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Following the tremendous success of the inaugural Jamaican Diaspora Conference in June 2004, plans are well underway for the staging of this year's event. Chairman of the Diaspora Conference organising committee, Douglas Orane said this year's event was projected to be even bigger and better than the first staging of the conference. The second Jamaican Diaspora Conference, which is being...

The Jamaica Business Development Centre (JBDC) through its retailing outlet, Things Jamaican, will showcase the work of 15 of the island's leading artisans at the Houston International Festival (IFEST), which begins on April 21. The range of products to be displayed include knitted and glass items, aromatherapy, clay, ceramic and wood products. Purchasing and Marketing Officer for Things Jamaican, Helen...

Calabash International Literary Festival returns for its annual staging next month, and festival founder, Colin Channer, promises that this year's event, while having much of its original flavour, will appeal to a more diverse audience. "It is going to present many of the things that people like, and we are going to be doing some new things. It is going...

The Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) is inviting homeowners with ample room and board, and are interested in accommodating visitors in their homes, to register for its Bed and Breakfast Home Stay Programme. Lorna Dunkley, Licensing and Processing Manager for TPDCo in her address at a 'Bowling for Business Workshop' held in Mandeville recently, said that bed and breakfast accommodations...

The Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is reporting that School Resource Officers (SROs) have intervened in some 74 disputes involving students, since the start of the year. Statistics released by the Safe Schools Secretariat revealed that between January 1 and April 2006, a total of four guns, 128 other offensive weapons and 64 packets of marijuana were removed from the island's...

The Castleton Gardens in St. Mary have been restored, following the devastation caused by Hurricanes Ivan, Dennis and Emily. The gardens, which were established in 1862, are bordered by the Wag Water River and remains a national attraction for visitors to the parish. Restoration of the facility was done between May and September of last year, and was carried out...

Thousands of Jamaicans as well as visitors to the island flooded the streets of Albert Town on Easter Monday (April 17) for the staging of the annual Trelawny Yam Festival. The event, which is organized by the Southern Trelawny Environmental Agency (STEA) serves to showcase the high quality yam varieties produced in the parish and saw farmers and vendors displaying...

The Ministry of Local Government and Environment is to expend some $10 million this fiscal year towards the maintenance of minor water supply schemes. The project, provision for which is included in the 2006/07 Estimates of Expenditure now before the House of Representatives, is aimed at improving the management and governance of minor water supply systems that are operated by...

The Improving Governance Through Citizen Security and Participation project has been allocated $140 million in the 2006/07 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives, to assist the government to address the challenges of democracy and good governance. The project, which is being implemented by the Ministry of National Security, will seek to build on programmes under the previous...

The Ministry of Local Government and Environment's Parish Infrastructure Project (PIP), has been allotted an additional $60 million to further its activities over the new financial year. This money is set aside in the 2006/07 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. The sum will be expended to facilitate the completion of at least six priority laws for...

Sums totalling more than $102.6 million have been allocated to the Ministry of Tourism, Entertainment and Culture for the tourism product development and services portfolio. This is contained in the 2006/07 Estimates of Expenditure, now before the House of Representatives. Of this amount, the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) has been allocated more than $77.5 million for training, beautification projects,...

Reverend Dr. Alfred Reid, Lord Bishop for the Anglican Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, has decried the country's high homicide rate as "unnatural" and a "presumptuous defiance of God, the giver of life". "What is happening now may well be defined as most foul, because it has a peculiar demonic quality of violence, malevolence, heartlessness, capriciousness and terror....