The Star (Jamaica)
CANCER WARRIOR Shaunice Dean preaches positive energy
When THE STAR spoke with colorectal cancer warrior Shaunice Dean earlier this week, she radiated positivity. The past year has been pain-free for the 33-year-old, a blessing she says gives her every reason to smile. “I am not in any pain or anything...
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Woman says God wants Kartel to be a prophet
ASerbian woman says she has been divinely instructed to deliver a message to dancehall superstar Vybz Kartel, urging him to use his influence for good and step into his true calling as a prophet. “The Lord wants him to become a preacher. I love him...
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Crippling illness leaves Manchester woman struggling
After living for more than 10 years with a neurological condition that has left her struggling to walk and care for herself, 60-year-old Minnette Powell says her greatest fear is being placed in an infirmary. “Mi nuh wah leave mi cat dem … mi nuh want...
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Jamaica-born US soldier learns harsh lessons from Middle East
According to a Jamaica-born US Army Specialist, war has a way of stripping things down to their most basic truth. “People talk about war like it’s strategy or politics,” she said. “But when you’re the one standing there in the middle of it, you...
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Mother of three fighting to save her sight
Shanice Laird’s life went black, figuratively and somewhat literally, overnight on February 22. “I went to my bed the Sunday night and did my regular routine, ate my dinner, prayed, went to my bed. I was okay when I went to sleep. The Monday I woke up...
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FAYVAL BATS FOR WOMEN
Jamaica’s first female finance minister, Fayval Williams, has urged women and girls across the island to speak out against abuse or harassment and never allow gender to limit their dreams. In opening the 2025/2026 Budget Debate in Parliament...
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Noel Maitland feels strongly about innocence
Convicted policeman Noel Maitland is already setting his sights on the next legal battleground. His attorney, Christopher Townsend, says Maitland strongly maintains his innocence and is prepared to take the fight to the Court of Appeal — and possibly...
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Grinding for success
At 39 years old, Nickie says every minute she steps onto the dance floor or in a brothel room is driven by her singular goal of ensuring her daughter finishes university. The mother of three has spent years navigating a life many judge harshly,...
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PROMISE SHATTERED
Kevaughn Goldson’s life was a bright, blazing promise to his family, his downtown Kingston community, and himself. At just 23 years old, the Jamaican sprinter had the world ahead of him, and a heart full of ambition to lift everyone he loved out of...
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ETCHED IN PAIN
At the far end of a quiet, disorganised row of marble headstones, beneath the generous shade of a plum tree in the cemetery at St Andrew Parish Church, lies the final resting place of Melissa Silvera. But unlike the graves that flank it, Melissa’s is...
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Silvera faces 15 years to life
Convicted wife killer Jolyan Silvera could be handed a prison term of no less than 15 years when he returns to court on Friday for sentencing before Chief Justice Brian Sykes. Silvera, 52, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and to using a firearm to...
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Narrow escape!
Israel-based Jamaican striker Javon East said he and his family narrowly escaped danger after leaving the country just before Iranian missiles struck a section of it where he was based on Saturday afternoon. Iran retaliated strongly following a joint...
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Boxing for a better future
The hum of punching bags and the rhythmic shuffle of feet filled Fun Robics Fitness in Greater Portmore, St Catherine, last Friday. Among the watchers was Taneica McLean. Her eyes were fixed on her 16-year-old son, Demarco Smith, as he practised his...
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Premature baby needs million-dollar surgery
Three-month-old D’Shawn Fulconer has never felt sunlight on his skin. Since arriving 12 weeks early, the Santoy, Hanover, infant has known only the steady hum of machines inside the neonatal unit at Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay. Now, his...
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Help save a life
With her daughter behind bars accused of setting a woman ablaze, Erica Cope is making an emotional plea — not for sympathy for her child, but for help to save the very woman police say her daughter burnt. “I sympathise with the girl that got hurt. It...
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Churches urged to help protect seniors from tech fraud
Founder of the Caribbean Community of Retired Persons Jean Lowrie Chin is calling on the church community to assist with protecting the elderly against fraudsters who target them via technology. Speaking with THE STAR yesterday, Chin said the elderly...
