Commentary

January 20, 2026

Michael Abrahams | Can empathy be taught?

Empathy is “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.” Last week, my article “The Decline of Empathy” was published in The Gleaner, and I shared the piece on my Facebook pages. In…
During his second term, US Republican President Donald Trump has signed off of his social media post with the catchphrase "thank you for your attention to this matter" 242 times, according to data compiled by Roll Call Factba.se. For good measure, he often
January 20, 2026

Steven Sloan | 242 times Donald Trump thanks you for your attention to these matters

WASHINGTON (AP) — A stunning military intervention in Venezuela. Telling the New York Giants which coach to hire. Threats against Iran, Denmark, Greenland and Colombia. Posing with someone else's…
January 20, 2026

Jenni Shearston | What air pollution does to the human body

Breathing in air pollution like ozone and PM2.5 harms nearly every major system in the human body. It is particularly hard on the cardiovascular, respiratory and neurological systems. Ozone is a…
Minister of Information, Dana Morris Dixon.
January 19, 2026

Editorial | House oversight of the NRRA

An important development which escaped significant attention last week was the disclosure by Information Minister Dana Morris Dixon that the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NRRA) is…
In this November 2025 photo, Grade Three students of McCauley Primary School in Spanish Town, St Catherine are seen participating an integrated quiz session.
January 19, 2026

Ronald Thwaites| Productivity and literacy

I appreciate Prime Minister Holness’ exhortation at the Wisynco function last week for the nation to craft a surge or productivity higher than the rate of inflation. For, if we don’t, the fate of the…
In this September 2025 photo, members of parliament are seen at a sitting in Gordon House.
January 19, 2026

Lloyd Barnett | Performance criteria and accountability/responsibility of parliamentarians

There is a clear need for the establishment of a clear definition of the duties of parliamentarians. We must go beyond generalities and platitudes such as exist in the Handbook for Parliamentarians…
Indigenous activists participate in a climate protest during the COP30 UN Climate Summit in Belém, Brazil.
January 19, 2026

Leonardo Stanley | COP30: Promises, lies, and hopes

One of the most controversial points of the meetings that bring together the international community at the recently concluded climate conference — the Conference of the Parties (COP) — centres on the…
January 19, 2026 by Carlton FearonGuest Columnist

When ‘mind your own business’ becomes a moral blindfold

Few phrases travel more easily through our society than “mind your own business”. It is offered as wisdom, as protection, and often as virtue. Closely tied to it are other familiar sayings: “keep out…
Nand C. Bardouille, Ph.D., manager of The Diplomatic Academy of the Caribbean in the Institute of International Relations at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus
January 19, 2026

Nand C. Bardouille | Can CARICOM hedge against American unilateralism?

The great powers' current revival of a spheres of influence-based international order, coming at the expense of (once) US-led liberal internationalism, is being closely watched by Caribbean…