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There is growing concern about the status of water worldwide, as a result of poor management and utilisation, as well as climate change, said Minister of Water and Housing, Dr. Horace Chang. "There is a growing sense that water, which is critical to civilisation, could become a major concern in this decade as a result of poor management and utilisation,...

A 17-year-old journalism student is this year's recipient of a scholarship donated by Arts and Culture Jamaica (ACJAM) in Toronto, Canada. Cassandra Padmore, a first-year student at Ryerson University, was presented with the award and C$1,000 by founder and immediate past president of ACJAM, Paula de Ronde, at the organisation's biennial Open House, held recently at the Jamaican Consulate General...

All garbage collectors and waste handlers are now required to register with the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA). "The NSWMA, which is mandated by law to regulate solid waste in Jamaica, is initiating this effort to effectively manage solid waste in order to safeguard public health, ensure that all waste is collected, stored, transported and disposed of in an...

Chief of Defence of the Jamaica Defence Force, Major General Stewart Saunders, has expressed confidence that the latest batch of 120 Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) graduates will contribute to change and greater peace and unity in the society. The Chief of Defence who was delivering the keynote address at the passing out parade and awards ceremony for the new constables,...

The National Centre for Youth Development (NCYD) will be culminating Youth Month activities with tomorrow's (Dec. 6) launch of the Marching Band Association of Jamaica at Sam Sharpe Square in Montego Bay in St. James. The launch of the Marching Band Association of Jamaica evolved from the notion that Jamaican marching bands needed more than sporadic workshops and an annual...

The National School Garden Programme, which was re-launched by the Ministry of Agriculture on October 10, is well underway in Manchester. The $108 million project, which is being administered by the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, is seeking to establish some 1,000 school gardens across the island by 2011. It is part of Government's efforts to encourage Jamaicans to plant more of...

Minister of Transport and Works, and Member of Parliament for Central Clarendon, Michael Henry has outlined several initiatives to be undertaken early next year, which should propel the parish into a new phase of development. Chief among these plans is the construction of an Aviation Training Institute, which will be permanently located at Vernamfield, after being temporarily housed at the...

Dr. Goulda A. Downer, a Jamaican-born top official at Howard University's College of Medicine in Washington, DC, was recently awarded a US$400,000 Ford Foundation grant, to provide mentoring opportunities to Caribbean clinicians who are interested in honing their skills in HIV diagnosis, treatment, care, and support. The Principal Investigator and Project Director for the National Minority AIDS Education and Training...

Acting Executive Director of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), George Roper, has called on Caribbean insurance regulators to move quickly to improve the regulatory system across the region. Mr. Roper, who was addressing the opening of the Caribbean Association of Insurance Regulators Conference in Montego Bay, St. James yesterday (Dec. 4), expressed support for views articulated recently by Prime Minister...

Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Michael Stern, has said that persons in rural Jamaica are serious about taking advantage of opportunities in the export sector. Speaking at the opening of the Export Centre and Business Information Point, in the St. Elizabeth Co-operative Credit Union Complex in Santa Cruz, on December 4, the State Minister...

Come February 2009, the Jamaica Film Academy (JFA), through the Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports (MICYS), will host the second annual Reggae Film Festival, at Emancipation Park, in Kingston. This will be carried out under the direction of the Ministry's Consultant, Barbara Blake Hannah, and British film archivist, Peter Gittins. In an interview with JIS News, Ms. Hannah...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, today (December 5), signed three loan agreements, totalling US$101 million, with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in Washington. Two of the loans are policy-based, amounting to some US$90 million, while the other is a direct loan of US$11 million. The larger of the two policy-based loans amounts to US$60 million, and...