KINGSTON, Jamaica — The second day of the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) National Outdoor Championships delivered a standout performance on Friday at Kingston’s iconic National Stadium, where middle-distance star Adelle Tracey claimed her third career national crown in the women’s 1500-meter event. Crossing the finish line with a winning time of 4:40.08, Tracey locked in her qualification for the upcoming 2022 Commonwealth Games, punching her ticket to represent Jamaica on the international stage. Tracey has already posted an impressive seasonal best of 4:07.32 earlier this year at the prestigious Drake Relays meet in May, signaling strong form heading into the multi-sport competition. Fresh off her 1500m victory, the athlete is set to return to the track this Saturday to compete in the women’s 800-meter race, where she will aim to add another national medal to her collection. In the women’s 1500m final, Annastaseca Blackwood, a rising young talent from Sydney Pagon High School, took second place with a time of 4:46.53, while Jodian Walker secured the third spot on the podium with a finishing time of 6:12.41. The men’s 1500m national title went to Amiel Thomas of GC Foster College, who crossed the line with a winning time of 4:13.69. Thomas outpaced runner-up Lamario Wright of the Racers Track Club, who posted a time of 4:15.92 to take silver. Aldain Brown of Bethlehem Teachers College rounded out the top three, clinching bronze with a time of 4:23.20. The annual JAAA National Championships serve as Jamaica’s primary qualifying event for major international competitions, including the Commonwealth Games, allowing both established stars and emerging young athletes to showcase their skills and earn selection to the national team.
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Holness says Jamaica must move from exporting talent to attracting it
ST JAMES, Jamaica — Against the backdrop of intensifying global economic competition, Jamaican Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness has laid out a bold new national vision: to reorient Jamaica’s long-standing role as a net exporter of skilled labor into a sought-after destination that draws and retains top global talent, a shift he says is non-negotiable for unlocking sustained, long-term economic growth.
Holness shared his strategic framework Thursday evening during keynote remarks at the 25th anniversary gala of global hotel chain Riu Hotels & Resorts, held in Montego Bay. In his address, he framed the global race for skilled workers as the defining challenge of the 21st century, a competition that now outpaces even the historic rivalry for foreign capital and access to natural resources.
“Nations across the world are vying for tourist arrivals, competing for direct investment, and courting new business operations,” Holness told assembled guests and industry stakeholders. “But the fiercest competition of all is for talent. That is the ultimate contest shaping economic success in the modern era.”
For nearly two centuries, Holness noted, Jamaica has built a legacy of supplying highly skilled workers to economies across North America, Europe and beyond. Today, that dynamic must change, he argued: the country must simultaneously create local economic opportunities that encourage native Jamaican skilled workers to stay at home, while building an environment that attracts talented professionals from around the globe.
“For almost 200 years, we have positioned Jamaica as a net exporter of talent,” he said. “If our economy is to grow and expand, we now must reposition ourselves to be a net receiver of talent that powers our growing industries.”
The prime minister emphasized that migration, tourism and foreign direct investment are often treated as separate policy silos, but they are ultimately driven by the same core factors that lead people and companies to select one country over another.
“A tourist picks where to spend their vacation, an investor chooses where to deploy their capital, a business selects where to set up operations, a skilled worker decides where to build their career, and a family chooses where to put down roots for the future,” he explained. “All of these decisions increasingly hinge on the same fundamentals: personal safety, effective governance, efficient public services, global connectivity, and access to meaningful economic opportunity.”
Nations that win in this new competitive landscape, Holness argued, are those that successfully establish themselves as “destinations of choice.” He pointed to Singapore, Dubai and Switzerland as leading examples of countries that have intentionally built policy and regulatory environments that draw consistent investment, retain skilled workers, and foster long-term sustainable economic activity.
Against that global backdrop, Holness positioned Jamaica’s $10 billion-plus tourism industry as the linchpin of the country’s strategy to become a talent magnet. Tourism, he said, acts as the critical first entry point that connects global audiences to the country’s potential.
