Ambassador to the United States (US), Her Excellency Audrey Marks, has announced the launch of a competition called Jamaica Roots aimed at nationals in the US who have lost connection with their homeland. The competition, which will run from November 5, 2017 to February 4, 2018, provides the opportunity for Jamaican-Americans to win a trip to the island. Monthly draws...

The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) is encouraging talented Jamaicans to submit entries for the 2018 Performing Arts Competition and traditional folk forms by the deadline of Friday, December 1, 2017. Entry forms and rules and guidelines are available on the JCDC website, www.jcdc.gov.jm, its head office at 3-5 Phoenix Avenue, Kingston 10; and all JCDC parish offices islandwide. Director...

Crime prevention is a key factor driving the implementation of the Citizen Security and Justice Programme’s (CSJP) III Specialised Substance Misuse Treatment Programme, which involves collaboration with the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA). Under the partnership, persons flagged for drug use through the CSJP’s Community Case Management programme are referred to the NCDA for a special treatment course before...

Without a $1-million scholarship from the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), Chedukia Langley, a fourth-year medical student at the University of the West Indies (UWI), says she would not have been able to meet her financial obligations to the university, and faced the possibility of being deregistered. Chedukia, who spoke to JIS News at PATH’s 15th anniversary...

Deputy Chief Education Officer, at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, Lena Buckle Scott is encouraging Jamaicans to do more to protect the nation’s children from incidents of abuse. She noted that parents and other stakeholders should be sensitised on how to report suspected cases. “We have to make coordinated efforts to help protect the children who are at...

Minister of National Security, Hon. Robert Montague says the Government remains committed to the safety and protection of all Jamaicans. He noted that while the security forces are committed to fighting crime, it will take the combined efforts of the Government and the citizenry to bring the situation under control. “We have to understand that what we are fighting is...

Minister of Justice, the Hon. Delroy Chuck, says plea bargaining could become a game changer for the criminal justice system. He argued that the initiative may ease some of the pressures of the country’s overburdened justice system. “The backlog in the court cannot continue. We have to buy into it, because with guilty plea, you save the country an enormous...