分类： society

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica-based media firm Emerge Multimedia Limited is launching a groundbreaking, holistic men’s empowerment gathering, the When Lions Roar Men’s Conference, set to kick off on April 25, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. at The Summit, located in the heart of New Kingston. The event is designed to bring together skilled men from across all professional sectors to create a supportive space dedicated to renewal and collective uplift for attendees.

The conference agenda covers a wide range of critical topics that many men rarely get to explore in safe, community-focused settings: mental wellness, intentional leadership, personal self-mastery, spiritual identity, intimate relationships, family dynamics, financial literacy, and entrepreneurial growth. The overarching mission of the gathering is to rebuild a cultural framework where men feel empowered to show up as reliable, productive contributors to their communities and families.

Travis Muschett, founder of the conference and chief executive officer of Emerge Multimedia Limited, shared that the idea for When Lions Roar grew out of a deeply personal moment of struggle. Just weeks before announcing the event, Muschett found himself in a period of low emotional and mental state, which led him to a stark observation: there is a critical lack of dedicated, judgment-free spaces for men to process challenges, recharge, and reconnect with their purpose.

“After that realization, I made the decision to build the space I wished I had,” Muschett explained. “This is a place where men can be rejuvenated, rediscover their core purpose, and reclaim that sense of drive that makes them feel alive. When men truly understand who they are meant to be, and step into the roles of priests, prophets, providers, and protectors they were created to fill, they don’t just change the lives around them — they transform entire nations.”

When Lions Roar will feature 13 accomplished speakers and panelists drawn from diverse backgrounds: Fortune 500-aligned corporate leaders, long-time fathers, successful small business owners, licensed mental health counselors, devoted husbands, community mentors, and respected faith leaders. Attendees can expect a full day of thoughtful discussion, peer-to-peer networking, and growth across every area of life. Confirmed featured speakers include Lloyd Richardson, Wealth Advisor and National Commercial Bank Branch Manager; Ambassador Jamar Wright of Mindfood International Limited; award-winning gospel recording artist Johnmark Wiggan; licensed counselor and social worker David Taylor; and veteran gospel leader Dr Rondell Positive. Muschett will serve as the conference’s lead facilitator for the day.

While this will be the inaugural staging of the event, Muschett noted that his long-term vision extends far beyond a one-day gathering. He hopes to grow When Lions Roar into a sustained movement that reminds every man of his inherent value, importance, and necessity in his family and community. “I want every person who walks through the door to leave with a clearer understanding of who God created them to be, and the unique role they are meant to fill in the world,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you are a husband, father, student, or just starting out on your journey: this space is for you. Invest in your growth, and keep moving forward.”

Additional guest contributors and worshippers joining the event include Jovane Blagrove, Love 101 FM radio broadcaster Jucal Dyer, Pastor Michael Taylor, Dexter Johnson Jnr, Aston Desgouttes, Pastor Kavan Allen, Anthony Welsh, Bishop Phillip Johnson, Pastor Sean Williams, and Pastor Tevaun Brown. For men interested in securing a spot at the inaugural conference, tickets can be purchased online at spurropen.com/lionsroarja or by calling 876-810-2451.

On Wednesday, senior Jamaican law enforcement official Superintendent Keniel Henry delivered alarming testimony that sparked urgent scrutiny of the island nation’s child protection and juvenile justice frameworks during a parliamentary hearing of the Joint Select Committee reviewing the Child Diversion Act.

Henry, a crime commander for the region designated Area Two who also serves with the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Criminal Investigations Branch, revealed two deeply troubling recent cases: one involving sexual activity between an 11-year-old and a 6-year-old, and a second incident between a 9-year-old and a 4-year-old. When interviewed, the older children in both cases attributed their behavior to exposure to adult sexual content and activity in their surrounding environments, Henry said.

These shocking disclosures were not isolated incidents, the superintendent emphasized. Instead, they form part of a growing, worrying pattern of harmful sexual behavior among children below Jamaica’s age of criminal responsibility — a group that cannot face criminal charges under current law, but urgently needs structured, targeted intervention to address their psychosocial needs and prevent future harm. Henry called on lawmakers to create new legal provisions that would place these children in specialized support programs, filling a critical gap that currently leaves officials with few actionable options to intervene.

The revelations stunned committee members, who immediately launched a heated debate over root causes, institutional responsibility, and needed reforms. Committee chair Delroy Chuck argued that parental accountability must be central to any solution, suggesting that formal parental orders should be imposed on caregivers who fail to monitor and guide young children, questioning how children as young as four or six could develop such harmful behavior without adult neglect.

