestone, as he became the first leader from Jamaica and the broader Caribbean region extended an invitation to speak as a featured guest at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Laureate Summit. Held from April 22 to 24, the 2024 summit drew an elite cohort of global technology leaders, including NVIDIA co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang, who was honored with the organization’s prestigious IEEE Medal of Honor during the event.

    In his 35-minute featured interview at the summit, Savadia broke down the far-reaching harms of stateless and unregistered identity. Without official legal documentation, he explained, billions of people are systematically locked out of core public and private systems that most take for granted: access to formal banking, basic healthcare services, democratic voting rights, insurance coverage, and participation in the fast-growing digital global economy.

    “Give them an identity and you give them a door into every system that was previously closed to them,” Savadia emphasized during the discussion.

    Drawing on global precedent, Savadia highlighted India’s groundbreaking Aadhaar programme, which has successfully registered nearly 1 billion residents to a centralized digital identity system, as evidence that large-scale identity initiatives can deliver transformative impact. He went on to note that Jamaica’s NIDS rollout, once complete, could position the Caribbean nation as a regional and global model, particularly for peer small island developing states that face unique structural challenges in building national identification infrastructure.

    Beyond economic and social exclusion, Savadia also argued that widespread lack of formal identity fuels broader public safety risks. People who “do not exist in the system have no stake in it,” he explained, a dynamic that can create fertile ground for increased crime and persistent social fragmentation.

    Founded in 1963, the IEEE stands as one of the world’s most influential professional engineering and technology organizations, boasting a membership of more than 400,000 professionals across over 160 countries. According to a statement from Amber Group, Savadia was invited to speak at the invitation-only summit in recognition of the firm’s pioneering work across multiple cutting-edge technology sectors, including artificial intelligence, robotics, the internet of things, cybersecurity, and fintech.

  • Jamaica to send engineers to BVI in telecoms regulatory collaboration

    Jamaica to send engineers to BVI in telecoms regulatory collaboration

    Against a backdrop of growing demand for advanced wireless connectivity and the accelerating global shift to 5G technology, Caribbean telecommunications regulators are turning to cross-border partnership to address shared regulatory challenges, with a new secondment agreement between Jamaica and the British Virgin Islands leading the charge. The Spectrum Management Authority of Jamaica (SMA) and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of the British Virgin Islands (TRC BVI) have launched a targeted cooperation initiative that will see two experienced SMA telecommunications engineers deployed on secondment to the TRC BVI, with the core goal of upgrading and strengthening spectrum management operations across the British Virgin Islands. The partnership was formally unveiled this week at the 20th annual conference of the Organization of Caribbean Utility Regulators (OOCUR), hosted at the Ocean Coral Spring Convention Centre in Falmouth, Trelawny, Jamaica, which runs from April 27 to May 1, 2026. In a joint statement released Wednesday, the two agencies framed the agreement as a tangible, action-oriented example of deepened regional integration, at a time when Caribbean regulators across the board are grappling with surging consumer demand for wireless services, the rollout of new digital technologies, and the complex infrastructure and regulatory adjustments required for full 5G adoption. The collaboration took center stage during a joint plenary presentation Tuesday, titled “Strengthening Our Regional Connections: TRC British Virgin Islands and Spectrum Management Authority of Jamaica Collaboration”, led by SMA Managing Director Dr. Maria Myers Hamilton and TRC Chief Executive Officer Guy Lester Malone. During the presentation, the two leaders laid out the concrete objectives of the partnership: the secondment arrangement will boost the TRC BVI’s spectrum operations by building local technical capacity, upgrading the territory’s spectrum monitoring and inspection capabilities, and fostering two-way knowledge sharing between the two regulatory bodies. Representatives from both agencies emphasized that the initiative carries outsize significance for small island developing states (SIDS) across the Caribbean, which frequently face disproportionately complex regulatory demands despite their smaller geographic and market sizes. “This partnership reflects the practical value of regional collaboration,” Dr. Hamilton noted in comments included in the joint release. “By sharing technical expertise, strengthening institutional capacity and learning from each other’s experiences, small island regulators can better prepare for the future of telecommunications and spectrum management.” Echoing her remarks, Malone emphasized that regulatory harmonization across the region is not just a strategic benefit for small island states—it is an operational necessity. “Our markets may be small, but our regulatory challenges are complex and increasingly interconnected,” he explained. “Collaboration with the SMA allows us to strengthen our technical capability while contributing to a broader Caribbean model for regulatory cooperation.” Over the course of the secondment, the partnership will deliver a suite of key outputs designed to lay the groundwork for long-term regulatory improvement in the BVI and serve as a blueprint for other regional cooperation efforts. These deliverables include standardized spectrum monitoring guidelines, comprehensive field measurement reports, formal 5G readiness assessments, evaluations of mobile network coverage and quality of service, hands-on technical training for local TRC staff, structured cross-organizational knowledge transfer, and final strategic recommendations to guide future regulatory policymaking in the territory.

