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Vice President of the People's Republic of China, His Excellency Zeng Qinghong, arrived in Jamaica today (February 1), following a three-day visit to Trinidad and Tobago. The Vice President is on his first official visit to the island to attend the China-Caribbean Economic and Trade Co-operation Forum, which will be held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston from February...

Rafts men operating on the Rio Grande River in Portland have received cheques totalling $680,000 to enable them to revive their operations after setbacks caused by Hurricane Ivan last September. The money came from the Tourism Development Fund, which was set up by government to provide grant assistance for tourism-related businesses. The fund is administered by the Jamaica Business Development...

The Land and Environment Ministry has pledged to have its proposed National Minerals Policy before Parliament by year-end. Director of the Ministry's Mine Monitoring Unit, Oral Rainford told JIS News that the policy titled, 'The Minerals Industry: Ensuring a Sustainable Minerals Industry' would serve to improve standards within the industry, especially the quarrying sector, and create a level playing field...

Lilian Miller, a seventy-year-old resident of the York Town community in Southwest Clarendon has received a single unit house, as a result of a partnership between Food for the Poor and the Poor Relief Department of the Clarendon Parish Council. The Unit is valued at approximately J$124, 000 (US$2,000). In a JIS News interview, Ms. Miller expressed her gratitude for...

The Manchester Health Department (MHD) will be staging a series of community meetings in the parish from February 6 to 12, as part of activities to mark 'Safer Sex Week'. The first meeting will be held in the Greenvale community on February 7, beginning at 6:00 p.m. The Jamaica Information Service will assist in the staging of this event, which...

Some 170 males from the environs of Hayes in Clarendon, representing 12 communities, are to participate in a recently reorganized Community Football League, sponsored by Jamalco. The League was launched recently at the Vere Technical High School in that parish. Guest Speaker Peter Prendergast, President of the Jamaica Football Referees Association (JFRA) urged the participants to break down the political...

The eighteenth staging of the St. Mary Agri Expo will be held at the James Bond Beach in Oracabessa from March 27-28. This year's show will be held under the theme: 'Agriculture and Tourism: A Partnership for Progress'. It was cancelled last year due to the outbreak of the Mocho Disease, which affected the banana industry. The show is being...

To raise the level of awareness among young people on major environmental issues and the importance of conservation and resource management, the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) recently held a special seminar for schools at the Ridgemount United Church in Mandeville. In her address, CAC Chief Executive Officer, Dolsie Allen underscored the need for all consumers, including students to do their...

The Edwin Allen High School in North Clarendon has launched a development fund, in an effort to provide financial assistance for educational and developmental projects at the school, as well as to assist needy students. The launch took place on Friday (January 29) at an awards luncheon at the Golf View Hotel in Mandeville, where some 92 retired persons, long...

The Old Harbour Church of God of Prophecy in St. Catherine has opened a $2.5 million wellness centre to provide healthcare services to residents of that community, particularly the elderly. The facility, located at 47 Bowers Drive, is being operated in partnership with the National Council for Senior Citizens (NCSC). Myrtle Hutchinson, project committee member, told JIS News that the...

The Ministry of Agriculture will be spending $220 million as part of its effort to revitalise agricultural production, following the devastation caused by Hurricane Ivan last year September. Giving the main address at the launch of the St. Mary Agri Expo 2005 at the Beaches Boscobel Resort and Golf Club in St. Mary on January 29, Minister of Agriculture, Roger...

Wayne McCook, Senior Director in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade has said that private sector response to the upcoming China-Caribbean Economic Co-operation Trade Forum has been so overwhelming, that they have had to close registration for the event. Speaking with JIS News following a press conference to brief journalists on the schedule for the upcoming China-Caribbean Economic...