“Tourism is far more than just an standalone industry,” he said. “It is most often the world’s first introduction to our country. It shapes global perceptions, builds confidence among outside stakeholders, and showcases everything Jamaica has to offer. Tourism is the gateway to investment-led development.”
Successful long-term tourism investment, Holness explained, creates a self-reinforcing positive cycle: first, international visitors gain first-hand familiarity with Jamaica, that experience builds confidence in the country’s stability and potential, that confidence draws new foreign investment across sectors, and those new investments create the high-quality opportunities that retain local skilled workers while drawing talent from overseas.
“Opportunity is what retains and attracts talent,” he said. “Instead of our most skilled Jamaicans leaving to pursue careers abroad, they stay here and contribute directly to growing our economy. At the same time, our growing opportunities draw talented people from across the world to come and work here. That diversity strengthens our own local workforce, raises standards, and allows us to expand the range of high-value services we offer globally.”
The prime minister tied this strategic vision to the Jamaican government’s ongoing policy agenda, noting that current investments in core infrastructure, public safety, affordable housing, public service delivery, and human capital development all share the same overarching goal: strengthening Jamaica’s appeal as a place where people want to live, work and build futures.
“All of these investments are part of one unified national mission: to make Jamaica a place of choice,” he said. “A place where people want to visit, where businesses want to invest, where talented people want to build their careers, where families want to live, and where future generations can thrive.”
Alongside outlining his national strategy, Holness used the occasion to commend Riu Hotels & Resorts for its 25 years of operations and partnership in Jamaica. He framed the Spanish hotel chain’s consistent, growing investment in the island as an early vote of confidence that validates Jamaica’s current strategic path.
“In many ways, Riu’s 25 years in Jamaica proves that we are already on the right track,” Holness said. “The confidence Riu placed in Jamaica 25 years ago has been rewarded, and the confidence Jamaica placed in Riu as a partner has also been rewarded.”
“To the entire Riu family and team, thank you for your partnership, your investment, and your belief in Jamaica,” he added. “Congratulations on 25 years of outstanding contributions to Jamaica’s tourism sector.”
Following his remarks, the prime minister met and spoke with Riu Hotels & Resorts team members at the Montego Bay gala venue.
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Morocco beat Scotland to close on World Cup knockouts
FOXBOROUGH, U.S. – In a tightly contested World Cup group stage fixture at Gillette Stadium on Friday, Morocco secured a tense 1-0 victory over Scotland, putting the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists on the cusp of advancing to the knockout phase. The match’s decisive moment came just two minutes after kickoff, when young Moroccan midfielder Ismael Saibari found the back of the net, setting the tone for 88 minutes of high-stakes defending from the Atlas Lions.
By the end of full time, the result pushed Morocco to the top spot in Group C with four points accumulated from their opening two matches. For Scotland, the defeat brought crushing disappointment: a win would have put them in pole position to secure their first ever berth in the World Cup knockout round, a milestone the nation has never managed to reach in its long tournament history. Now the side must wait on the final group round results to see if their knockout hopes can be revived, leaving their dream of progression hanging in the balance.
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Barbados mourns death of Merrymen legend Sir Emile Straker
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Caribbean nation of Barbados is in national mourning Friday following the death of its most iconic cultural entertainer, Sir Charles Emile Straker, the beloved lead vocalist of the world-famous calypso band The Merrymen. Straker, who turned 90 this year, passed away earlier the same day, with no official cause of death released to the public as of the announcement.
Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley led a nation in paying tribute to Straker, framing his death as an incalculable loss for the island’s cultural identity. “Early this morning, Barbados awoke to the deeply sad news that Sir Charles Emile Straker, one of our greatest cultural sons and the golden voice of The Merrymen, has gone home,” Mottley shared in a public statement. “For generations, Sir Emile gave us more than melodies. He gave Barbados a feeling.”
