KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- President of China, Hu Jintao, said that his government would like to work with Jamaica to strengthen cooperation in various fields including politics and the economy for the benefit of both countries. He was speaking during a meeting with Prime Minister Bruce Golding. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Special CARICOM Envoy on Haiti Disaster Relief, former Jamaican prime minister, P J Patterson, has suggested several long term measures for the rebuilding of the earthquake ravaged nation, Haiti, which he says will ensure the rebirth of the country. "Simply putting back what was there... read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (OPM) -- CARICOM has given a commitment to finance the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) relief base in Haiti for another month so that humanitarian assistance from the region can continue in the earthquake ravaged capital of Port au Prince. Funding until March 5 will come from the Bahamas. read more...

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MANDEVILLE, Jamaica (JIS) -- The level of improvement at Jamalco in 2009 was the highest among alumina refineries in Alcoa's Global Primary Products (GPP) network. This was announced by Alcoa's Executive Vice President and President of Alcoa's GPP Business Unit, Bernt Reitan. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- A database is to be established by year end to capture the skills of Jamaicans in primary Diaspora communities of the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States of America. This was disclosed by Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Senator Ronald Robinson. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) --- The standby lending facility of US$1.27 billion for Jamaica was approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) onThursday, paving the way for the other multilaterals to pour in additional credit of some US$1.1 billion. The agreement will immediately release funding of US$1.335 billion. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, says that the Jamaica Airline Pilots Association's (JALPA) interest in purchasing Air Jamaica could only be considered if there was a fall-out in current discussions with Caribbean Airlines, and the bidder next in line. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Ronald Robinson, has said while the government fully understands the emotional ties between Jamaicans and Air Jamaica, it has to exercise fiscal responsibility in dealing with the country's welfare. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (OPM) -- The government has suspended the withdrawal of Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) troops from Haiti after the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) confirmed that it will send J$40 million to cover expenses incurred up to January 30.
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KINGSTON, Jamaica (OPM) -- Prime Minister Bruce Golding has told China's businessmen and potential investors that Jamaica wants to move its relations with China to a new phase, one that will look at establishing greater investment links with that country. He said the relationship has been through many phases. read more...

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BEIJING, China (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao pledged on Wednesday to continue China's support to Jamaica's economic development, saying the two sides should expand cooperation in infrastructure construction, mining and tourism. Wen was meeting with his Jamaican counterpart Bruce Golding. read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA -- The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday approved a 27-month Stand-By Arrangement with Jamaica in the amount of SDR 820.5 million (about US$1.27 billion) to support the country’s economic reforms and help it cope with the global downturn. read more...

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JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (Reuters) -- Jamaican Dustin Brown advanced to his first ATP quarter-final with a 6-4 6-4 win over France's Laurent Recouderc at the South African Open on Wednesday. German-born Brown, ranked 141st in the world, caused one of the tournament's early upsets. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Professor Rex Nettleford, vice chancellor of the University of the West Indies and Jamaica's cultural ambassador, died of complications after cardiac arrest on Tuesday night. He was 76. The Jamaica Gleaner reported Nettleford died at George Washington Hospital in Washington, DC. read more...

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PARIS, France (AFP) -- Jamaican sprint king Usain Bolt will race the 100 metres in the June 12 meet at New York, the fifth leg of the Diamond League, event organisers announced on Tuesday. The 23-year-old phenomenon will return to the track at the Icahn stadium where he set his first 100m world record. read more...

