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The House of Representatives has given the nod to a Bill amending the Larceny Act, to give force to new legislative provisions specifically targeted at stemming the rise in extortion practices in the island. The Bill seeks to make it an offence for a person to make unwarranted demands with menaces in order to gain a benefit or cause loss...

An update on changes to the Civil Service Establishment for 2005 has been presented to the House of Representatives. Finance and Planning State Minister, Fitz Jackson who moved the resolution for the changes to the Civil Service Establishment Order, 2005 to be affirmed by the House, yesterday (November 1), said the Order reflected changes in at least three areas -...

Young people from several communities in St. Catherine are to benefit from the setting up of a dehydration plant for the drying and processing of fruits for local and overseas markets. The dehydration plant is one of several projects being developed at the Commodore Business Development Centre in Bog Walk, through support from the United States Agency for International Development...

Manchester pig farmer Nordie Smith is the recipient of two purebred Yorkshire pigs valued at some $50,000 from the Jamaica Pig Farmers Association, for being the most improved pig farmer for the year. Mr. Smith, who was presented with his award at a special function held at the Ministry of Agriculture's Old Hope Road offices in Kingston today (Nov. 2),...

The Moy Hall Coffee Factory in Cedar Valley, St. Thomas has started distributing fertilizer to coffee farmers whose crops were damaged and who lost land due to land slippages caused by heavy rains associated with Hurricane Wilma. Manager of the Blue Mountain Coffee Cooperative, O'Neil Blake, told JIS News that the product was being distributed by the factory's extension services...

St. Elizabeth Homecoming 2005 got underway this morning (Nov.2), with an official launching ceremony at the Medallion Hall Hotel in Kingston. The month of activities is being observed under the theme: 'Building success from within, the challenge for St. Elizabeth,' and will reach out to schools and communities, while highlighting the versatility of residents. Chief Executive Officer for the St....

A Brazilian agriculturalist with specialization in the area of sugar and ethanol production will arrive in Jamaica during the course of this month to assist the Jamaican government with soil analysis and evaluation in an effort to identify new sugarcane varieties that may be introduced to the industry, in keeping with the direction of its diversification. The decision was arrived...

Minister of Education, Youth and Culture, Maxine Henry Wilson has emphasized that the country should celebrate those parents who continued to make sacrifices for their children. She said that as the nation celebrated November as Parents Month, it was critical to not only place emphasis on the importance of parents being responsible, but give recognition to caring parents and guardians....

The best of Jamaican food and drink will be on display at Commonwealth Fair 2005 to be held at the Kensington Town Hall in London this Saturday (Nov.5). The event is expected to get underway at 10:30 a.m. and each participating Commonwealth country is expected to mount a stall with handicrafts, produce and culinary delights reflective of the culture and...

Transport and Works Minister, Robert Pickersgill has said that the cost to repair damage to the island's road network as a result of the passage of Hurricane Wilma, would likely exceed the billion-dollar mark. A total 149 roads were damaged due to heavy rains and landslides associated with Hurricane Wilma, with some 22 main roads affected in Clarendon; 12 in...

CARICOM member states are being urged to give equal recognition to social indices as is given to economic indices when gathering and analysing data. "Statistical institutions throughout the region should make a conscious effort to elevate their collection and analysis of social sector issues," Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Omar Davies has emphasised. "We need to monitor social statistics...

Minister of Information, Senator Burchell Whiteman said yesterday (October 31), that Cabinet has given the go-ahead for Jamaica's accession to the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women - Convention of Belem do Para. The Minister, who was addressing journalists at the weekly post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, explained that the Convention, named from...