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Cabinet has mandated the Human Resource Committee to reconsider the minimum standard of living below which no Jamaican should live, as a guiding barometer in the fight to eliminate poverty. Prime Minister P.J. Patterson said this was one of the decisions taken at the recently concluded Cabinet retreat. He was speaking on Monday (Jan. 9) at the post cabinet retreat...

The Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Professor Richard Feachem has congratulated Jamaica for the programme of activities implemented by the government in the fight against AIDS. The Executive Director said he and the other members of the delegation from the Global Fund were impressed by what they had seen during their visit to...

Prime Minister P.J. Patterson has called for prompt action to be taken to expand the power generating capacity of the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) to avoid load shedding. The Prime Minister, who was addressing a post Cabinet retreat press conference at Jamaica House yesterday (Jan. 9), said that a decision had to be taken immediately to increase the capacity of...

The governments of Jamaica and the United States have signed a statement of intent for the establishment of a state-of-the-art seismograph station at Pike, Manchester, which is one of nine to be set up throughout the Caribbean. Minister of Land and Environment, Dean Peart and United States Ambassador Brenda Johnson, signed the relevant documents this morning at the Ministry's Half-Way-Tree...

A United States medical team is slated to visit Jamaica from January 13 to 22, where they will offer free healthcare to residents in communities throughout the island. The nine-day mission is being facilitated by the Organization for International Development (OID), which is headed by Dr. Roy Streete, a Jamaican dentist based in the Bronx, New York. According to Dr....

Jamaica will hand over chairmanship of the Group of 77 & China (G-77 & China) to South Africa during an official ceremony at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York City on Thursday, January 12. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, K.D. Knight will hand over the Instrument of Authority, signaling the change of chairmanship, to Dr. Nkosazana...

President of the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), Patricia Francis has emphasised that in order for the value of the country's exports to increase significantly, there has to be a radical change in the kinds of products that are exported. Expounding on this view in a JIS News interview, Mrs. Francis says: "Because if you think about what happens in a...

Mayor of Port Antonio, Councillor Rupert Kelly, has said that the Portland Parish Council will be lobbying for the early resumption of banana exports from the Boundbrook wharf. The shipment of bananas from the facility ended in December after a decision by the Banana Export Company (BECo) to shift the operation to Kingston, with the Boundbrook wharf now only responsible...

Since its establishment in 2002, the Peace Management Initiative (PMI), through its interventions, has contributed significantly to the diffusion of violence in several communities, particularly in the Corporate Area, enabling thousands of residents to go about their daily chores freely. Vice Chairman of the PMI, Donna Parchment, tells JIS News that the PMI has been able to help communities, such...

History will record the significance of January 2006 to the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM). On January 1, the CARICOM Single Market (CSM) took effect, signalling the formal establishment of the newest trade bloc. In January also, the region will be clearer as to the mandate of the CARICOM Development Fund after President of the Caribbean Development Bank, Professor...

It is not by chance that the University of the West Indies (UWI) has been chosen as the venue for the symbolic signing of the CARICOM Single Market (CSM), will take place in late January. The fact is that both institutions share a symbiotic relationship.In 1965 when the leaders of Barbados, British Guiana and Antigua and Barbuda signed an agreement...

The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is imploring Jamaicans to conduct what it calls 'hazard hunts', as part of the preparation for earthquakes.The appeal comes on the eve of Earthquake Awareness Week, which is being observed from January 8 to 13. Director of Information and Training at ODPEM, Nadine Newsome told a JIS 'Think Tank' on January...