  • Jamaican schools arrive in Baltimore for Puma East Coast International Showcase

    Jamaican schools arrive in Baltimore for Puma East Coast International Showcase

    BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – One of North America’s most anticipated elite high school track and field competitions is set to kick off this weekend, and Jamaica’s top young athletic prospects have already touched down in Baltimore to compete for international honors. The fifth annual Puma East Coast International Showcase, hosted at Morgan State University’s Hughes Memorial Stadium, is scheduled to get underway at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, bringing together more than 1,200 of the best young sprinters, jumpers, and throwers from across the United States and Caribbean.

    Founded by former Jamaican Olympian Sanjay Ayre, the showcase has quickly earned a reputation as one of the premier high school track events on the U.S. calendar, offering rising young talent a chance to test their skills against international competition ahead of collegiate and professional careers. This year, Jamaica sends five of its most decorated high school programs to the meet: led by boys’ national championship winners Jamaica College (JC) and Hydel High School, the girls’ national championship runners-up. Rounding out the Jamaican contingent are Excelsior High, Holland High, and St. Andrew High School for Girls.

    Jamaica College arrives in Baltimore riding an unprecedented wave of momentum, fresh off extending one of the most dominant winning streaks in global track and field at last weekend’s 130th Penn Relays in Philadelphia. The JC boys’ 4x100m relay squad crossed the finish line in 40.03 seconds to claim the High School Boys’ 4x100m Championship of America gold, marking the 20th consecutive title Jamaica has claimed in the event, even in cold, difficult racing conditions. The winning quartet of Makaelan Woods, Nathaniel Martin, Elijah Smeikle, and anchor Kai Kelly have three members entered in this weekend’s showcase.

    Fifteen-year-old anchor Kai Kelly, already one of the most talked-about young sprint sensations in the world, will line up for the individual 100m in Baltimore after his game-winning anchor leg at Penn Relays. Kelly has turned in a historic season so far: he claimed the boys’ class two 100m national title at Jamaica’s Boys and Girls’ Champs with a 10.28-second clocking, followed by an Under-17 100m gold at the CARIFTA Games in 10.37 seconds. Makaelan Wood will contest the 200m, while Nathaniel Martin is entered in both the 100m and 200m.

    JC’s roster also includes standout discus thrower Joseph Salmon, who broke both the national junior and Champs records with a 67.55m throw to retain his class one discus title earlier this season. Salmon has carried that dominant form into subsequent competitions, claiming gold at both the CARIFTA Games and Penn Relays ahead of this weekend’s showcase. Additional key competitors for JC include 400m hurdler Rojay Black, middle-distance sprinter Omary Robinson, and sprinter DeAndre Gayle.

    Hydel High, Jamaica’s second-leading representative, brings three members of its own Penn Relays-winning High School Girls’ 4x400m Championship of America squad. Nastassia Fletcher, Aaliyah Mullings, and Sashana Johnson helped the team clock 3:32.85, the third-fastest time ever recorded in the championship event. Fletcher and Mullings will compete in the 400m hurdles this weekend, while Johnson is entered in the 200m. They are joined by multi-event star Zavien Bernard, who claimed the Penn Relays girls’ triple jump title to add to her double gold at Champs and high jump gold at CARIFTA.

    Holland High’s squad is led by sprint star Shanoya Douglas, a triple CARIFTA Games gold medalist who turned in one of the most impressive performances of the regional championships earlier this month. Douglas successfully defended her 100m and 200m CARIFTA titles, clocking a world-leading 22.11 seconds in the 200m that broke a 20-year-old championship record, lowered her own Jamaican Under-20 national record, and moved her into a tie for third on the all-time world Under-20 ranking.

