Acting Director General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), Richard Thompson, has hailed Jamaica’s Fire Management Plan as “a very effective and coordinated response mechanism”. In an interview with JIS News, Mr. Thompson argues that compared to other countries, Jamaica’s national response system and protocol has been tested and proven to be sound and of the...

The Students’ Loan Bureau (SLB) is taking its services to new and returning customers outside of Kingston and St. Andrew through its ‘SLB on the road’ outreach programme between Monday, April 28 and Friday, May 2. The programme will be facilitated at the University of the West Indies Western Campus at Dome Street, Montego Bay and the University of Technology...

The number of rooms in the hotel sector has been boosted by an additional 140 units, with the opening of the first Sensatori Hotel by Karisma Hotel and Resorts, in Negril, Westmoreland, on April 28. Karisma owns and manages five other Sensatori Resorts in the world, with Sensatori Negril being the first of the group to be established in the...

Representative of the University of Pennsylvania are in the island on a three-day visit to explore opportunities for providing financial aid to high school student athletes. The visit follows last week-end’s historic celebration of Jamaica's 50th year of participation in the Penn Relays. "This is a welcomed and timely outreach effort,” Minister Neita Headley said, adding: “it will allow a...

The journey to the Tobacco Regulations under the Jamaica Public Health Act has been a long but satisfying one for persons who have played key roles in their enactment. These include Special Advisor to the Minister of Health on Tobacco Control, Dr. Eva Lewis-Fuller, who shared with JIS News the history of the journey. The impact of tobacco use was...

On May 21, Jamaica will join several other countries around the world, which have Poet Laureates appointed by their governments. On that day, distinguished academic, University of the West Indies (UWI) Professor Emeritus, Mervyn Morris, who has been selected for the prestigious position, will receive the official Badge of Office, thereby formalising his appointment. Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon....

Minister of Labour and Social Security, Hon. Derrick Kellier, has called for more places of work to be covered by the Factories Act. He says this is especially important for the 58,000 country’s household workers, in order to give them the necessary protection against harmful chemicals. The Minister pointed out that currently only 2.3 per cent of workplaces are operating...