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Relief supplies for Tropical Storm Gustav victims, were officially handed over to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Dr. Kenneth Baugh, by the Ambassador of Spain to Jamaica, Jesus Silva, at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, yesterday (Sept. 5). The shipment, valued at approximately US$50,000, consisted of large tarpaulins, hygiene kits, blankets and...

Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, has announced that $15 million has been allocated by his Ministry, for the extensive refurbishing of the Wait-a-bit multi-purpose building located in southern Trelawny. Addressing a group of farmers in the community during a tour of sections of the yam-producing parish on September 3, Dr. Tufton said that the allocation was part of the...

The Bog Walk Gorge, which suffered massive scouring from flood waters during the passage of Tropical Storm Gustav, should be fully restored by month-end. This commitment was given by Transport and Works Minister Michael Henry during a tour of that winding roadway earlier yesterday (Sept. 6). Minister Henry told JIS News that Bouygues Travaux Publics Jamaica Limited had offered to...

The Mandeville-based Hospicare Education and Vocational Training Institute recently turned out 32 practical nurses with City and Guilds International Vocational Qualification (IVQ) in Health Care. This was the first set of practical nurses in the Caribbean to receive certification by the United Kingdom's leader of vocational qualifications. Last September, the school received approval from the British institution to offer their...

The 16-month old Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF), the world's first and only multi-nation catastrophe risk fund, was adjudged the Reinsurance Initiative of the Year, at the 2008 Review Worldwide Reinsurance Awards on Thursday (Sept. 4) in London. The award is for the re-insurance initiative, that has generated the most promising change to a significant area of business, by...

In its bid to provide increased travelling options for commuters, come Monday (September 8), the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC), will be implementing a number of changes to its shuttle transfer routes. Marketing and Sales Manager at the JUTC, Lenworth Simms, explained that as of Monday, commuters who take the 500, 600, 700, and 800 shuttles, will be able to...

Sixty yam farmers from Albert Town, Wait-a-Bit, and other yam-producing areas of South Trelawny, have been selected to spearhead the restoration of two popular varieties of yam. They are the sweet, and negro yams, which have been challenged and severely affected by the Nematodes and Anthraxnose diseases. According to the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, who was addressing farmers...

Chief Justice, Zaila McCalla, is calling on media practitioners, to acquire a working knowledge of the court system, to better ensure that information is accurately disseminated to the public. "I make bold to say that a news reporter ought to be concerned, not only with the special desires of news editors and directors of news, but also with the presentation...

Most schools in Portland have reported a successful start for the new academic year, despite the dislocations caused by the passage of Tropical Storm Gustav. Among the schools reporting a smooth start are: Port Antonio High, Titchfield High, Buff Bay High, Port Antonio Primary, Fellowship Primary and Junior High, Ken Wright Primary, and Drapers All-age. Several Principals told JIS News...

Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, on Wednesday (September 3), officially launched the National 'Eat Yam' Campaign, in Albert Town, Trelawny. The campaign is aimed at encouraging and engendering greater consumption and appreciation of yam, and its value, by more Jamaicans, as well as augmenting the 'Eat What We Grow, Grow What We Eat' initiative. Speaking to farmers in South...

Jamaica's newly appointed Consul General to the Southern United States, Sandra Grant-Griffiths, assumed her position on September 2, at the Consulate in downtown Miami. She will be responsible for consular affairs in the region's 13 Southern states. Mrs. Grant-Griffiths succeeds Ricardo Allicock, who returned to Jamaica to take up the position of Director of Protocol, in the Ministry of Foreign...

Optimists from all over the Caribbean will gather in Ocho Rios from Friday, September 5 to Sunday September 7, 2008, for the Annual Convention of The Caribbean District of Optimist International. Friday will see the Lieutenant Governors for the 2008-2009 Administrative Year being taken through the paces in training seminars which will equip them for their year in office. The...