Janet Silvera/Gleaner Writer

Niurka Garcia-Linton (left), director of sales at RIU Resorts – Jamaica, addresses the media during a press briefing at RIU Montego Bay on Wednesday, as Somae Pitkin-Shakes, human resource manager, RIU Montego Bay, looks on.
December 9, 2025 by Janet Silvera

RIU commits US$2.3m support as 800 staff homes damaged

WESTERN BUREAU: RIU Hotels & Resorts has launched a multimillion-dollar recovery programme for more than 4,000 Jamaican employees, mobilising US$2.3 million in aid, interest-free credit and…
Alexandra Ghisays, Issa Trust Foundation board member, along with the team from Couples Tower Isle, preparing to distribute care packages to the staff of the hotel last Friday.
December 9, 2025 by Janet Silvera

Couples Resorts sets up disaster relief fund as more than 100 staff lose homes

WESTERN BUREAU: Couples Resorts has launched a multimillion-dollar relief initiative to support employees and surrounding communities devastated by Hurricane Melissa, which struck western Jamaica on…
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley discusses plans her country has to help with disaster recovery in Jamaica with residents of Whitehouse, Westmoreland, on Monday. A field hospital designated for Savanna-la-Mar will arrive on the island today, along with
December 9, 2025 by Janet Silvera

Mottley calls for fiscal space to help Jamaica bounce back from Melissa

WESTERN BUREAU: Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley has called for urgent international support to ensure Jamaica gets the fiscal breathing room it needs to rebuild after Hurricane Melissa.…
News
December 9, 2025 by Janet Silvera

Holness: Every dollar will be accounted for

WESTERN BUREAU: Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness is seeking to assure Jamaicans and international partners that all Hurricane Melissa recovery funds will be strictly monitored, insisting there will be…
St James Southern Member of Parliament Nickeisha Burchell (fourth left) accepts a solar street light from Bhasker Reddy Sharu and members of the Montego Bay Indian community last Friday at the Heinz School in Montego Bay.
December 9, 2025 by Janet Silvera

Indian community in MoBay raises $10m for hurricane recovery

WESTERN BUREAU: The Indian community in Montego Bay, St James, has raised $10 million to support recovery efforts across the parish and has committed to help restore one of the worst-affected schools…
Barbados’ prime minister, Mia Mottley, estimated that across the Caribbean, including the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, these platforms earned US$11.6 billion a year.
December 9, 2025 by Janet Silvera

Regional leaders to arrive, tour hurricane-hit west today

WESTERN BUREAU: A team of Caribbean leaders, joined by officials from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), is expected to arrive in the island this morning to tour hurricane-ravaged communities…
Senna Summerbell (left) and Christopher Issa accepting the winning trophy as the first Jamaicans drivers to win a European Drivers Championship.
December 9, 2025 by Janet Silvera

Ja drivers make history in Italy

WESTERN BUREAU: Jamaica’s motorsport community is celebrating a landmark achievement after race car drivers Senna Summerbell and Christopher Issa made history in Italy this past weekend, becoming the…
Merris Green from Westgreen/Catherine Hall in Montego Bay, St James, explains how floodwaters from Hurricane Melissa swept through her house destroying all her furnishings.
December 9, 2025 by Janet Silvera

STRATEGIC SHIFT REQUIRED

WESTERN BUREAU: As three rivers and storm surge buried Catherine Hall and Westgreen under mud and debris, tempers flared this week as residents demanded urgent national intervention, saying repeated…
Actor Tyrese Gibson (left) dances with the Iberostar team, which included entertainment manager at JOIA Rose Hall by Iberostar, Deivy Noel (right), and the entertainment dance group in the background.
December 9, 2025 by Janet Silvera

Iberostar reopens in high spirits, welcomes Tyrese Gibson on relief mission

WESTERN BUREAU: Two weeks after Hurricane Melissa battered Jamaica’s tourism belt, the Iberostar Rose Hall complex in Montego Bay, St James, roared back to life on Monday, welcoming its first new…