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Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness. (FILE)

Jamaica and T&T in Talks to Acquire Ship

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, says discussions have been held with his counterpart in Trinidad and Tobago about co-sponsoring a ship that will provide relief to Caribbean nations during times of emergencies. He made the disclosure during the...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, during the sitting of the House of Representatives on Tuesday (September 12).

House Approves National Identification and Registration Bill

Minister of Health, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (right), in dialogue with (from left): Chief Medical Officer, Ministry of Health, Dr. Winston De La Haye; PAHO/WHO Representative for Jamaica, Bermuda and Cayman Islands, Dr. Noreen Jack; FAO Representative in Jamaica, The Bahamas and Belize, Dr. Gillian Smith; and UNICEF Representative in Jamaica, Mark Connolly, at the launch of the 2017 National Breastfeeding Week & Conference, held at Jamaica Conference Centre on September 19.

Health Minister Says National Infant Feeding Policy Coming

Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Lt. Col. Oral Khan (right), is in discussion with Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Japan, Shinichi Yamanaka (left). Occasion was the opening ceremony for a week-long capacity-building workshop for Caribbean Small Island Developing States on achieving Aichi Biodiversity Target 9 of the Convention on Biological Diversity at the Courtleigh Hotel in New Kingston on September 18. Looking on at (centre) is Programme Officer of Science, Assessment and Monitoring at the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Junko Shimura.

Jamaica Taking Action Against Invasive Alien Species

Senior Advisor to the Minister of Transport and Mining, Mr. Bindley Sangster (right); and Chief Technical Director in the Ministry, Dr. Janine Dawkins (centre), listen to Chairman of the Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ), Mrs. Corah-Ann Robertson Sylvester (left), at the MAJ’s 16th anniversary awards ceremony, held recently at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston. Seated is Mr. Sangster’s wife, Janet.

Transport Minister wants Jamaica Re-Elected to IMO Council

Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid (3rd left) and Quality Education Specialist, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Dr. Rebecca Tortello Greenland (2nd right), observe as grade-seven students at Cumberland High School complete a written activity. (FILE)

9 years ago Education

Education Ministry To Make Physical Activity Mandatory For Schools

Education, Youth and Information Minister, Senator the Hon. Ruel Reid, says that schools across the island will be mandated to institute a physical activity programme for students at all levels. “They must have... a programme for exercise that promotes good, healthy lifestyles for all grade levels. From grades seven right through to 13, and certainly at the early-childhood institutions, we...

Minister of Health, Dr the Hon. Christopher Tufton (right), converses with (from left) Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO)/WHO) Representative for Jamaica, Bermuda and Cayman Islands, Dr. Noreen Jack; Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative in Jamaica, The Bahamas and Belize, Dr. Gillian Smith; and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative in Jamaica, Mark Connolly. Occasion was the National Breastfeeding Week conference and launch at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston, on September 19.

9 years ago Health & Wellness

The Breast is Best

Minister of Health, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton has reiterated calls for mothers to consider exclusive breastfeeding of their babies for the first six months of life in order to reduce infant mortality and morbidity rates. He noted that appropriate breastfeeding practices have the potential to lower infant mortality in children five years old and younger by 14 percent, while...

Minister of Labour and Social Security; Shahine Robinson, greets a Jamaican evacuated from the British Virgin Islands (BVI) by the Government, following the devastation caused by Hurricane Irma. She arrived on one of two chartered flights from the BVI, which landed at the Norman Manley International Airport on September 18.

9 years ago

Gov’t Evacuates Jamaicans from British Virgin Islands

The Government has stepped in to evacuate Jamaican nationals living in the British Virgin Islands following the passage of Hurricane Irma and ahead of the impending Hurricane Maria. The Category 5 storm is expected to impact islands already devastated by Irma last week. On Monday (September 18), some 50 persons arrived at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston on...

Member of the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament, Sarah Champion (left), raises a point to Government Senator, Dr. Sapphire Longmore (right). Also pictured (from second left) are Opposition Senator, Dr. Floyd Morris; Steve Reid; and Lord Goddard of Stockport. The four-member delegation from the UK Parliament was visiting the Randolph Lopez School of Hope in Kingston on Monday (September 18).

9 years ago Foreign Affairs

UK Members of Parliament Laud Work of School of Hope

Members of the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament have lauded the Randolph Lopez School of Hope for the work it has been doing over the years to equip intellectually challenged students with the necessary skills to become functionally independent. During a visit to the school in Kingston on September 18, Head of the delegation, Phillip Hollobone, told JIS News that he...

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie. (FILE)

9 years ago Local Government

Gov’t to Make Evacuations Mandatory

Minister of Local Government and Community Development, Hon. Desmond McKenzie, says the Government will be putting regulations in place to allow for mandatory evacuations in times of natural disaster. He said the regulations, which are far advanced, will make the Disaster Risk Management Act more effective, particularly in relation to compulsory evacuations from areas deemed vulnerable to severe weather such...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness.

9 years ago Office of the Prime Minister

Jamaica Stands Ready to Assist Caribbean Islands Impacted by Hurricanes – PM Holness

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says Jamaica will provide whatever assistance it can to Caribbean nations impacted by major hurricanes that have battered the Eastern Caribbean islands. Speaking this morning (September 19), Prime Minister Holness said, "I am in touch with the Prime Ministers from the eastern Caribbean. Our prayers are with them as they seek to recover from these tragedies....

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness (2nd left), addresses journalists during the Government of Jamaica (GOJ)/International Monetary Fund (IMF) joint press conference for the country

9 years ago Finance & Public Service

Economic and Structural Reforms Must be Expedited – PM

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has underscored the need for the Government’s programme of economic and structural reforms, now under way, to be expedited. This, he said, is imperative if Jamaica is to achieve economic independence and reduce its reliance on external assistance for funding support. “We no longer have the luxury of delay,” he noted. Mr. Holness...