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With this year's hurricane season predicted to be one of the most active ever, the Westmoreland Disaster Committee is carrying out a comprehensive education programme, to sensitise residents and agencies of the need to prepare for any disaster. Disaster Preparedness Coordinator for Westmoreland, Hilma Tate, told JIS News that the committee was targeting schools, business places and vulnerable community groups,...

Special Adviser to the Prime Minister on Science and Technology, Dr. Arnoldo Ventura, has said that leaders must embrace science and technology and become more supportive and knowledgeable of recent trends in research and development and as well as technological advances. "Leaders must become cognisant .of these developments and become adept at embracing and evaluating the options provided," Dr. Ventura...

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Mark Shields, is highly confident that the Major Investigations Taskforce (MIT) and the Hot Spot Secretariat when established, will significantly improve the way crimes and homicides in particular, are investigated and solved in the island. DCP Shields tells JIS News, that the Hot Spot Secretariat will target crime-riddled areas, noting that there are hot spots...

Head of the Hanover Fire Brigade, Superintendent Morine Thompson, has raised concern about the number of bush fires occurring in the parish, which have caused some $6.5 million in property damage as at April 12. Superintendent Thompson, who was speaking at a meeting of the Hanover Parish Council in Lucea on Thursday (May 11), noted that many of the fires...

Representatives from 49 communities in Spanish Town and its environs will rise above the divisive impact of conflicts to participate in the St. Catherine Sports and Culture Extravaganza. The participants and their supporters will converge on the grounds of the GC Foster College of Physical Education and Sports this weekend, May 13 and 14. The extravaganza, which is organized by...

Country Officer for the United Nations Population Fund in Jamaica Mr. Harold Robinson, has assured Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller that the UNFPA will continue to support the programme of activities by Jamaica to achieve the objectives of the development agenda and the Millennium Development Goals by. He gave this assurance during a courtesy call on the Prime Minister at...

The first six of 40 state-of-the-art boats, to boost the capacity of the Marine Police to patrol the island's coastal waters, is expected in the island within the next eight weeks. National Security Minister, Dr. Peter Phillips, who signed the US$5 million contract for the vessels at his Oxford Road office in Kingston this morning (May 12), said that the...

Minister of State for Housing, Water, Transport and Works, Dr. Fenton Ferguson, has said that the National Water Commission (NWC) would be providing water to communities in Portland and St. Mary, which were experiencing inadequate supplies as a result of the drought conditions affecting the country. The State Minister, who gave the assurance during a familiarization tour of water supply...

Cabinet has approved a contract in the amount of US$13.7 million for civil works at the Kingston Container Terminal. This was disclosed by Information and Development Minister, Senator Colin Campbell, at the post-Cabinet press briefing, held at Jamaica House earlier this week. According to the Information Minister, the awarding of the contract formed part of a larger contract to expand...

The musical, based on the classic Jamaican film 'The Harder They Come', is breaking box office records at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, London where it has been playing since March 25. Written by Perry Henzell and directed by Kerry Michael with associate director Dawn Reid, the musical has become the theatre's best-selling musical, with a 94 per cent capacity...

Governor General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Professor Kenneth Hall, has said that teachers should adapt to the changing social economic conditions of students, noting that a good example of an excellent teacher was one who did not take a blanket approach to teaching. "Even in the best universities today, there are opportunities for students with different learning styles and...

The transport sector, in particular the fleet of buses owned by the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), is to be enhanced as a direct result of Jamaica's participation in hosting the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007. Improvements in the service capabilities of several sectors will be accelerated, said Minister of Information and Development, Senator Colin Campbell. Speaking at a recent...