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The spotlight is set to shine on the country's young people next month, as November will again be celebrated as Youth Month by the National Centre for Youth Development (NCYD). State Minister in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Culture, Dr. Donald Rhodd today (October 26), officially launched the Month at a press briefing, held at the Ministry in Kingston....

Some 16.6 hectares (40 acres) of land have been identified in the Portland Cottage community of South Clarendon to relocate about 200 persons in that area, whose dwellings were severely damaged by Hurricane Ivan on September 10. Danville Walker, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Office of National Reconstruction (ONR) met with residents of Portland Cottage on October 21 to...

Combating terrorism topped the agenda of last week's meeting of Law Ministers from small Commonwealth jurisdictions, which was chaired by Jamaica's Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Senator A. J. Nicholson. The meeting, which took place at the Commonwealth Secretariat in London, United Kingdom (UK) from October 21 to 22, saw the Law Ministers and Attorneys-General exploring the impact of...

Minister of Local Government, Community Development and Sport, Portia Simpson-Miller and a delegation left the island on October 23 for a five-day study tour of the local government system in four provinces in Canada. The tour is the initiative of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and is intended to provide the participants with an understanding of how the municipal...

Several Jamaicans, who lost their houses due to Hurricane Ivan, are to benefit from new dwellings to be constructed by Food for the Poor. The organisation has given its commitment to rebuilding hundreds of homes throughout the island. Bradley Smith, Executive Director of the non-profit organisation, recently told JIS News that following discussions with the government, a decision was arrived...

The government of Jamaica has implemented a programme designed to reduce and overtime eliminate the incidence of persons living on the nation's streets. Dubbed the 'Initiative to Develop and Facilitate the Implementation of Policies and Programmes for the Homeless', the initiative encompasses a number of diverse elements, including the execution of surveys and research, the provision of appropriate shelter facilities,...

Prime Minister P.J. Patterson has broken ground for a US$850 million project at Rose Hall in Montego Bay that will feature the construction of 1,000 new hotel rooms over a five-year period by the Spanish consortium Grupo Iberostar. The project involves the building of three new hotels, the first of which is scheduled for completion by December 2005. Speaking at...

Access has been restored to approximately 98 per cent of all roads across the island, State Minister for Transport and Works, Dr. Fenton Ferguson has said. Speaking at a ceremony to reopen the west bound lane of the Sandy Gully Bridge along Spanish Town yesterday (Oct. 22), Dr. Ferguson disclosed that following the onslaught of Hurricane Ivan, the National Works...

Motorists travelling along Spanish Town Road should face less traffic congestion with the reopening of the westbound lane of the Sandy Gully Bridge on Friday (Oct. 22). Five-year-old Karen Lawes of the Riverton Meadows Basic School in Kingston, was given the honour of cutting the ribbon to officially reopen the bridge, which was closed last September for repairs. The $30...

The Jamaica Fire Brigade will be observing Fire Safety Awareness Week from Sunday, October 24 to Saturday, October 30 under the theme: 'Fire Safety: Develop The Habit'. Observances get underway tomorrow with a national church service at Sts. Peter and Paul church in St. Andrew beginning at 9:00 a.m. Other church services will be held at the New Testament Church...

A 40-foot container load of imported vegetables is expected to arrive in the island early next month, to compensate for the shortfall of local produce in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan. The vegetables are being imported by the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) and the agency's Central Marketing Company will be responsible for distributing the produce to retailers. JAS President, Senator...

Beginning the first week of November, the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) is expected to begin distributing agricultural supplies to farmers who suffered losses as a result of Hurricane Ivan. JAS President, Senator Norman Grant, told JIS News that funding for the effort had come from contribution made to the JAS by the United Way of Jamaica and the Council of...