Across a decades-long career, Straker built a legacy of music that captured the full spirit of Bajan life. Hits including *Beautiful Barbados*, *Nut Seller*, *Big Bamboo*, *Sam Lord*, and *You Sweeten Me* wove together humor, heartfelt warmth, unapologetic national pride, and an infectious joy that resonated with audiences near and far. Whether listening at home on the island, visiting as a tourist, or living abroad in the Bajan diaspora, fans from all walks of life found common connection in Straker’s work.
Long before the era of social media viral campaigns and global digital platforms, Straker and The Merrymen put Barbados on the international cultural map. The band carried the island’s story across hotel stages across the Caribbean, major concert halls around the world, and through vinyl records carried back to every corner of the globe by tourists who fell in love with both the music and the island it represented. For countless visitors, Straker’s music fostered such a deep sense of belonging that they returned to Barbados again and again, boosting the island’s tourism and global reputation for decades.
In recognition of his decades of cultural contribution, Straker was knighted as a Knight of St Andrew by the Barbadian government in 2019. Just two years ago, in 2023, he released his autobiography *My Island and Me*, which chronicled his life and career alongside his love for his home nation. Mottley noted that his knighthood was far more than a personal honor—it was a long-overdue national embrace of a man whose gifts had already been one of Barbados’ greatest cultural treasures.
“Today, as we mourn with his children Dean, Ray and Stacey-Jane, his grandchildren, relatives, friends, bandmates, and all who loved him, we give thanks for a life that sweetened Barbados and made the world sing along,” Mottley added.
Straker’s passing marks the latest loss for the original line-up of The Merrymen. Tenor guitarist Robin Hunte died of cancer in August 2015, and original bass guitarist Chris Gibbs—who made history in 2003 as the first person from a Caribbean nation to swim across the English Channel—also died of cancer in June 2025 at the age of 80. Of the surviving original members, guitarist Stephen Fields currently lives with dementia, while guitarist Willie Kerr and drummer Peter Roett continue to perform periodically alongside other local Barbadian acts.
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Oblique Seville looks set to defend men’s 100m
KINGSTON, Jamaica — One of the sport’s most exciting young sprinters is one step away from retaining his national crown, after a blistering semi-final performance at the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) National Championships held at Kingston’s National Stadium on Thursday evening.
World 100m champion Oblique Seville delivered the fastest time of the entire semi-final round, clocking a smooth 9.95 seconds with a legal 0.2 meters per second tailwind to take victory in his heat, cementing his status as the overwhelming favorite heading into Friday’s men’s 100m final.
Seville faced an early test from 19-year-old rising star Gary Card, who stayed neck-and-neck with the champion through the first 60 meters of the race. But Seville’s signature closing power allowed him to pull away from the University of Technology competitor in the final stretch, with Card crossing the line in 10.07 seconds to also secure his spot in the 8-man final, which is scheduled to get underway at 9:15 pm local time.
In the second semi-final heat, World Indoor 60m bronze medalist Ackeem Blake claimed the win with a 10.05 second performance, run into a slight headwind of -0.8 m/s. Nishion Ebanks finished second in the heat, clocking an impressive new personal best of 10.18 seconds to punch his ticket to the final.
Four other sprinters joined Seville, Card, Blake and Ebanks in advancing to the title round. Former national champion Rohan Watson secured his final spot with a 10.12 second run in Seville’s heat, while Javari Thomas (10.27s, -0.8m/s) and rising sprinter Bouwahjgie Nkrumie (10.14s) also rounded out the final field after solid semi-final showings.
The national championship 100m final is one of the most anticipated annual events on Jamaica’s sporting calendar, often serving as a key selection event for global championship teams, with all eyes on Seville to see if he can add another national title to his growing world championship resume.
