The DNA Evidence Act, which is a critical piece of legislation that will serve to aid in the fight against crime, was passed in the Senate on December 11, with 25 amendments. Debate on the Bill was suspended in the Senate on December 10, to allow for amendments to be made to the First Schedule of the Act, which deals...

The National Youth Service (NYS) and Montego Bay Community College have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will facilitate the payment of up to $100,000 in tuition fees annually, for needy students enrolled at the tertiary institution. The MoU, which was signed at the college recently, is expected to provide this assistance through the allocation of scholarships, which will...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, says a Joint Select Committee of Parliament is reviewing four pieces of legislation to determine the extent to which greater protection and redress can be provided for the society’s women and girls who are victims of gender-based violence. These include: the Sexual Offences Act; Domestic Violence Act; Offences against the Person Act;...

Executive Director of Food for the Poor, David Mair, says the agency has successfully completed its project to construct or upgrade 50 schools island wide, as part of activities marking Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of independence in 2012. Mr. Mair points out that the organization’s ‘Jamaica 50 Campaign’ was executed within 32 of the designated 50 months timeline. He was speaking...

Thirty one infants of Free Hill district, in North West St. Ann, and their teachers, are now benefitting from a new basic school, which was constructed by Food for the Poor. The facility was built as part of the philanthropic organization’s Jamaica 50 Campaign, which targeted the construction or upgrading of 50 early childhood institutions islandwide, in commemoration of Jamaica’s...

Water, Land, Environment, and Climate Change Minister, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, is to meet with key stakeholders to discuss measures to curb the reported by-passing of the approvals process for revised building plans by some developers, particularly for apartment complexes. The Minister made the disclosure to JIS News, after being briefed of this development recently by representatives of the Real Estate...

State Minister for Industry, Investment, and Commerce, Hon. Sharon Ffolkes Abrahams, says the Government remains committed to further modernizing the national quality and standards framework. This, to better position local goods and services to meet international standards, within the context of global trade. Additionally, she says the administration is equally focused on creating an environment that encourages local consumers to...

Water, Land, Environment, and Climate Change Minister, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, has expressed satisfaction with the progress of work on the $1 billion artificial groundwater recharge system, being built at Innswood, St. Catherine, by the National Water Commission (NWC). The project, which commenced 15 months ago, is scheduled for completion by the end of November, and will supply nearly five million...

An additional classroom block is to be built at Norman Manley High School in East Central St. Andrew, at a cost of $50 million. Construction is scheduled to commence in December and be completed by March 2016. The new block is expected to facilitate the school administration’s removal of the double-shift system from the institution by the end of the...