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The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) today (March 9) commissioned into service two new helicopters, which will be used to assist the JDF in its operational tasks. The helicopters, which are among four being acquired for the Air Wing, were purchased at a cost of US$14.1 million, with financing provided through the Bank of Nova Scotia. Minister of National Security, Dr....

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Registrar General's Department (RGD), Dr. Patricia Holness has expressed satisfaction with the success of the Free First Birth Certificate Initiative, which was launched on January 1, 2007. Speaking at a press briefing, yesterday (March 8), at the Terra Nova All Suites Hotel in Kingston, Dr. Holness noted that as a result of the initiative,...

The Government is determined to ensure that mining operations at quarries are carried out in a sustainable manner. A team of experts from the Czech Republic are in the island evaluating quarries and will submit a report to the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands. State Minister in the Ministry, Victor Cummings made this announcement on March 7 while addressing a...

The Squatter Management Unit will be more vigilant this year in dealing with the matter of squatting, which is a growing problem across the island, says Senior Director of the Land Administration and Management Division in the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Dr. Mohini Kiswani. According to data from the Ministry, there are some 595 squatter settlements island-wide, with 80...

Manchester 4-H Clubs Parish Development Officer, Malonia Harper, has hailed the parish's annual achievement day and exposition held yesterday (March 8) at the Long Pond 4-H Training Centre in Chudleigh, as a huge success. "It has been a wonderful day," Mrs. Harper said of the event, which was held under the theme: 'Transforming Jamaica through Youth Development.' Approximately 60 schools...

Some 24 new buses, to be used to transport persons to and from Sabina Park and the Trelawny Multi-purpose stadium, during the ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC), were handed over to the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), today (March 9), by Minister of Housing, Transport, Water and Works, Robert Pickersgill. The buses, which were acquired from the Government of Belgium,...

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller was today (March 8), presented with the International Olympic Association (IOC) Women and Sport World Award for 2007, for being a political voice for the good of women and sport. The award was presented to the Prime Minister by the IOC President, Jacques Rogge, at a special ceremony at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland....

Independent consultant on higher education and professional training, Dr. John Randall, has said that competence-based education and training (CBET) was essential to the successful implementation of the Caribbean Single Market (CSM). He noted that because CBET programmes were linked to occupational standards, the approach would allow for mutual recognition and transfer of qualifications within the CSM, where workers moved across...

Colonel Anthony Anderson, Commander for the CARICOM Operational Planning and Co-ordinating Staff (COMPACS), is encouraging citizens of the region to be more vigilant, as they are critical to the security architecture put in place for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007. "They are the main source of intelligence and information for us and it is for every citizen to understand...

Minister of Education and Youth, Maxine Henry Wilson, has said that the issue of absentee fathers in Jamaican homes was of major concern, especially as it relates to the socialization of boys. The Minister, who was speaking at the Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association's (JGRA) L.G. Brown scholarship award function held yesterday (March 7) at the Courtleigh Hotel, noted that the...

Dub-poet, Mutabaruka and University of the West Indies (UWI) professor, Mervyn Morris, will headline a special tribute to Jamaica's late cultural icon, Louise Bennett-Coverley (Miss Lou) in Toronto, Canada. Called 'Louise Simone Bennett: A Commemoration,' the cost-free event will be held tomorrow (March 9) at the University of Toronto's William Doo Auditorium. Others to participate in the tribute to Miss...

Spanish Prime Minister, Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero, said yesterday (March 7), that he is committed to having closer ties with Jamaica and CARICOM.In a meeting with Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller in Madrid, he said he would continue to support growth and build the capacity for future investment, while providing more development aid and promoting greater co-operation between Jamaica and...