But Henry pushed back for a more holistic, systemic approach, noting that while parental failure contributes to some cases, harmful exposure can also stem from school environments and broader community influences that extend beyond parental control. Education Minister Dr. Dana Morris Dixon reaffirmed her position that all such harmful behavior is learned, tracing its origin back to home environments regardless of where the incident itself occurs. “A child does not wake up and learn this behaviour on their own. They learned it somewhere,” she stated.

The debate expanded to cover the complex dynamics of consensual sexual activity between close-in-age minors, all under 18 years old. Superintendent Kerry-Ann Bailey, head of the Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse, outlined how these cases typically come to light: most often, female minors are reported to authorities by parents or guardians, either after school officials flag an incident, a pregnancy is discovered, parents find explicit correspondence, or a sexually transmitted infection is diagnosed. Contrary to common assumptions, Bailey noted, female minors are not always passive victims — in some consensual cases, girls are actually the ones who initiate the encounter.

Under current law, even in fully consensual close-in-age cases, one minor is often formally labeled as an offender and referred to diversion programs, a framework that critics say fails to address the underlying welfare needs of all children involved. Member of Parliament Isat Buchanan called for new legislation centered on welfare-focused intervention rather than criminalization, paired with strengthened measures to enforce parental accountability, arguing these cases are clear symptoms of deeper systemic failures and widespread child neglect.

Originally crafted to divert young offenders away from the harshness of the formal criminal justice system, the existing Child Diversion Act was shown during Wednesday’s hearing to have major gaps when it comes to children who cannot legally be charged with a crime. In response, Dr. Morris Dixon confirmed that amendments to the broader Child Care and Protection Act are already being drafted to create a more appropriate legal framework for these cases, since most do not involve criminal offenses but rather urgent needs for care, protection, and intervention for children exposed to harmful influences in communities and homes. She added that the joint select committee will clarify which reforms fall under the Child Diversion Act versus the Child Care and Protection Act to advance targeted, effective changes.

On a Wednesday early afternoon in Montego Bay, St James, Jamaica, a routine fasting and prayer gathering at the Montego Bay New Testament Church of God was shattered by the crack of gunfire. Worshippers in the middle of singing hymns froze mid-praise, unable to comprehend that violence had penetrated the walls of their sacred sanctuary.

The victim was Cora Thompson, a well-loved member of the church congregation who was shot five times while she sat selling religious books just meters from the church entrance. Several worshippers inside the building told church leaders they heard every bullet strike. In the aftermath of the attack, even after police completed their on-scene investigations and removed crime scene tape, Thompson’s blood remained visible on the outdoor walkway outside the church, a stark reminder of the violence that upended this tight-knit community.

Bishop Ruel Robinson, the church’s senior pastor, shared that the entire congregation is reeling from the trauma of the attack. “I know everybody is traumatised, having heard the explosions and then later to find out that one of their very own got killed,” Robinson said in an interview with the Jamaica Observer. The church has moved quickly to organize grief counselling for all members, alongside targeted support for Thompson’s family as they navigate their loss. “We will have to pray for each other. This is not a personal thing, it is a collective experience as a church so we plan to provide grief counselling to the church members, and keep on praying and supporting the victim’s family,” he explained.

Robinson remembered Thompson as a vibrant, kind-hearted woman who was a cornerstone of the church community. “Sister Thompson, the victim, she was a quality lady, somebody that is high-spirited and cooperative, supportive. She gets along well with almost everybody,” he said. He also spoke out sharply against the attack, condemning the brazen disregard for the sanctity of the church that the shooting represents. “It is obviously a loss of fear for God. It shows a spirit of disregard for God and the sanctuary,” he said.

According to eyewitness accounts, the gunman – a single male attacker – fled the scene on foot, moving from Water Lane toward nearby Dome Street. Senior Superintendent Eron Samuels, parish police chief, told reporters that law enforcement is fully committed to bringing the perpetrator to justice. “We are very hurt and upset about it and we will not spare any efforts to find who the killers are,” Samuels said. As of Thursday, investigations into the killing remain active, with police yet to announce any arrests or confirm a motive for the attack.

More than a thousand service leaders from across the Caribbean are preparing to gather in Kingston, Jamaica, in spring 2026 for a major regional gathering of one of the world’s largest volunteer service organizations. The 52nd Annual Conference of Rotary District 7020 will kick off on April 27, 2026, hosted at the iconic Jamaica Pegasus hotel, with local financial services firm Marathon Insurance Brokers stepping in as the official sponsor of the event.