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Kemba Nelson wins women’s 100m on Diamond League debut
DOHA, Qatar — Jamaican sprinter Kemba Nelson, a World Championships relay medalist, delivered a standout performance in her long-awaited Diamond League debut on Friday, claiming top honors in the women’s 100m at this rescheduled event. Crossing the finish line in a wind-assisted 10.88 seconds with a wind reading of 2.5m/s, Nelson held off a strong field of elite international sprinters to secure her first major Diamond League title.
Nelson, who had clocked 11.08 seconds three times heading into the Doha meet, got out of the starting blocks with an explosive early pace that put her ahead of the pack before holding off challenges from the chasing pack. Italy’s Zaynab Dosso, the reigning World Indoor 60m champion, took second place with a 11.01-second run, while Luxembourg’s Patrizia van der Weken rounded out the top three in 11.03 seconds.
In the men’s triple jump competition, Jamaica’s Jordan Scott delivered a personal best leap of 17.69m with a legal 1.7m/s wind, but it was only enough to earn him a second-place finish. Scott entered the competition holding the world leading mark of 17.66m, and jumped to the top of the leaderboard in the opening round. However, Portugal’s Pedro Pichardo, making his first outdoor appearance of the 2024 season, overtook Scott in the second round with a winning jump of 17.71m in 0.4m/s wind conditions. Algeria’s Yasser Mohammed Triki claimed third place after breaking his own national record with a 17.67m leap.
Jamaica’s Rushell Clayton, the country’s national 400m hurdles champion, continued her consistent podium streak, picking up a second consecutive second-place finish at a Diamond League meet. Clayton lowered her season’s best time to 53.05 seconds, but was outpaced by in-form Slovakian athlete Emma Zapletalova. Zapletalova notched her fourth straight Diamond League victory, breaking her own Slovakian national record with a 52.30-second run that extended her world leading time and toppled the previous meet record of 53.61 seconds set by American Dalilah Muhammad back in 2019. Bahrain’s Kemi Adekoya took third place with a season’s best 53.67 seconds.
In the final Jamaican result of the meet, two-time World Indoor medalist Raymond Richards finished fourth in the men’s high jump, clearing a height of 2.20m. This report was contributed by Paul A Reid.
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Brazil beat Haiti 3-0 in World Cup Group C
PHILADELPHIA, U.S. – In a compelling Group C clash at the World Cup on Friday, Brazil delivered a commanding 3-0 performance against Haiti, tightening its grip on the group standings while eliminating the Caribbean underdog from tournament contention early.
The five-time world champions controlled the tempo of the match from the opening whistle, limiting Haiti to very few dangerous chances on goal. Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha stole the show with a clinical brace, finding the back of the net twice to put his side in a comfortable position before halftime. Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior added a third late in the contest to seal the comprehensive result, putting the cherry on top of a polished team performance.
For Haiti, the defeat marks an early end to their World Cup journey, making them the first team to bow out of this edition of the tournament. For Brazil, the convincing three points move them into a strong position to advance to the knockout stage, boosting their momentum ahead of their final group stage fixture.
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Lee-Chin lauds transformation of former Mandeville Hotel
MANDEVILLE, Manchester Jamaica — At a recent gathering of local business leaders held at the newly redeveloped Garden Hotel, Jamaican billionaire and National Commercial Bank (NCB) Chairman Michael Lee-Chin praised local entrepreneur Garfield Virgin for his bold vision in turning the long-dormant former Mandeville Hotel into a vibrant new hospitality asset. The 4-acre prime property, located in the heart of south-central Jamaica’s Mandeville town, has been completely reimagined under Virgin’s leadership, drawing high praise from one of the country’s most prominent business figures.