    Excelsior High brings a roster anchored by rising hurdling star Jaeden Campbell, who set a new Champs meet record of 50.87 seconds to win the boys’ class two 400m hurdles title. He is joined by class one bronze medalist Kishawn Hoffman and anchor sprinter Malike Nugent, who led Excelsior to 4x100m gold at Champs. Excelsior will also field teams in both the 4x100m and 4x400m relays this weekend. St. Andrew High School for Girls rounds out the Jamaican delegation, with long jumper and sprinter Keianna Walker set to represent the program.

  • Forex: $158.12 to one US dollar

    Forex: $158.12 to one US dollar

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — Fresh data released by the Bank of Jamaica’s daily foreign exchange trading roundup shows that the United States dollar closed out its Wednesday, April 29 trading session with a moderate uptick against the Jamaican dollar. By the end of the trading day, one US dollar was pegged at 158.12 Jamaican dollars, representing a 16 cent increase compared to previous trading levels.

    Shifts were also recorded across other major global currencies on the same trading day. The Canadian dollar, for example, softened slightly against the Jamaican dollar, finishing the day at 115.15 Jamaican dollars per unit, down from its prior close of 115.36 Jamaican dollars. In contrast, the British pound extended its gains, ending the session at 213.88 Jamaican dollars per pound, an increase from its previous trading close of 212.99 Jamaican dollars.

  • Gas prices up $4.50, diesel up $4.50

    Gas prices up $4.50, diesel up $4.50

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaican motorists are bracing for higher fuel costs starting this Thursday, April 30, after state-owned refinery Petrojam announced widespread increases to ex-refinery fuel prices across all product grades.

    The most impactful change for everyday drivers is a $4.50 per litre jump for both standard gasoline blends. Following the adjustment, 90-octane gasoline will be priced at $193.07 per litre, while the more widely used 87-octane blend will retail at an adjusted $185.63 per litre before retail mark-ups.

    The $4.50 per litre increase extends to other core fuel products as well. Regular automotive diesel will now cost $193.25 per litre, and the cleaner ultra-low sulphur diesel variant will hit $200.09 per litre after the adjustment. Kerosene, a product widely used for cooking and heating in many Jamaican households, will also see a matching $4.50 per litre rise, bringing its ex-refinery price to $182.64 per litre.

    Smaller but still notable increases are applied to liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) products, which are commonly used for residential cooking. Propane will rise by $1.94 per litre to $80.82, while butane will see a $2.43 per litre increase, settling at $89.23 per litre at the ex-refinery level.

    It is important to note that these published ex-refinery prices do not represent the final cost consumers will pay at retail outlets. Local fuel marketing companies and independent retailers will add their own standard operating margins and mark-ups to these base rates before the fuel reaches consumers at the pump.

  • US Supreme Court weighs ending protected status of Haitians, Syrians

    US Supreme Court weighs ending protected status of Haitians, Syrians

    On Wednesday, the deeply divided U.S. Supreme Court convened to hear legal challenges to the Trump administration’s 2019 order to revoke Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, for hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian migrants currently residing in the United States. The high-stakes case has far-reaching ramifications for more than one million TPS beneficiaries from a dozen additional nations who now face the threat of mass deportation.

    Created as a humanitarian protection program, TPS shields eligible migrants from deportation and grants them work authorization, granted exclusively to people who cannot safely return to their home countries due to active armed conflict, natural disaster, or other extraordinary, life-threatening crises. Haitian nationals first gained TPS eligibility in 2010, after a magnitude 7 earthquake killed more than 200,000 people and leveled much of the country’s critical infrastructure. More than a decade later, the Caribbean nation remains mired in systemic extreme poverty, widespread gang-related violence and kidnapping, chronic political collapse, and a shattered healthcare system that prompted the U.S. State Department to issue a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory for all American citizens. Syria obtained TPS in 2012 at the outbreak of its ongoing devastating civil war, which has left the country fragmented and unsafe for returning civilians.

    As part of his broader hardline immigration agenda, former President Donald Trump made a 2016 campaign pledge to remove millions of undocumented migrants from the U.S., and made dismantling the longstanding TPS program a central policy priority. Since taking office, his administration revoked TPS protections for migrants from 12 countries beyond Haiti and Syria, including Afghanistan, Myanmar, Somalia, Venezuela, and Yemen.

