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Members of the Alpart/Essex Valley All Stars football team on Monday (July 21) left for Oslo, Norway, to participate in that country's under-14 football cup competition. The squad will compete with 1,500 teams from 53 countries including Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago and St. Lucia, and return home on August 4. The boys first entered the competition in 1999, and have...

Some 32 young persons are participating in a youth camp at the Northern Caribbean University (NCU) in Mandeville, put on by the Manchester Chamber of Commerce, under its Closed to Crime Initiative. The camp, which began on July 20, last until July 27. The participants will engage in sessions dealing with conflict and anger management, depression, self esteem, sexuality, etiquette...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, has announced that the Government is seeking to re-generate high production of irish potatoes in Jamaica, with assistance from Spain. Speaking recently at a handing over ceremony for the renovated Devon Community Centre in Manchester, the Minister noted that the country once produced all the irish potatoes that it consumed, and...

Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Reginald Budhan, has said that the Government would continue to work closely with the financial sector, to safeguard the integrity of the country's electronic commerce framework. He noted that the sustainability of the electronic transactions, particularly e-commerce, is contingent on a "supportive and responsive" infrastructure, in which "both buyer...

Strengthening youth involvement in agriculture will be a focal point of the Educational Forums, planned as part of the new and exciting features to take place at the Denbigh Agricultural and Industrial Show this year. Staged by the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), with sponsorship from the Ministry of Agriculture, Denbigh 2008 will be held from Friday, August 1 to Sunday,...

Patrons attending the Denbigh Agricultural and Industrial Show this year will be treated to a bigger and better event, as the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) stages a richer and more diverse show from August 1 to 3 on the show grounds in May Pen. "Over 200 general displays will be on show, some of which will be new and upgraded,...

Prime Minister Bruce Golding is advocating greater use of non-custodial sentences for non-violent crimes, and for convictions that might involve some level of violence, but not malicious violence. Addressing a press briefing at Jamaica House, yesterday (July 23), to elaborate on his statement to the House of Representatives regarding legislative measures to strengthen anti-crime initiatives, he said such crimes would...

Acting Commissioner of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), Viralee Lattibeaudiere, has credited the recently instituted tax amnesty for the over-performance of tax collectorates so far this year. One of five departments of tax administration with the primary role of collecting, enforcing compliance and providing taxpayer services, the IRD operates a tax amnesty covering the period April 10 to October 31....

Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, has assured that the Ministry would continue to play a critical role in enhancing the service levels throughout the industry. "With the opening of new hotels and attractions, such as Mystic Mountain, it is imperative that the new staff is equipped to deliver the personalized service, which means raising the service bar. High-tech service, a new...

Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Paula Llewellyn, is calling on the authorities to adopt video link technology as a primary means of improving the witness protection programme and making witnesses more available for criminal matters. "I would love to see video link being introduced through legislation into the methodologies and practices that we can adopt in the criminal law to...

The new Portmore collectorate, which opens its doors on July 28 in the Portmore Pines, will provide much relief for the many persons coming to pay their taxes at the very last moment. "This is to assist us with the rush expected at the end of this month (July), due to the tax amnesty," said Acting Commissioner of the Inland...

Jamaica's new Trade Counsel in Canada, Dr. G. Raymond Chang, was presented with his Instrument of Appointment by Robert Gregory, President of Jamaica Trade and Invest (JTI), on July 21. The presentation was made in Dr. Chang's office in downtown Toronto, Canada, and witnessed by Jamaica's Consul General to Toronto, Anne-Marie Bonner. In January 2008, Minister of Industry, Investment and...