Regional News Round-Up: Elections in Jamaica, Tragedy in Colombia, and Journalist Killed in Gaza
By Antonio Dey | HGP Nightly News
Date: Monday, August 11, 2025
Jamaica: PM Announces September 3 Election Date
Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader and Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness has named September 3, 2025, as the date for the island’s 19th General Election, with Nomination Day set for August 18.
Speaking before thousands of flag-waving supporters in Half-Way Tree Square, St. Andrew, Holness expressed confidence that he would lead the JLP to a third consecutive term in office. The date holds historical significance for the party, as it was on September 3, 2007, that Bruce Golding defeated Portia Simpson-Miller, and on September 3, 2020, Holness secured his second mandate.
Colombia: Senator and Presidential Hopeful Dies After Assassination Attempt
Colombian senator and right-wing presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe Turbay has died, two months after being shot in the head at a campaign rally in Bogotá.
Uribe, 39, was attacked on June 7 and had been hospitalized at the Santa Fe de Bogotá Foundation. His wife, María Claudia Tarazona, announced his death on Monday, writing on social media:
“Rest in peace. I will take care of our children.”
Former Colombian president Iván Duque described Uribe as an “upright and transparent leader” taken by terrorism.
Gaza: Al Jazeera Journalist Among Five Killed in Airstrike
Prominent Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif, 28, was killed alongside four colleagues and an assistant in an Israeli airstrike near Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on Sunday.
Israel’s military claimed al-Sharif was leading a Hamas militant cell involved in rocket attacks—allegations denied by both Al Jazeera and al-Sharif prior to his death.
Al Jazeera condemned the attack as a “desperate attempt to silence voices” documenting the situation in Gaza. A sixth journalist, Muhammad al-Qaoudi, a freelance reporter, was also killed in the strike.
