The Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management wishes to advise that as at 10.00am today the following schools were closed due to the continued smoke nuisance resulting from the fire at the Riverton City Dump. The schools are:   Region One (Corporate Area) -       Dupont Primary -       Duhaney Park Primary -       Pembroke Hall High -       Coburn Gardens Primary &...

The Jamaica Customs Agency (JCA) is denying reports that the ports in Kingston were closed for three days due to the effects of the smog emanating from the fire at the Riverton disposal site. Chief Executive Officer of the JCA, Major Richard Reese, said no significant disruption was experienced at the ports. He told JIS News that the Adolph Levy...

As extinguishing and cooling down operations continue at the Riverton City Disposal Site, the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) is reminding persons that there could be periodic increases in smoke levels across sections of the Corporate Area and St. Catherine. Steady progress continues to be realised as the Jamaica Fire Brigade maintains 24-hour operations with the sustained...

The Office of the Children’s Registry (OCR) is reporting a drop in the number of children reported missing in 2014. Registrar of the OCR, Greig Smith, tells JIS News that there has been a 10 per cent decline in the number of children reported missing for the period January to December 2014 when compared to the corresponding period in 2013....

Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Hon. Anthony Hylton, says the second staging of the Jamaica Investment Forum (JIF) was a “definite success” and exceeded expectations. “I believe that we have, to use a baseball term, hit a home run or in cricket, a six,” the Minister said. He was speaking as the curtain came down on the two-day event...

The Jamaica Information Service (JIS) is to receive an increased budgetary allocation of $170.6 million for capital expenditure in the 2015/2016 Budget to relocate the Television Department to premises at 5-9 South Odeon Avenue in Kingston. “The Television Department can no longer be accommodated at the premises at Caenwood Centre, Arnold Road, which is owned by the Ministry of Education,”...

The Ministry of Health has spent $22 million as part of an ongoing communication and public education campaign on Ebola preparedness, to increase public awareness on the signs, symptoms and modes of transmission of the Ebola virus. The campaign, which began October 2014, incorporates a variety of public communication methods to disseminate information about diseases, including Ebola. Several Jamaica Urban...