Jamaica lost 2 places in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, 16 since 2020; Opposition People’s National Party says this reflects the growing mistrust between government officials and the press, and an increasingly autocratic posture by the administration

The old cotton banknotes -$5000, $1000, $500, $100, $50 denominations- will no longer be legal tender starting 1 July 2025; though the banknotes won't be used for transactions, the Bank of Jamaica will continue to redeem them for face value indefinitely

The Norwood Community in Norwood, St James, celebrates zero murders in 2024, an achievement for the once violence-plagued community that was declared a Zone of Special Operations in June 2021

Students in rural areas will begin to benefit from a dedicated system of 60 school buses starting in September 2025; the first phase of the project is already underway, with Jamaica Urban Transit Company expanding services in several areas

A call for a resilient regulatory framework to ensure the security of sensitive data and the overall integrity of the tourism sector came from Dr Yonique Campbell, expert at UWI, who also said the State should ensure the best and most effective measures