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LOS ANGELES, USA (Reuters) -- Bob Marley has been dead for 28 years, but his legacy lives on at the Grammys. Three of his sons were nominated for prizes on Sunday, and two of them won. Ziggy Marley, 41, his eldest son, picked up the fifth Grammy of his career, this time in the children's musical album category. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (OPM) -- Prime Minister Bruce Golding said that the business proposal by airline pilots for ownership of Air Jamaica would be thoroughly reviewed if the current negotiations with Caribbean Airlines of Trinidad fall through. He was speaking on his monthly radio talk show programme. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Minister of National Security, Senator Dwight Nelson, has said that the impending anti-gang legislation in Jamaica could be perceived as "draconian," but emphasised that they are necessary, as organised crime is posing the greatest threat to citizens' security in the Caribbean. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (PANOS) -- At least one church leader in Jamaica is protesting aspects of CNN’s coverage of earthquake ravaged Haiti. Reverend Garnet Roper, head of The Portmore Missionary Church in St Catherine and former radio talk show host appealed to his congregation to publicly register their displeasure. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (OPM) -- Prime Minister Bruce Golding restated the intention to sell assets that the Jamaican government is unable to maintain. He was making his contribution to the debate on the medium term economic programme in Parliament on Tuesday. "We have to get our house back in order," he said. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Jamaica's request for a 27-month Standby Arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will go to the Executive Board of the Fund February third. This was disclosed by Minister of Finance and the Public Service Audley Shaw, as he closed the debate on the economic programme. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- CARICOM stands ready to do all in its power to assist Haiti and play a prominent role in its reconstruction, the community's representative to Tuesday's Ministerial Preparatory Conference in Montreal, Canada, former Jamaican Prime Minister, PJ Patterson, said. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Over 30 dignitaries, officials and delegates from 14 regional countries were in Jamaica participating in the inaugural Forum of Ministers with responsibility for Social and Sustainable Development in the Caribbean between January 24 and 26. The forum, held under the theme... read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of the Anti-Corruption Branch, ACP Justin Felice, has said that the 1- 800-CORRUPT line, launched in Jamaica in January, 2009, has been very successful. According to him, the system recorded a total of 98 calls. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (OPM) -- Jamaica's Prime Minister Bruce Golding says while the world focuses on bringing immediate aid to Haiti, it should not make the mistake of walking away when things appear to be returning to what may be regarded as normal. Golding made the appeal when he addressed... read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Secretary General of CARICOM, Dr Edwin Carrington, has said that several member states have expressed a willingness to accommodate Haitians, who might seek refuge from the devastation caused by the January 12 earthquake. Already, Jamaica is making preparations... read more...

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TORONTO, Canada (JIS) -- Twenty-three year-old freestyle skier, Errol Kerr, who is representing Jamaica at the 2010 Winter Olympics, has given Canadians a little of what he intends to do on the slopes of Vancouver, British Columbia, in February. Kerr was among 66 skiers who took part in a two-day ski event. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- A team from the Japan International Cooperation Agency has wrapped up three days of meetings with key disaster management agencies to assess Jamaica's disaster management programme and determine the level of technical assistance that can be offered by the Japanese government. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- More than 1,000 Jamaicans, who are awaiting corrective eye surgeries, will finally have these operations performed at the new Ophthalmology Centre at the St Joseph's Hospital in Kingston, which opens on Wednesday. The project is part of the Jamaica/Cuba Eye Care Programme read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Finance and Planning Minister, Audley Shaw, said that after registering a decline during this fiscal year, Jamaica's real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to rise by 0.5 per cent in the next financial year. He said the economic recovery programme aims to achieve sustained growth. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (OPM) -- The Minister of Justice, Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, has refused the request for the extradition of Presley Bingham from Jamaica to the US. The Minister refused the request after hearing submissions from the attorneys representing Bingham and the Director of Public Prosecutions. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Minister of Transport and Works, Michael Henry, says his ministry will re-engage the development of the domestic air transport sector, as a critical part of the multi-modal transport policy it is seeking to implement in Jamaica. Henry pointed to the Boscobel Aerodrome as a case in point. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- The 15-member Cuban health team which is in Jamaica to work under the Jamaica/Cuba Eye Care Programme, met the Jamaican health team at the Ministry of Health in Kingston on Thursday. The center will accommodate all CARICOM nationals in need of free eye care services. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- A medical team from the Ministry of Health left Jamaica on Friday to relieve colleagues in Haiti who have been helping with relief efforts, following the January 12 earthquake. Since arriving in Haiti, the team has been working from two facilities and has seen about 150 new patients. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- The Jamaica Constabulary Force and the Ministry of National Security are currently mapping out an operational plan to deal with a possible influx of Haitians to the island, in the wake of the recent devastating earthquake. Addressing a post-Cabinet press briefing... read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Jamaica's Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture (MYSC), in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) will be hosting the first Forum of Ministers Responsible for Social and Sustainable Development in the Caribbean. read more...

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MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica (JIS) -- All is in place for the 14th staging of the Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival from January 28 to 30, which, for the first time this year, will be held at the Greenfield Stadium in Trelawny. Executive Producer of the festival, Walter Elmore, told JIS News that preparations are well advanced. read more...

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NAIROBI, Kenya (Reuters) -- Kenya deported Jamaican Muslim cleric Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal, a week after protests against his detention in east Africa's biggest economy degenerated into running battles in the capital. There had been fears the cleric's continued presence in Kenya could trigger more violence. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Jamaica shares the same faultline (a crack or break in the earth's surface) with Haiti, which suffered a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake. This was disclosed by the Head of the Earthquake Unit of the University of the West Indies, Dr Lyndon Brown, at a JIS Think Tank. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Prime Minister Bruce Golding told Parliament on Tuesday that, despite a possibility of Haitians flooding local shores, following last week's deadly earthquake, Jamaica would not turn its back on them. Golding said the Haitian relief and recovery must be part of Jamaica's responsibility.  read more...

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