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Agriculture Minister, Dr. Christopher Tufton has said that the Government is committed to ensuring the sustainability of the island's forests. "In this regard, I have given my support and approval for the continuation of the process to transform the Forestry Department into an Executive Agency. As an Executive Agency, the Department is expected to function more effectively and be equipped...

Chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Sir George Alleyne, said that the UWI should be proud of its achievements over the past six decades. Sir Alleyne, who was delivering the keynote address at the University's 60th anniversary commemorative service at the Trinity Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C. on Sunday (June 1), said that a total of 75,000 students...

Director General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Ronald Jackson, has said that the organization is better prepared this hurricane season than last year. He was speaking at a press conference held recently at ODPEM's South Camp Road office in Kingston, as the agency kick starts activities for Disaster Preparedness Month under the theme: 'Disasters are...

Residents of Manchester are set to benefit from a series of initiatives aimed at stemming the incidence of crime in the parish. The Manchester Chamber of Commerce, the Ministers' Fraternal of Manchester and other stakeholders, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Manchester Police, as part of a crime initiative project in the parish. Dubbed the 'Close to...

Preliminary figures for the 2008 winter tourist season have indicated an 8.4 per cent increase in stopover arrivals over the similar period last year. For the January to March period, stopover arrivals were 483,959, up from 427,252 in 2007. Speaking with JIS News, Director of Tourism, Basil Smith noted that the figures are looking impressive so far and is anticipating...

The Coconut Industry Board (CIB) has outlined plans to make coconut production a sustainable enterprise, despite the ravages of the Lethal Yellowing disease. More than a million trees have been destroyed by the disease since 1997. Lethal Yellowing is caused by a type of bacteria which attacks many species of palms, including the coconut. The phytoplasmas (bacteria with a wall-less...

The Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA) recently staged its third annual 'Park and Walk' event in Mandeville. The event is geared at sensitizing the general public to the need to include physical activity in their daily routines, and to help persons to adopt practices, which will encourage better health. On the day of the walk, residents of Manchester were encouraged...

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Advisor for Communication and Information in the Caribbean, Isidro Fernandez-Aballi has commended the commitment and resourcefulness of the Jeffery Town Farmers Association (JTFA) for the establishment of a multi-media centre in that community. The JTFA recently launched a community radio - JET FM 88.7- which is the culmination of a project that...

Some $5 million has been allocated for agricultural development in North Western Clarendon, under the newly established Constituency Development Fund (CDF). This was revealed by Minister of State for Industry, Investment and Commerce and Member of Parliament for North West Clarendon, Michael Stern, during his address at a community meeting held on Thursday (May 29) at the Frankfield Primary School...

Corporate Communications Manager of the Coffee Industry Board, Arlene Daley, has expressed concern over what she says is the steady decline in coffee production over the past two decades. Speaking at a meeting of the Non-Blue Mountain Coffee Cooperative recently hosted at the Kendal Camp and Conference Centre in Manchester, she noted that next to sugar, coffee is the crop...

Fishers at the Lyssons fishing beach in St. Thomas are the beneficiaries of fishing gear valued at more than $3 million from the St. Catherine-based charity organization, Food for the Poor. The equipment which includes boats, engines, a newly constructed gear shed and an assortment of accessories were handed over in a brief ceremony on Friday (May 30) at the...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw has urged public servants to work together to provide good service and maintain standards of which the country can be proud. "We have a challenge in our sphere of activity - in order for us to move forward, everything connects, the quality of public service connects to a more productive society,...