The Government of Japan is providing $57 million in grant funding to Jamaica for improvements at the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ), including the procurement of audiovisual equipment and upgrading of exhibitions. Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, and her Japanese counterpart, His Excellency Mr. Shinzo Abe, signed the funding agreement on Wednesday (September 30) at Jamaica House following...

Minister of Youth and Culture, Hon. Lisa Hanna, says no one will be allowed to put up any building in the Blue and John Crow Mountains, which has been designated Jamaica’s first World Heritage Site and the Caribbean’s first World Heritage Mixed (cultural and natural value) Site. Speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’ on September  29,  the Minister made it...

The Jamaica Legion will recognise Jamaicans, who lost their lives during the World Wars I and II and raise funds to support ex-servicemen, through its annual poppy appeal in October. Hundreds of thousands of poppies are expected to be distributed in honour of loyal Jamaicans, who answered the call to fight for freedom and democracy. The fundraising campaign will officially...

The Government has contracted Citibank to provide coverage for eight million barrels of crude imports over an 18-month period, under its hedge programme. Hedging is an investment position used to reduce substantial losses that could be incurred based on actual or perceived fluctuating developments. The arrangement with Citibank covers the period from June 2015 to December 2016, and for which...

The Jamaica Cancer Society is reporting that more men are heeding the call to take Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) tests and Digital Rectal Examinations (DRE) for prostate cancer. In an interview with JIS News, Executive Director of the Jamaica Cancer Society, Yulit Gordon, said the response was largely due to women wanting to get the men in their lives screened....

Head of the National Land Agency (NLA), Elizabeth Stair, is praising the Public Sector Customer Service Competition as an excellent opportunity for public sector agencies to monitor the type and quality of service offerings to citizens. She said that the feedback provided from participation in the competition is “an excellent mirror” in that “it lets you know where you are...

Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) President, Sir Dennis Byron, is expressing satisfaction with the achievements of the court, which is marking a decade of existence this year. In an interview with JIS News, Sir Byron said during its 10 years of operation, the CCJ has exceeded many of its expectations. “Although we have only had four countries joining the final...