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Shante Sinclair makes creative comeback
Securing first place for photography in the 2025 Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Heritage Competition meant far more to Shante Sinclair than adding another accolade to her résumé. The victory signalled a powerful comeback to the creative world she...
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Ice-cream mom killed in horror crash
Grief has gripped the community of King’s Street in downtown Kingston as relatives and residents struggle to process the sudden and shocking death of 46-year-old Tamara Manning. An ice-cream shop operator, Manning died on February 15 after a motor...
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‘Short’ man avoids Valentine’s Day out of shame
While many men look forward to getting some action around the Valentine’s season, one man says he makes sure he is gone long before that, in part because he doesn’t think he ‘measures up’. “Man haffi go through too much pressure when it come round to...
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IN TELL ME PASTOR THE HELPER TAUGHT ME HOW TO MAKE LOVE
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Jamaicans want more love than just on
To some Jamaicans, Valentine’s Day has become less a celebration of love and more a spotlight on low effort, revealing relationships that rely on one day of romance to mask a year of emotional neglect. For Marcus, February 14 is not symbolic – it is...
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Jamaican women embrace Soft Girl Era
Aquiet revolution is taking place across Jamaica as women embrace the so-called ‘Soft Girl Era’, a lifestyle focused on ease, self-care, and embracing femininity. Across the island, women are gently pushing back against the relentless “rough life”...
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Bride loses leg after wedding
Five days before her wedding, Yaniki Davis’s life took a devastating turn when a screw pierced the sole of her slippers, puncturing her foot. Living with diabetes, she recognised the danger of even a minor injury and sought medical attention...
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Small tattoo, BIG meaning
To strangers, the modest tattoo on Cindy’s* left shoulder may appear meaningless, but to her it’s a quiet monument to survival. The tattoo is nothing more than a simple date — no design, no decoration — yet it carries a lifetime of meaning. Now 31,...
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Manchester centenarian looks to another milestone
On February 12, Millicent Smith will celebrate her 103rd birthday but she told her family that she doesn’t want a fancy party, so as not to ‘attract her ancestors’. “I just want a little get-together and no big TV station and dem tings deh because...
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Twins who are former State wards ready for next chapter
When their mother, who was a foster child, got pregnant at just 13, Crystal and Crystel Thomas were practically born into State care. The twins, who consider themselves fortunate that they were never separated, say that they learnt early to lean on...
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No freaky things in church
As churches grapple with controversy over sexuality and moral boundaries, a wider debate has emerged. Some are questioning whether silence and treating sex as taboo have left faith communities ill-equipped to address intimacy, desire and vulnerability...
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Car part stuck on penis
Arisky attempt to enhance sexual performance recently left one man facing a frightening medical emergency after he reportedly slipped a metal car component over his penis to maintain an erection — only for it to become dangerously stuck. The incident,...
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Child who walked into State care cops 10 CSEC subjects
When her mother died in 2019, Melissa* was only 12 years old; her father had passed five years prior. After bouncing around living with relatives, one day she walked to the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) office, hoping to save her...
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Postal service moving with the times
Handwritten love letters that were once sealed with perfume and promise, that took weeks to reach their destinations, are no longer a regular sight at Jamaica’s post offices. The lost art has been replaced by WhatsApp messages, emails and online...
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Hidden lives of female friends
Women leading double lives are coming clean, exposing passionate relationships and forbidden romances with other females. For Kim*, 36, a devoted wife and high school teacher, the rules of love have never been black and white. Married for more than a...
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Teacher without GCE math shaped generations
When Sandra Rowe first left high school, mathematics was not part of her life plan. In fact, the newly retired teacher never acquired a General Certificate of Education (GCE) Ordinary Level (similar to CSEC) mathematics qualification, and once firmly...
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Plus-size mom stands firm after online attacks on her child
There was a time when Devodean Green barely stepped beyond her front door. Fresh out of high school and acutely aware of her plus size, the St Mary native said the weight of public judgement felt heavier than the extra pounds she carried. As a...