    During Wednesday’s arguments, Solicitor General John Sauer, representing the Trump administration, told the court that the Department of Homeland Security’s TPS termination decision falls under executive authority and is not eligible for judicial review. Sauer argued that barring courts from reviewing such policy choices prevents inappropriate “judicial micromanagement” of executive-led foreign policy, and added that Trump’s past controversial remarks about Haiti were being taken out of context. He claimed the president’s comments, in which he referred to Haiti and other African nations as “shithole countries” and expressed a preference for migrants from Norway over Haiti, were referencing “problems of crime, poverty and welfare dependency” rather than expressing racial bias.

    Counsel for the Haitian and Syrian TPS holders pushed back forcefully against the administration’s arguments, arguing that unsafe conditions in both home countries remain unchanged, and that the TPS cancellation was driven at least partially by explicit racial animus. Ahilan Arulanantham, an attorney for the Syrian TPS petitioners, emphasized that the case centers on “the power to mass expel people who have done nothing wrong to countries that remain unsafe.” Liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor echoed this concern during questioning, directly referencing Trump’s reported comments about Haiti to question whether discriminatory intent motivated the policy.

    Early indications from the court’s ideological split suggest the six-member conservative majority leans toward siding with the Trump administration’s position, while the court’s three liberal justices appear ready to oppose the move. A final ruling from the court will set a binding precedent that shapes the future of TPS for all beneficiaries across the country.

  • JLP condemns Brown Burke for touching Parliament’s mace

    JLP condemns Brown Burke for touching Parliament’s mace

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — A fiery parliamentary dispute has erupted in Jamaica following an extraordinary incident during a debate on critical hurricane recovery legislation, with the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) issuing a harsh rebuke of opposition Member of Parliament Angela Brown Burke. The controversy stems from Brown Burke’s physical contact with the ceremonial mace during a Committee of the Whole House sitting convened to review clauses of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA) Bill.

    In an official press statement released Wednesday, the JLP emphasized that interfering with the mace during parliamentary proceedings constitutes a flagrant violation of the legislature’s Standing Orders, qualifying as overt disorderly conduct. Across all Commonwealth parliamentary systems, the JLP noted, the act of touching or tampering with the ceremonial mace during an official committee sitting is recognized as a severe breach of parliamentary privilege and long-standing procedural etiquette. Standard protocol for such a violation, the party added, typically warrants immediate suspension, expulsion from the parliamentary chamber, and potential further disciplinary action.

    The ceremonial mace, the JLP explained, stands as a tangible symbol of the inherent authority of the Speaker of the House and the Jamaican Parliament as a whole. Any deliberate interference with the object is therefore legally and procedurally classified as contempt of Parliament, a serious charge against any sitting legislator.

    The controversy does not end with the mace incident, according to the ruling party. After Speaker Juliet Holness named Brown Burke for her conduct and issued an order suspending her for the remainder of the sitting, the MP initially refused to comply with the directive to leave the chamber. This act of defiance, the JLP confirmed, represents a second distinct breach of parliamentary Standing Orders.

    Senator Abka Fitz-Henley, JLP Communication Chairman, framed the incident as an unacceptable attack on the integrity of parliamentary business. “MP Brown Burke’s conduct in disrupting the sitting of the House of Representatives is unacceptable and a disgrace,” Fitz-Henley said in the statement. “Her action was a clear attempt to disrupt the business of the Parliament, which was in the process of treating with a Bill, which is crucial to assist Jamaicans to recover from the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa.”

    Fitz-Henley also extended criticism to Brown Burke’s colleagues in the opposition People’s National Party (PNP), accusing the party of enabling the disorder. When the order to expel Brown Burke was issued, PNP MPs stood between the opposition legislator and parliamentary officials to block her departure from the chamber. The ruling party spokesman called this collective action proof that the PNP cannot be trusted to conduct the nation’s public business in a responsible, appropriate manner. He also took aim at PNP leader and opposition chief Mark Golding, arguing that Golding’s failure to immediately intervene to force Brown Burke to comply with procedural rules was entirely consistent with the party’s pattern of poor conduct.

    The incident capped off a chaotic late-night session at Jamaica’s Gordon House, the seat of the country’s parliament, deepening partisan tensions ahead of further consideration of the NaRRA Bill.

  • Iran war could push 30 million people into poverty—UN

    Iran war could push 30 million people into poverty—UN

    During a G7 development gathering held in Paris on Wednesday, the top official of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) issued a stark warning: the ongoing US-Israeli military conflict against Iran has triggered skyrocketing energy and fertilizer prices, a global economic shock that risks pushing more than 30 million vulnerable people across the world into poverty.

