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Members of the St. Catherine Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) yesterday (January 16), participated in a simulation exercise to assess the centre's strengths and weaknesses. The exercise, organized by the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), in collaboration with the St. Catherine Parish Council, was part of activities in observance of Earthquake Awareness Week. It was held at the...

A two-classroom building to be used as the new Nutshell Basic School in North Western St. Catherine, was handed over by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) on January 13. The new building will house 40 students and two teachers, and was constructed at a cost of $10.37 million. The school has also been equipped with furniture, a refrigerator, a...

Over 3,000 students and teachers from four schools in St. Ann are now more aware of the hazards of earthquakes, after they took part in a sensitization programme during Earthquake Awareness Week (January 8 to January 13). The programme was organized by the parish's Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM), in collaboration with the Jamaica Information Service (JIS)....

The Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre's information technology (IT) laboratory, which is housed at the centre's site in Downtown, Kingston, was officially opened today (January 17). This laboratory is envisioned as a training facility that will enable inmates to grasp literacy skills, become proficient in audio and video production, and also equip themselves with computer software skills. The opening comes...

Members of the public are being invited to attend a free public session on the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) on Wednesday, January 25 beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Fellowship Tabernacle Auditorium, 58 Half-Way-Tree Road. At the event the Jamaican public will be sensitised to the actualisation of the CARICOM Single Market (CSM), which came into effect on...

The bilateral agreement signed between the governments of Jamaica and Cuba for the exchange of coaches in various sporting disciplines is well underway. Five Cuban coaches, who have been in the island since late last year, were officially introduced by Minister of Local Government, Community Development and Sports, Portia Simpson-Miller today (January 17), at the Offices of the Sports Development...

The National Council on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (NCTVET), is advising the public of the need and importance of certification, including certification in agriculture. Principally, certified skilled labour is a basic requirement for free movement in CARICOM, the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), the Commonwealth and the rest of the global marketplace. Speaking with JIS News, NCTVET...

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Hon. K.D. Knight departed the island this afternoon (Monday) for a one-day official visit to Colombia aimed at strengthening bilateral relations. Minister Knight and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Dr. Carolina Barco, were scheduled to speak later in the afternoon at the opening ceremony of the Vth meeting of the Jamaica/Colombia...

With the United States (US) government extending to January 2007, the date required for US citizens returning from the Caribbean, Bermuda, Central and South America, to show passports on re-entry, State Minister for Industry and Tourism, Wykeham McNeill, has said that the Ministry was working to prepare local industry players to meet the new deadline. He told JIS News, that...

Jamaica has formulated a quarantine policy to address cases of Avian Influenza or Bird Flu in the event that the pandemic enters the country. This follows a meeting of the Ministries of Agriculture and Health in October 2005 where the Bird Flu was included in the Ministry of Agriculture's Emergency Animal Disease Preparedness Plan. The National Emergency Animal Disease Committee...

The Aloca foundation, through its local subsidiary Jamalco, has provided US$339,000 ($21 million) in grants to assist the voluntary work of four organizations in addition to development projects at three academic institutions. At an awards function held at Jamalco's Halse Hall refinery in Clarendon on Thursday (Jan.12), Ealane Livingston Smith, the company's public relations specialist, explained that the ceremony served...

The annual National Leadership Prayer Breakfast 2006, will be held on January 19, under the theme 'Choose you this Day.' This event will be held at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston and will once again be sponsored by Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS), which has sponsored the event for the last 20 years. The prayer breakfast was launched today...