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Asylum seeker on edge
Every day, Jane* wakes up with a knot in her stomach. In just a few weeks, she faces an immigration court hearing that could change her life, for better, for worse. Two years ago, Jane left Jamaica illegally, seeking a new life in the United States....
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Loveinink
The buzz of tattoos machine echoed over the chatter inside Popin Tattoo and Body Piercing Studio in Kingston as customers sat patiently awaiting their turn in the chair. Almost without prompting, a familiar question snuck into the conversation. Would...
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Gangster turns neighbourhood cop
Aself-admitted gang leader says he has imposed an informal curfew across his inner-city community, claiming that the move is meant to protect residents — especially young men — from violence and deadly encounters with the police. Known as Mike*, the...
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Man loses two best friends in car crash
Thirty-two-yearold Omari Samuels after eight days is still struggling to accept the crushing loss of his two closest friends after cancelling plans to go out with them the very night they were killed in a fiery motor vehicle crash in Trelawny. For...
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Fisherman left paralysed in diving mishap
What started as a routine dive for 23-year-old Andre Daley quickly turned into a medical emergency. Struck by ‘the bends’, medically known as decompression sickness, Daley has been left paralysed and facing an uncertain recovery. “That (fishing) is...
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I don’t want to lose my sight
If Alicia Bramwell was given one wish, it would be to have a clean bill of health. The 31-year-old, who has been struggling with various illnesses since her teenage years, is on the verge of completely losing her eyesight if she does not receive...
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Brain cancer fighter seeks life-saving treatment
Less than a year after she was declared to be in remission, a Jamaican mother of two is facing stage four cancer after the disease returned and spread to her brain and lungs. Her family is now seeking public support to help fund treatment abroad....
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Clarendon family witnesses fireworks for first time
As the final hours of 2025 ticked away, streams of people made their way down to the Kingston waterfront, turning the usually breezy stretch into a sea of blankets, folding chairs, laughter and flashing toy lights. Families claimed spots early,...
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St Thomas man gets a leg for new year
St Thomas native Hakim Bond said he has received a huge blessing for the new year in the form of a prosthetic leg. In a recent interview with THE STAR, the diabetic said he is now steadily regaining his independence after losing his left leg to the...
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PUBLICATION PRICE INCREASE: WEEKEND STAR
Dear readers, as of January, 1, 2026 the price of THE STAR will increase from $85 to $95, while THE price will increase from $110 to $120. The Sunday Gleaner will move from $220 to $240, while the Daily Gleaner increases from $130 to $140. The cover...
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Child Resiliency Programme transforms students
Ricardo Motley, a father of two from McIntyre Villa in Kingston, watched from the sidelines as his 10-year-old son performed in the Christmas dance at the close-out ceremony of the Child Resiliency Programme at Holy Family Primary and Infant...
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Back in Jamrock after 30 years
After 30 years living in the US, Aiysha McCarthy decided to move back to Jamaica and nothing has her more excited than experiencing Christmas on the island again. Standing in the yard of her grandmother’s home in Moravia, Clarendon, McCarthy said that...
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Bleak Christmas for father of slain UTech student
As Christmas approaches, a time once filled with family gatherings and celebration in his household, Everton Dilworth is bracing himself for two dates that now carry unbearable weight, Christmas Day and December 27, the birthday his daughter Anisa will...
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COPS OVERCOME LOSS, trials to excel
In the space of a few days, Monique Bartley lost her home and her sister. During the passage of Hurricane Melissa, the roof over Bartley’s head was ripped away, damaging personal belongings. But, before she could fully process that loss, her sister,...
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Goodbye baldness
While beauty trends have long catered to women, men dealing with hair loss from male pattern baldness to thinning hair most times have limited options. That is starting to change in Portmore, St Catherine, where barber Cristoffe Laoe is now offering...
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Top cop has always believed in community policing
When a teenage girl walked into a police guardroom with her bag packed and fear written all over her face, Corporal Shantel Powell did not see a disciplinary issue, she saw a moment that could change the course of a life. “Ms Powell, I’m going to run...
