More

The National Youth Service (NYS) will be spearheading island wide church services and a public lecture as part of activities to mark Youth Month, which is being observed throughout November. Speaking with JIS News, Executive Director of the NYS, Rev. Adinhair Jones said that the NYS, throughout the years has put aside a day to highlight issues and concerns related...

Finance Minister, Audley Shaw, has assured that the Net International Reserves (NIR), which is now at US$1.8 billion, is in a healthy shape and is just about the same as it was in December last year. Addressing the annual general meeting of the U-Drive Association of Jamaica at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel in Kingston on Thursday (Nov.13), the...

Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, has encouraged United Kingdom-based Jamaicans to invest in the country, especially in the tourism sector, which he says, is ripe with opportunities. Speaking at a packed community meeting in London last night (Nov.13), which was organised by the Jamaican High Commission, Mr. Bartlett said that the Diaspora has always responded positively to Jamaica in terms of...

Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, last night (Nov. 13) assured Jamaicans in London of the Government's commitment to Air Jamaica, noting that the national carrier would not "fade away". Responding to a newspaper story, which said that there was no clear plan for the future of the airline if the divestment process failed, Mr. Bartlett said Air Jamaica would remain an...

Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, has assured that the Government is ready to provide full support to the fisheries sector, and urged fishers to register, as information on their activities is a necessary basis for planning and action. Dr. Tufton was speaking at the final public consultation on the draft fisheries policy, which was held at the Medallion Hall...

The Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD) will be intensifying its efforts to ensure that children with disabilities have equal access to education. In an interview with JIS News, Acting Executive Director of the JCPD, Valerie Spence, said that with an increase in the number of disabled students being rejected by school authorities, the organisation will be more vigilant...

Assistant Education Officer in the Ministry of Education, Mary Nichols, has appealed to young people to "stop and think" before they decide to become parents. "I'm really encouraging young people, who are sexually active, to stop and think about the act before you become a parent, because it is much more than the act. It is actually a life and...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, yesterday (Nov.13) informed that relative calm has returned to the local foreign exchange market. "This week, you would have noticed, barring a little upward movement by a few cents or downward by a few cents, the dollar is stabilising and it is very important that I encourage all stakeholders to support...

Debate on the death penalty continued in the House of Representatives on Wednesday (Nov. 12) with State Minister in the Ministry of Water and Housing, Everald Warmington, arguing that should Jamaica resume hangings, it would descend to the level of murderers. "I don't believe that any civilised society should descend to the level of murderers to commit the same murder...

Cabinet has approved the appointment of Heather Pinnock, Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Water and Housing, to the Board of Directors of the Housing Agency of Jamaica, which replaces the National Housing Development Corporation. The other Board members are: David Chung (Chairman); Christopher Stone; Norman Brown; Conrad Pitkin; Emory Woodstock; George Patrick Corrodus; Wayne Ebanks; Genefa Hibbert; Sylvester...

In light of recent violent attacks on children, Assistant Chief Education Officer in the Guidance and Counselling Unit of the Ministry of Education, Mary Nichols, is appealing to parents to get their children acquainted with self-defense techniques. "We should start teaching our children self defense. We have to really get into some serious self defense techniques and allow our children...

Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, has said that the Ministry will be working with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to develop a pilot for a new financing facility for farmers. The development of this model forms part of the Ministry's plans to strategically reposition itself by restructuring several bodies for which it has responsibility, and specifically to dissolve...