Organizers have centered this year’s conference around the unifying theme “Unite for Good”, a framework designed to align regional volunteer efforts around three urgent, high-priority goals. First, the gathering will prioritize equipping communities across the region to build stronger, more adaptive resilience against the growing threat of climate-fueled natural disasters, which have increasingly impacted small island Caribbean nations in recent years. Second, attendees will work to expand and deepen the tangible, positive impact that Rotary service programs deliver to local communities throughout the district. Third, the conference will focus heavily on expanding youth engagement, bringing younger generations into the organization’s volunteer network.

This cross-regional conference will draw participants from a sprawling network of 137 Rotary-affiliated clubs spread across 10 Caribbean nations. In total, 91 traditional Rotary Clubs and 46 Rotaract Clubs, the organization’s youth-focused branch, will send delegates to the Kingston gathering, creating space for cross-border collaboration and idea-sharing between service leaders from different island nations.

Beyond its core priorities, the 2026 conference will also act as a collaborative platform for delegates to advance progress across Rotary’s seven global core areas of focus. These key issue areas include advancing peacebuilding and conflict resolution around the world, expanding access to disease prevention and treatment in underserved communities, driving inclusive local economic development, and improving access to clean water, sanitation, maternal health, and quality education. By bringing regional leaders together around these shared goals, conference organizers hope to strengthen Rotary’s position as a relevant actor for young people, inspire a new wave of volunteer participation, and deliver measurable, long-term good to communities across the Caribbean.

Jamaica’s Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has implemented a controversial new ban on several popular food items that visitors are permitted to bring into the nation’s correctional facilities, framing the policy as a critical upgrade to its ongoing fight against contraband trafficking, including illicit drugs like marijuana. The new list of restricted staples, which sources tell the Jamaica Observer are core food sources for incarcerated people who reject prison-prepared meals, was publicly announced by the agency this Tuesday. Under the updated rules, cup soups, rolled oats, tinned potato chips and other similar packaged snacks, and boxed cereals are no longer accepted during inmate visits.

In a public notice accompanying the ban announcement, the DCS urged all visitors to familiarize themselves with and abide by the new guidelines to avoid unnecessary entry delays or inconvenience. The agency noted that visitor cooperation is essential to upholding the safety, security and consistent daily operations of all correctional facilities across the island. Responding in writing to queries from the Observer on Wednesday, the DCS communications team clarified that the strengthened restrictions are a core component of the department’s long-term strategy to maintain safety, discipline and orderly operations within its facilities.

“As part of these enhanced controls, the department has also rolled out stricter gate entry protocols and broader restrictions on certain visitor items that could be exploited to hide prohibited contraband,” the DCS statement added. The agency emphasized that all new measures are preventative, and reflect its longstanding zero-tolerance policy for contraband smuggling and any activity that threatens institutional security. “We remain committed to balancing strict security standards with professionalism, fairness, and humane treatment of those in our custody, while upholding our core mandate of rehabilitation and successful reintegration into society,” the statement read.

But the new policy has already drawn skepticism from both former inmates and industry insiders, who question both the effectiveness of the ban and point to a far larger source of contraband infiltration. One former inmate who spoke to the Observer shared that the ban on grain products like oats stems from reports that visitors have been crushing ecstasy (MDMA) pills, commonly known as Molly, into the loose grain to smuggle the drug into facilities. Despite this, the ex-inmate argued that senior prison administrators would make more progress cutting contraband if they focused their investigations on internal staff rather than punishing visitors and inmates.

That critique is echoed by a well-placed source who interacts with Jamaican prisons on a regular basis. The source pointed out that existing protocols already require loose goods like oats to be poured out into clear plastic bags and searched thoroughly before entry. “Apart from sealed cup soups, items like oats and chips can easily be transferred to transparent packaging and searched just like any other item. Even visitors bringing toothpaste have to squeeze it out into a plastic bag for inspection,” the source explained.

The insider went on to challenge the core logic of the ban, noting that widely recognized industry data shows the vast majority of contraband that enters Jamaican correctional facilities is brought in by correctional officers and wardens themselves, not visiting family members. “Everything you can think of is already available in prison, except your freedom. If an inmate wants a cell phone, they can get one. Inmates even trade common basic goods like tissue for drugs,” the source said.

While the source acknowledged that smuggling contraband inside food packaging like sealed chip tins is plausible, they noted that incarcerated people have proven far more creative in their smuggling methods than surface-level bans address. “It’s possible this has happened, and it’s a logical reason for the ban, but the bigger issue remains unaddressed,” they added.

