The Minister of Health and Wellness Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, has said that the Ministry will continue to collaborate with international partners and agencies, while more research is conducted on the newest coronavirus (COVID-19) variant, Omicron. Dr. Tufton was speaking at a virtual COVID Conversations press briefing recently. There, he announced that a traveller from Jamaica to the United...

The Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) in 2022, will continue to inform, educate and empower consumers, so that they will be better able to protect themselves in the marketplace. Speaking at a JIS Think Tank, Chief Executive Officer of the CAC Dolsie Allen, says special focus will be placed on consumers and the producers. “In terms of consumer education, we are...

Retired Chairman of the Rio Tinto Alcan Legacy Scholarship Steering Committee, Rev. Lenworth Sterling, was recently honoured by his peers for unstinting service and outstanding contributions to agriculture and education through his leadership of that body. Member of the committee and stakeholder partner, the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, presented Rev. Sterling, a retired educator, with a citation and commemorative plaque during...

Stakeholders and participants in the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Information’s robotics workshop are hoping the new year will bring another staging of the programme, as they have deemed it a fulfilling and worthwhile project which teaches a valuable skill. The robotics initiative formed part of the Ministry’s Enrichment Programme which was designed to provide students who perform differently from...

The leadership of unions/bargaining units signing agreements on behalf of civil servants for the Government’s four per cent salary increase offer for April 2021 to March 2022, is anticipating seamless implementation of the Public Sector Compensation Review, and have committed to working to facilitate this. The review, slated to begin in April 2022, is intended to overhaul the structure of...

For nearly 200 years, farmlands within 15 miles of the Long Pond Sugar Factory in Clarks Town, Trelawny, were dedicated to cane cultivation. Since the decline in the factory’s fortunes, farmers and their families in the neighbouring districts of Crawle, Georgia, Hyde Park, Parnassus, Swanswick, and Jackson Town have been seeking alternative livelihoods, particularly against the background of the emergence...

The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) is seeking to promote digital art through its Jamaica Visual Arts Competition and Exhibition. The event was open to artists, six years and older, who are Jamaican citizens or have been residing in Jamaica for a period of not less than two years at the closing date for entries. Entries were accepted in seven...

Outstanding students from Chetwood Memorial Primary School in St. James dominated the essay component of the 2021 Jamaica Information Service (JIS) Heritage Competition, with students placing first, second and third. They also copped three of the six category certificate awards in the essay component. The star student who edged out her competitors to win the essay competition, 11-year-old Okaejah Stephens,...

One hundred and fifty years ago, the Jamaica Fire Service was established after the city of Kingston was affected by a series of large fires. The service was officially launched in October 1871 to address the country’s need for an organised fire service. The first fire brigade was established under the Kingston and St. Andrew Fire Brigade Act with others...