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Street ganja scarce after Melissa
Street-level ganja vendors across Jamaica are struggling to restock after Hurricane Melissa tore through western farms, leaving supply chains in disarray. On the streets of Kingston, small vendors face frustrated customers, while licensed herb houses...
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RJRGLEANER rocked by death of CEO
The RJRGLEANER Communications Group has been rocked by the sudden passing of its chief executive officer, Anthony Smith, who died on Sunday morning after a brief illness. His death has left colleagues and the wider media community reeling. Chairman...
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Bittersweet anniversary
As she looks at her oneyear-old grandson, Zyair ‘Peppa’ Thomas, lovingly, tears well up in Christine Campbell’s eyes. The infant’s birthday was on Wednesday, December 10, but for Campbell, it was a bittersweet moment. It was also one-year anniversary...
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‘She was terrified’
Afew minutes after leaving the cops, Scean Barnswell noticed a young child being pulled along the roadway by a man. Something did not sit right with him. “It was her uniform, and even more the fear on her face,” Barnswell recalled. “The fear drew my...
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No snow, No problem!
Decades after Carlene Davis released her Christmas reggae song, ‘Santa Claus, do you ever come to the ghetto?’ no one would have predicted that Santa would not only visit, but actually call the ghetto home. For many low-income communities, the...
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Charity building 10 houses for hurricane victims
As hundreds of Jamaicans remain homeless in Western Jamaica following the passage of Hurricane Melissa, an international non-profit organisation has pledged to build 10 board dwellings for families. Rob Gaudet, CEO of Ground Force Humanitarian Aid,...
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Christmas project putting money in pockets
Christmas preparations across sections of the Corporate Area are creating much-needed work for several residents, who have jumped at the chance to clean, paint and brighten public spaces ahead of the holiday rush. “We a stop bout the 17th and we...
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Medikk’s mom turns pain into purpose
Two years after losing her first-born child, something inside Millicent McCurdy still feels shattered. Yet the 50-year-old Westmoreland businesswoman believes that the very grief that once threatened to consume her pales in comparison to the force God...
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DANGEROUS
Users of popular weightloss drug Ozempic are being urged to watch their alcohol intake this Christmas as even small amounts of liquor could be detrimental. Originally developed as a diabetes medication, Ozempic curbs appetite, and helps regulate blood...
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Homeless graduate achieves certification
Category 5 Hurricane Melissa may have destroyed her house, but not the dreams of St Elizabeth resident Rasheda Brown. On Sunday, Brown, who hails from Oxford, was among more than 200 students who graduated from Distinction College at a ceremony held...
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‘We want our boys to look like students’
Determined to see positive changes in the attitude of the nation’s youth, a senior cop is urging parents and caregivers to pay keen attention to the image of their boys. Sergeant Kidan McCoy, along with his team, say they have started an initiative to...
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Melissa brings tourist and local together
When Category 5 Hurricane Melissa unleashed chaos across Jamaica, 40-yearold American businesswoman Jetia Miller discovered something entirely unexpected — love. Stranded by the storm, Miller fell for a local stranger who she said took her in and...
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Treacherous walk home
At first glance, one could easily assume that Karen Arnold is splurging in profits from her fully packed shop in Middleton Settlement, East Rural St Andrew. But, according to the owner and operator of Karen’s One Stop, she is making way less than she...
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ANOTHER TOUGH BLOW
Before dawn last Friday, Raymond Brown found transportation heading for Kingston, determined to collect his 10-year-old son for a rare weekend together. With no steady job or secure accommodation, he planned to sleep somewhere on the UWI Mona campus...
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Trelawny mom fears for infant son as supplies run low
Three weeks after Hurricane Melissa tore through Jamaica, Trelawny mother Aeisha Brady is struggling to care for her seven-weekold baby Azarie. She is faced with a rapidly shrinking supply of formula, a damaged home still exposed to the elements, and...
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STAR story sparks rescue
Just one day after this newspaper shone a light on the heartbreaking ordeal of 14-year-old Joel Wynter – the sickle cell warrior trapped in pain inside a storm-battered church – help finally found its way to his family. The National Health Fund (NHF)...
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