  • Departing US still owes money, says WHO chief

    Departing US still owes money, says WHO chief

    GENEVA, Switzerland — In a press briefing Wednesday at the United Nations’ global health body, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus delivered an update on the United States’ planned exit from the agency, confirming that Washington has failed to meet its key financial obligation required to complete the withdrawal process. When former President Donald Trump took office for his second term in January 2025, he formally submitted the mandatory one-year withdrawal notice to the WHO, a step that aligns with the withdrawal conditions the U.S. set when it joined the organization back in 1948. Under the terms of that 1948 accession agreement, two requirements must be fulfilled for the withdrawal to take effect: a 12-month advance notification, and full settlement of all outstanding membership dues. Tedros noted that the first condition has already been satisfied, as the notice period came to an end in January 2025, but the second obligation remains unfulfilled. As of the briefing, the WHO has not received any payment from the U.S. to cover its overdue membership fees for 2024 and 2025, which total approximately $200 million. Tedros added that the WHO has received no official indications from Washington that the payment is forthcoming. For decades, the United States held the position of the WHO’s largest single contributor to the organization’s core budget, accounting for a significant share of its annual operating funds. While the outstanding payment is a formal requirement for withdrawal, Tedros emphasized that the organization’s core concern extends far beyond the unpaid funds. “To be honest, it’s not about the money,” Tedros told reporters from the UN Correspondents Association ACANU. “The issue is health security needs universality and the US, by withdrawing, makes itself unsafe and makes the rest of the world unsafe. So it’s lose-lose.” The WHO chief stressed that the organization’s top priority right now is encouraging the U.S. to reverse its decision and re-engage with global health cooperation. “Where there is a vacuum, the virus wins. It’s as simple as that. It’s global cooperation and solidarity which is the best response,” he said. A formal vote on the U.S. withdrawal will be taken during the annual meeting of the World Health Assembly, the WHO’s supreme decision-making body, which is scheduled to convene in Geneva from May 18 to 23. Currently, the U.S. flag is no longer displayed outside the WHO’s Geneva headquarters, a visible marker of the strained relationship between Washington and the agency. Unlike the U.S.’s 1948 accession terms, the WHO’s formal constitution does not include an explicit provision for member state withdrawal. In January, shortly after the withdrawal notice period expired, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued a sharp public rebuke of the WHO, claiming that the agency had disrespected the contributions the U.S. has made to global public health over decades and that “insults to America” had continued up to the present day. The WHO pushed back against these accusations in a direct response, stating that the claims were unfounded and that the reverse of what the U.S. officials claimed is true. Despite the public friction, Tedros confirmed that regular communication channels remain open between the WHO and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “We keep in touch every now and then,” Tedros told reporters, confirming that he still speaks regularly with Kennedy.

  • ‘Diverse’ new album coming, says D’Yani

    ‘Diverse’ new album coming, says D’Yani

    Eight years in the making, a fresh full-length reggae project from Jamaican recording artist D’Yani is set to hit audiences this August, bringing a distinctly unique sonic shift that marks a departure from the artist’s typical creative output. D’Yani first shared details of the upcoming release during an on-site press interaction at the Reggae in the Gardens event, a highlight of this year’s Barbados Reggae Weekend held this past Sunday.

    Unlike his previous work, which leaned heavily into dancehall rhythms with occasional R&B influences, the artist emphasized that the new album is rooted entirely in core Caribbean reggae sounds spanning multiple subgenres. From upbeat ska stylings to the laid-back, signature grooves of one-drop reggae, the project carries what D’Yani describes as an open, carefree “Live a Little” energy that sets it apart from his earlier catalogue.

    When asked to name a standout personal favorite from his body of work so far, the artist behind the fan-favorite track *Ride It* declined to single out any one release, noting that he holds deep affection for every song that makes up the growing D’Yani discography. Still, he made clear that his upcoming 10-track (unspecified) album carries extra personal weight, calling it a long-gestating project that he has been anticipating for years.

    What makes the release particularly notable is its long development timeline: the project has been eight years in the making, with some tracks written even before D’Yani launched his official professional music career. The artist began writing and creating music while he was still a high school student, meaning some of the album’s cuts are older than his formal career as a performing and recording artist. D’Yani also shared a note of gratitude for the ongoing support he has received from fans and industry peers throughout his journey, saying he remains deeply thankful to be able to pursue music as his life’s work, and is eager for audiences to finally hear the years-in-the-making project.