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The Ministry of Health and Environment and its relevant agencies will be vigorously enforcing planning and environmental laws and regulations in the interest of the present and future generations. This was emphasized by Director of Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations at the Western Regional Health Authority, Arthur Warren, at the Rose Hall Developers' Conference, held recently at the Ritz...

Executive Director of the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA), Michael Tucker, has said that come next year, the council will be prioritizing programmes to target alcohol, beady and ecstasy use. He was speaking at a recent public forum hosted by the NCDA at Eden Gardens. A 2006 National School Survey conducted by the agency has found that more than...

The Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD), in collaboration with the joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), has launched a one year programme entitled, 'Education and Economic Empowerment for Persons with Disabilities - Responding to HIV and AIDS'. The project, which is a public education programme that will commemorate both World AIDS Day (December 1) and World Disabilities...

Like most adolescents, 14-year old Nicholas is very active and sociable. He enjoys playing tennis, singing in his school choir and hanging out with his best friend. On the surface, he appears as normal as any other child his age. But, over the last eight years, the youngster has been living with a chronic condition, that of Type 1 diabetes....

State Minister for Ministry of Labour and Social Security, Andrew Gallimore, has said that the government will not tolerate acts of discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS in the workplace. "We will not stand idly by and allow anyone to be dismissed from their job because of their HIV or AIDS status. The Ministry will not allow screening of persons to...

Forty-six National Youth Service (NYS) volunteers in St. Mary are currently participating in a one month training programme in primary education, to enable them to assist with the delivery of education at that level, as well as to enhance their personal development. The training is being conducted at the St. Mary Parish Church in Port Maria. It will end on...

There is a growing gambling problem among young persons between 10 and 19 years of age. The findings have surfaced in the Jamaica Child and Adolescent Gambling Survey 2007, which was conducted recently by Hope Enterprise Limited on behalf of RISE Life Management Services. Speaking at the launch of the survey, which was held on November 30 at the Terra...

The Statistics Act is to be amended, to facilitate the establishment of a Statistics Commission to coordinate a national statistics programme for Jamaica. Director General of the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN), Sonia Jackson, told JIS News that Cabinet approved the proposed amendments, paving the way for the tabling of a Ministry Paper in Parliament earlier in the year. The...

A condolence book for the late sports icon, Herb McKenley, was opened today (December 4), at the Jamaican Consulate General in New York. Mr. McKenley, who was awarded the Order of Merit in 2004, died on November 26 at age 85. He will be given an official funeral on Saturday (December 8), at the National Arena, after which he will...

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) recently handed over building materials totaling $1.5 million to residents of Portland Cottage affected by Hurricane Dean. The purchase was made possible through a $5 million grant obtained from the German Government for hurricane relief. "After surveying places that were damaged by the hurricane, we decided that Portland Cottage had to be given...

Prime Minister, Hon Bruce Golding, leaves the island tomorrow afternoon to attend the 31st annual Miami conference on the Caribbean Basin which will run from December 3-5. Mr Golding has been invited to present Jamaica's vision and his administration's plans to address globalisation and competitiveness, at the plenary dinner scheduled for tomorrow evening at the Inter-Continental Hotel in Miami, Florida....

The one year-old non-profit Spanish-Jamaican Foundation (SJF) has received the full nod of the Jamaican government, and Prime Minister Hon Bruce Golding has advised that his government is prepared to provide any assistance necessary to support the organisation. The Foundation held its second meeting of its Advisory Board at the newly opened Iberostar Rose Hall Beach Hotel on Saturday (Dec...