Lee-Chin shared a personal connection to the property during his remarks Tuesday, revealing that his late mother Hyacinth Chen had first identified the site’s untapped potential back in 2018, just three months before her passing. Adjacent to Chen’s family-owned plaza, the tree-lined property captured her attention immediately, and Lee-Chin said seeing the completed transformation fulfilled a long-held personal hope for the space. “This place required someone with the clarity of vision to pull it away from its neglected past, the confidence to trust in their own idea, and the relentless energy to execute that plan quickly and decisively,” Lee-Chin told the assembled 14 local business leaders. “What Garfield has built here warms my heart. It’s a perfect example of what vision, grit, perseverance and local entrepreneurship can achieve. And at NCB, we stand ready to support every project like this across the country.”
As part of NCB’s deepened commitment to supporting local Jamaican businesses, Lee-Chin announced he would return to Mandeville annually for dedicated client engagement sessions, designed to help local entrepreneurs avoid common business pitfalls and learn from decades of industry experience. “I am a son of Mandeville, and this is my home,” he said. “Once a year, we will gather right here to share insights and strengthen our local business community.”
For his part, developer Garfield Virgin laid out ambitious expansion plans for the Garden Hotel, which already operates 31 rooms. By the end of 2024, he plans to add 50 additional guest rooms, with 30 set to open as early as December, followed by a new standalone utility facility at the rear of the property. Virgin added that Lee-Chin’s remarks and long track record of success have been a major source of motivation for his own work as a Jamaican entrepreneur. “Lee-Chin’s journey opened my eyes to what’s possible here. If he can build what he has from our country, there’s no limit to what I can achieve with this project. The life lessons he shared have already helped me restructure my business to reach its full potential,” Virgin explained.
The event also touched on one of the most pressing pain points for local small and medium businesses: delays and inefficiencies in business loan assessments. In response to audience questions, Lee-Chin outlined NCB’s plan to integrate artificial intelligence into its lending underwriting process to scale up accurate, timely risk assessment — a core function of banking that has long struggled with scalability when done manually. “Traditional risk assessment couldn’t scale because it required hours of manual work for every single applicant. AI is going to change that entirely. It will let us scale precision risk assessment across thousands of applications using algorithmic analysis, so we can evaluate every borrower accurately, price risk correctly, and speed up access to capital,” Lee-Chin said. He emphasized that this technological upgrade would be built and led locally, noting: “We are a Jamaican bank. We don’t need to go to Canada or Trinidad or ask for outside permission to innovate. We can build this solution right here, for Jamaican businesses.”
Local business leaders have already reacted positively to the announcement. Clive Wint, managing director of local firm C&D Construction and Engineering Ltd, said NCB’s commitment to improving lending access and supporting local enterprises has reinforced his confidence in partnering with the bank. “The commitment NCB has made to put more capital into local Jamaican businesses, and to make that capital easier to access, means we will be expanding our work with the bank,” Wint said. “Mr. Lee-Chin’s insights have encouraged me to pursue bolder growth opportunities and take calculated risks to expand my business, something I wouldn’t have felt as confident doing before this meeting.”
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Brazil president Luiz Lula jokes Neymar ‘working remotely’ at World Cup
RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva drew laughs on Friday with a lighthearted joke about star striker Neymar, Brazil’s all-time leading men’s international goalscorer, who remains sidelined by a lingering calf injury at the ongoing World Cup hosted in the United States. The 34-year-old, who has notched 79 goals for the Seleção since his senior debut, only stepped back into collective training with the national squad this week after completing his rehabilitation from a right calf injury picked up in late May. This fitness setback has already forced him to miss Brazil’s opening group stage clash against Morocco, which ended in a 1-1 draw, and head coach Carlo Ancelotti opted to leave Neymar out of the matchday squad for the nation’s second group game against Haiti, scheduled for the same day as Lula’s quip.
Speaking at a public hospital inauguration ceremony in Belo Horizonte, a major city in Brazil’s southeast, Lula responded to a young attendee who brought up Neymar’s name with playful surprise. “Neymar? He is not even playing!” Lula said, before doubling down on his joke: “Neymar is the first player to be called up (to the national team) who is working remotely.”
