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President of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Horace Peterkin has said that as the tourism industry worldwide becomes increasingly competitive, local hoteliers and other suppliers must market their product effectively, in order to get "their fair share of business." Mr. Peterkin gave the charge to tourism stakeholders at the opening of Jamaica Product Exchange (JAPEX) 2007, at the...

Today, the international community marks the Tenth Anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling, and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, more commonly referred to as the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). More than 90% of all countries, 182 to be exact, are Parties to the CWC. CWC State...

A number of basic and primary schools throughout the island are benefiting from improved sanitary conveniences through the 'pit latrines to flush toilets' project being undertaken by the charity organization, Food for the Poor. The $20 million initiative, which is the charity's major project for the year, involves the replacement of outdated pit latrines with modern flush toilets. Executive Director...

The establishment of the proposed Jamaican Diaspora Foundation is a step closer to reality, as the Articles of Incorporation to form the Foundation have been drawn up and is being reviewed by the government. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Delano Franklyn, tells JIS News that once this exercise is completed, the Ministry will seek the...

Opposition Leader, Bruce Golding, offered to join hands with Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller to address the issue of family life and the restoration of traditional values. "We have experienced over decades a cancerous kind of social decay in which traditional values and norms are being destroyed and new paradigms have emerged which have no value structure, no mutuality and...

High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Burchell Whiteman, has urged young people to promote a change in perception and stereotype about Jamaica and to enhance the brand by which the country is identified.Speaking with students and young professionals of Jamaican heritage at the High Commission recently, Mr. Whiteman said that, "we must not allow ourselves to be stereotyped by others...

Effective Monday (April 30), the Ministry of Labour and Social Security will be implementing a new occupational safety programme with special focus on the construction industry, which has recorded two job-related deaths since the start of the year. Acting Director in the Ministry's Occupational Safety and Health Department, Robert Chung, told JIS News that in addition to consistent inspections and...

Minister of Tourism, Entertainment and Culture, Aloun Assamba has said that hard work and collective effort were important in strengthening communities and furthering the process of nation building. She was speaking at Jamaica House on Thursday (April 26), at the launch of Labour Day 2007, which will be observed on May 23 under the theme: 'Honouring Our Ancestors.Strengthening Communities'. The...

The volunteers for the ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007, especially those in the media centre at Sabina Park, were a big hit with Sundar Iyer, correspondent with Times Now, a 24-hour News Channel owned by the Times of India Group. The 28-year old journalist, who was in the Caribbean for the first time to cover the ICC CWC, became...

The tourism room stock is expected to go up by 366 on May 18, with the opening of the Iberostar Rose Hall Bay Resort in St. James. The hotel is the first of three being built and opened in Jamaica by the Spanish hotel chain by 2008. General Manager for the property, Philipp Hofer, told JIS News that the finishing...

The Ministry of Education and Youth is to establish a diagnostic centre in Montego Bay, as it continues its effort to decentralize and make these services available to school-aged children with learning disabilities in rural Jamaica. This centre will offer services similar to that provided by the Kingston-based Mico Child Assessment and Research Centre (Mico CARE Centre). Minister of Education...

A total of 120 teachers, were yesterday (April 26) presented with certificates for successfully completing a year-long course in language and communication disorder and delay, which was facilitated by the Jamaica Association on Mental Retardation (JAMR). The number includes 92 educators, who work with children with intellectual disabilities, and 28 others from mainstream government institutions. At the awards ceremony held...