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Prime Minister the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, departs today, June 18, for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, referred to as Rio+20, in Rio de Janiero, Brazil. Accompanying the Prime Minister are the Hon. Robert Pickersgill, Minister of Water, Housing, Environment and Climate Change; and Ms Onika Miller, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister. The...

Financial Consultant, Renée Anne Shirley, has been appointed the new Executive Director of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO). Her appointment, which became effective June 12, was announced recently by JADCO’s Board Chairman, Dr. Herb Elliott, and follows a short stint as Senior Advisor to Local Government and Community Development Minister, Hon. Noel Arscott, between January and May. Established in 2005,...

After leading the Washington-based Jamaican Women of Washington (JWoW) as founder and the driving force behind that organisation’s work for 10 years, President, Dr. Jackie Watson, has announced that she will be stepping aside. Anyone in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia who is familiar with JWoW, its mission and work, knows that its name is synonymous to that of its...

Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, has stated the OAS’ commitment to strengthening inter-cultural relations with Jamaica. “It is of vital importance for such a collaboration to commence as both the OAS and Jamaica will benefit immensely,” he stated while launching an art exhibition to celebrate Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of Independence on June 11 at...

Minister of Tourism and Entertainment, Hon. Dr. Wykeham McNeill, has appealed for more collaboration within the tourism sector in the Caribbean, with a view to speaking with one voice on all issues affecting the sector. Declaring open the joint Caribbean Tourism Summit and Outlook Seminar, at the Ritz Carlton Golf and Spa Resort in Montego Bay, on June 15, the...

The International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Tackling Child Labour Through Education (TACKLE) project, has been successful in achieving the withdrawal of some 130 Jamaican children from child labour activities. Head of Economics, Delegation of the European Union (EU) in Jamaica, Helen Jenkinson, made the announcement at the World Day Against Child Labour event hosted by the Ministry of Labour and Social...

Past President of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA), Sadie Comrie, has a strong belief in serving others through teaching. She says her desire to enter the teaching profession came from the influence of an aunt, also a teacher, who inspired her to make a difference. “From growing up…I just liked to help, and to work in those rural communities with...

Former principal of the Seaview Primary School in St. Elizabeth, Lorna Wright, is calling for more Jamaicans to volunteer their time and talents to helping the less fortunate. The 39-year veteran of the education system, who was among 40 teachers honoured with the Prime Minister’s Medal of Appreciation, gives freely of her time to assist others through the Lion’s Club...

I wish to express my deep sadness and profound regret at the passing of one of Jamaica’s outstanding early international track and field athlete, George Kerr. George Kerr, who hailed from Trelawny, a parish which has produced so many of our outstanding track athletes, was an excellent standard bearer for Jamaica, who excelled at a sport which was dear to...

MONTEGO BAY - Prime Minister the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, has underscored the importance of tourism to the economy of Jamaica, noting that the sector is one of the main planks of the government’s development agenda. She said that Jamaica has cemented its place as a global leader in tourism, through its full membership in the United Nations World...

KINGSTON - The Board of Supervision (BOS) of the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development is putting in place an identification system, as it looks to more adequately meet the needs of Jamaica’s homeless. National Homelessness Coordinator, Damion Campbell, told JIS News that the system, which is currently in the implementation phase, will be used to identify and monitor...

LONDON - High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK), Her Excellency Aloun Ndombet-Assamba, has assured UK-based Jamaicans that plans by the Government to replace Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as Head of State, will not impact the country economically or charge its relationship with the Commonwealth. Mrs. Ndombet Assamba gave the assurance as she delivered the keynote address at the...