This is not the first time the Brazilian president has leaned into football-related humor in recent days, following a viral joke from earlier this week that he was considering calling up Argentine icon Lionel Messi — Neymar’s long-time club teammate at Barcelona — to wear the Brazil shirt. The quip came just days after Brazil’s opening draw with Morocco, and has gone viral across Latin American social media.
Neymar’s fitness has been a persistent concern throughout 2024. After leaving Paris Saint-Germain to return to his boyhood club Santos earlier this year, the striker has missed nearly half of his side’s domestic matches due to repeated niggling injuries and major fitness setbacks. He has not represented Brazil at international level since October 2023, and his inclusion in the final World Cup squad sparked widespread surprise given his inconsistent availability over the past 12 months.
Local Brazilian media reports that Ancelotti and his coaching staff have deliberately taken a cautious approach to Neymar’s comeback, unwilling to rush the star back into competitive action and risk worsening his injury ahead of potential knockout stage matches later in the tournament. Neymar finally joined his teammates for full training for the first time on Wednesday, marking a key milestone in his recovery. The striker has been a core part of Brazil’s squad in the last three World Cup tournaments, bringing experience and attacking flair that few other players in the squad can match.
Brazil will wrap up its group stage campaign against Scotland in Miami on June 24, and fans are still waiting to see whether Neymar will be fit enough to feature before the knockout rounds get underway.
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Fathers make a difference through presence and sacrifice
KINGSTON, Jamaica — As the country prepares to mark Father’s Day on June 21, a quiet but profound cultural shift is reshaping understandings of what it means to be a father across Jamaican households and communities. No longer limited to the traditional role of primary breadwinner, modern fatherhood in Jamaica increasingly includes emotional engagement, daily caregiving and consistent, intentional presence even amid the pressures of work and life.
Three Jamaican fathers from different professional backgrounds and age cohorts are illustrative of this changing landscape: 58-year-old Gerald Miller, a health promotion and education officer at the Westmoreland Health Department; 58-year-old Kavanaugh Campbell, a technical officer at the Jamaica Information Service; and 33-year-old Dr. Daren Johnson, a senior advisor and consultant for the Government of Jamaica. For all three men, fatherhood is far more than a one-day annual celebration — it is a lifelong commitment that stands as one of the most meaningful contributions a man can make to his country’s long-term growth.
Dr. Johnson, a younger-generation father from Middle Buxton, St. Ann, has centered active presence as the core of his parenting philosophy. Though he balances multiple high-demand professional roles — including senior government advisor, immigration advocate, college professor and school board chair — he says no title holds more meaning for him than that of “father.” He welcomed his son S’Wayne when he was 22, an experience he describes as the most defining event of his entire life.
“Before S’Wayne, ambition was all about me. Now every decision passes through one question: what does that build for him?” Dr. Johnson explained. Fatherhood, he added, has transformed his character, making him more patient, more purpose-driven and far less self-centered with his time. Even with a packed schedule, he prioritizes small, daily moments with his son: checking in on his school life, traveling together, listening to music, and turning ordinary interactions into opportunities to teach life values. On multiple occasions, he has turned down lucrative professional assignments or left key engagements early to honor his parenting responsibilities.
“Opportunities come back around, but you only get one chance at the moments that shape a child,” he noted. Dr. Johnson hopes to instill faith, integrity, humility and pride in his son’s cultural roots — and he prioritizes modeling these values rather than just speaking about them, well aware that children learn more from parental action than words. He also has an urgent message for fathers who are disconnected from their children: “find your children, give them a little love. Try to make the communication start from there.”
As Jamaica gathers to honor fathers this year, the stories of these three men highlight a national move away from the outdated, narrow framing of fathers as only financial providers toward a fuller, more holistic vision of fatherhood that values emotional investment and active involvement in children’s daily lives.