The source also confirmed that the banned food items are staples for the large share of inmates who refuse to eat meals prepared by prison kitchen staff. Many of these inmates rely on instant, heatable options like cup soup that they can prepare themselves, even in single cells where some have access to small personal kettles. The source pulled back the curtain on the poor quality of institutional prison meals, saying, “The reality is that the food served in Jamaican prisons is almost unfit for human consumption. Inmates get hard bread for breakfast, and a small portion of rice with chicken back for lunch. It’s cooked in massive bulk, so it’s never appealing or high quality. Banning something as basic as cup soup is almost certainly going to spark discontent among the inmate population.”

The Observer has also learned that to avoid relying on prison food, inmates have gone to extraordinary lengths to cook their own meals, even carving out pieces of their shoe soles to use as fuel to heat water for tea or instant food behind bars. The source confirmed these accounts, noting “Inmates are incredibly resourceful when they don’t have access to acceptable food.”

In the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, a fatal shooting took the life of an unidentified man in the busy district of New Kingston, Kingston, local law enforcement has officially confirmed. According to initial law enforcement dispatches, the violent incident unfolded at approximately 3:30 a.m. at the busy intersection connecting Grenada Crescent and Trinidad Terrace, a central area within Jamaica’s capital. As of the latest update from the Jamaica Constabulary Force, investigators have not yet released the identity of the deceased, as officers continue working to notify next of kin and confirm personal details. At this early stage of the probe, critical context surrounding the shooting — including potential motives, whether the killing was targeted, if any suspects have been taken into custody, and what led to the altercation — remains unconfirmed, with law enforcement yet to piece together a full timeline of events. Local authorities have not announced any additional updates related to the investigation as of press time, and further details are expected to be released to the public as the inquiry progresses. Community members in the New Kingston area have been notified of the incident, and patrols have been increased in the neighborhood while the investigation continues.

KINGSTON, Jamaica — As the Caribbean region transitions from a La Niña to an El Niño climate pattern, agricultural authorities across Jamaica are sounding the alarm for local food producers, calling for urgent proactive planning to adapt to unpredictable, drier and hotter conditions forecast over the coming five months. The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), the body tasked with supporting Jamaica’s rural agricultural sector, has launched an advisory campaign urging all island farmers to adjust their operations ahead of the projected unusual weather trends.

Francine Webb, senior officer for plant health and food safety at RADA, outlined that updated projections from Jamaica’s national Meteorological Service confirm the upcoming wet season will bring far less precipitation than historical averages, making water conservation a non-negotiable priority for agricultural producers.

“Data we have received shows that for the April to June window, leading into the second wet season, conditions will be drier than the historical norm, but we can also expect intermittent heavy rain events,” Webb explained in an interview with JIS News. “This mixed pattern means water conservation has to be at the top of every farmer’s to-do list. We have to be ready for any scenario that unfolds.”

Webb broke down the regional rainfall probabilities by parish, comparing projected totals to 30 years of historical climate data. Across western and northern parishes including St Elizabeth, Westmoreland, Hanover, St James, Trelawny, St Ann, and St Mary, there is a 40 to 45 percent chance of rainfall falling below the long-term average. In southern parishes of Manchester, Clarendon, and St Catherine, that probability rises to between 45 and 50 percent. The parishes of Kingston and St Andrew, St Thomas, and Portland face similar odds, with a 45 to 50 percent likelihood of below-average precipitation for the April-June period.

Webb emphasized that the long-term drought watch issued across parts of the island should not be confused with the short-term seasonal rainfall forecast, urging farmers to prepare for all possible conditions regardless of the short-term projections.

Looking ahead to the July to September period, Webb noted that the Meteorological Service projects above-average rainfall for a handful of parishes, most notably central St Thomas. But this expected increase in rain does not eliminate drought risk, she stressed: the same area is also under a long-term drought watch.

“Just because we expect higher rainfall in that period doesn’t mean farmers will have excess water to spare,” Webb added. “With temperatures climbing higher than average across the region, any rainfall we get will be offset by rapid evaporation. That makes water conservation critical even in areas projected to see more rain.”

Naming central St Thomas as one of the most vulnerable areas on the island, Webb repeated that efficient, intentional water use is imperative for all Jamaican farmers as they head into the mixed weather period. By taking proactive steps to store and conserve water now, producers can protect their crops and operations from the worst impacts of shifting climate patterns, RADA says.