MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica (JIS) -- Jamaica and Mexico have signed on to a new bilateral civil aviation agreement, which will allow for improved air service between the two countries. The agreement was signed by Jamaica's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Dr Kenneth Baugh. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Jamaica's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Dr Kenneth Baugh, has praised the Rio Group for its role in strengthening the region's international presence. Dr Baugh made comment on Thursday, after Jamaica was admitted as the 25th member. read more...

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MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica (JIS) -- Jamaica is gearing up for more high-rollers and heavy spenders with Cabinet's recent approval of an 'inventory-enrichment strategy,' which will allow merchants to import more high-end products into the island. Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, said in many cases... read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (FP) -- Glen Mills has resigned after 22 years as head of the Jamaican national track and field team but he will remain coach of the Usain Bolt's Racers Track Club. Mills plans to stop working with the national team so he can concentrate more time on coaching the club team. read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA (Reuters) -- The International Monetary Fund said it would continue talks with Jamaica next week as they work to finalize a $1.2 billion standby loan. An IMF team visited Kingston from Oct. 27 to Nov. 6, and IMF mission chief Trevor Alleyne said the focus of the talks was on policy measures. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Prime Minister Bruce Golding has assured the country that the Jamaican government is close to resolving outstanding issues with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will enable the Fund to proceed with its application for a US$1.2 billion standby loan agreement. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says that its mission in Jamaica is making progress in discussions with the Jamaican Government, and will provide an update on the talks by the end of this week. This was stated in a release issued Monday night from spokesperson, Andreas Adriano. read more...

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TORONTO, Canada (JIS) -- A Jamaican-born policeman has been appointed to the second highest rank in Toronto's police force, in Canada. Peter Sloly, who hails from Kingston, Jamaica, recently became the second black person in the history of the Toronto Police Service (TPS) to be made its Deputy Chief. read more...

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NEW YORK, USA (Reuters) -- Standard & Poor's said on Monday it downgraded Jamaica one notch, to "CCC" and kept the negative outlook on the island credit following the resignation of the central bank governor, the lead negotiator of a possible standby agreement with the International Monetary Fund. read more...

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NAIROBI, Kenya (Reuters) -- Olympic and world sprint champion Usain Bolt plans to move up to the 400 metres after setting world records in the 100 and 200. Bolt told a news conference on Friday his main goal was to become a legend in his sport after shattering the 100 and 200 world records. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (Reuters) -- Jamaica's central bank governor, Derick Latibeaudiere, who was leading negotiations with the IMF to obtain a $1.2 billion stand-by loan, has resigned, Finance Minister Audley Shaw said. No reason was given for the resignation of Latibeaudiere, 58. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Within another two years, residents of Kingston, Jamaica, who have borne the inconvenience of water lock-offs, will have reliable, adequate water supply. This improvement will come through the US$215 million Jamaica Water Sector Improvement Programme. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Jamaica is slated to benefit from a $154,769,042 (US$1,738,798) project to reduce the threat of invasive alien species (IAS) to the region's biodiversity. The project titled: 'Mitigating the Threats of Invasive Alien Species in the Insular Caribbean' is being funded by the United Nations. read more...

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MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica (JIS) -- British Airways made its inaugural non-stop flight from London's Gatwick Airport to Montego Bay, with 280 passengers on board, on Thursday. The crew and passengers were met at the Sangster International Airport by a welcoming team, led by Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett. read more...

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MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica (JIS) -- The Fifth Hemispheric Forum on Agriculture and Rural Life in the Americas came to a close on Thursday in Jamaica with ministerial delegates signing a 16-point agreement, which sets out an action plan to boost agricultural production in the region. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- General Manager of Petrojam, Winston Watson, has stated that the refinery is now ready to supply both grades of E10 (a blend of 10% ethanol and 90% gasoline) to service stations in Jamaica. Both E10 87 and E10 90 (Octane) was due to be rolled out in Montego Bay on Sunday. read more...

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MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica (JIS) --Jamaica will be hosting important meetings of Foreign Ministers of Latin America and the Caribbean (CALC) on Integration and Development, and the Rio Group November 4-6 in Montego Bay. Jamaica and Mexico are also scheduled to sign an Air Services Agreement. read more...

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NAIROBI, Kenya (AFP) -- World and Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt could meet his match in Kenya when he encounters a cheetah for the first time. Speaking at a press conference here on his first trip to Africa, the fastest man on earth still displayed his trademark cool, not least because he won't race a cheetah. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Minister of Labour and Social Security, Pearnel Charles, is to meet with representatives of the Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) and the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, next week, following the breakdown of wage talks on Thursday. Charles told JIS News on Thursday night... read more...

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LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Olympic and world sprint champion Usain Bolt believes the tainted image athletics has acquired after several high-profile drugs cases in the past few years will clear as time goes by. "It'll take a couple of years for people to start believing that we are actually clean... read more...

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MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica (OPM) -- Jamaica's Minister of Agriculture, Christopher Tufton, says a paradigm shift is needed by all countries to boost food production. The Minister was speaking at the opening of the 5th Hemispheric meeting of Ministers of Agriculture of the Americas. read more...

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MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica (OPM) -- Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Chelston Brathwaite, has noted that agriculture is critical for reducing poverty in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and for national development. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Jamaica's House of Representatives has approved a resolution supporting the removal of the trade embargo on Cuba by the United States. The vote was timely, as it came only a day before the United Nations' General Assembly voted for the 18th year to condemn the 47-year embargo. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- The week-long 5th Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Rural Life in the Americas, in Montego Bay, Jamaica, is already reaping success with delegates hammering out a draft agro plan to be debated by the Ministers from 34 hemispheric countries on Wednesday. read more...

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MIAMI, USA -- On November 6, the 11th Annual Eric E Williams Memorial Lecture will take place at Florida International University’s (FIU) Wertheim Performing Arts Center. The featured speaker will be former Jamaican Prime Minister and current Leader of the Opposition, Portia Simpson Miller. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is to benefit from an injection of 165 million Euros, or close to JA$22 billion, in funding from the European Commission as part of its ongoing support for regional integration. This was disclosed by Head of Section, Helen Jenkinson. read more...

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BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CUOPM) -- New flights by British Airways to St Kitts and other Caribbean destinations will mean an additional 2,000 seats to the region. BA will operate a total 55 flights a week from London to the Caribbean, with 11 destinations served from Gatwick and three from Heathrow. read more...

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MONTEGO, Bay, Jamaica (JIS) -- Minister of Agriculture, Christopher Tufton, on Monday appealed to agricultural technocrats within the Americas to come up with concrete action plans to increase productivity in the region. He was addressing the opening of the meeting of the Hemispheric Group for... read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Jamaican students are being urged to see the implementation of a Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) as a bold new frontier, to help develop it and take advantage of the lucrative multi-trillion dollar Americas market it can open up. The challenge came from Deputy Prime Minister... read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, has defended his ministry's decision to focus on resort areas in its Spruce Up Jamaica programme, financed by the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF). The programme was conceptualised by Bartlett, when he became Tourism Minister in 2007. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Karl Samuda, says there is a need for more small businesses in Jamaica to produce goods and services for the export market. Samuda said that Jamaica has not earned enough foreign exchange to afford what it has to purchase. read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA -- The Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), José Miguel Insulza, will travel to Jamaica on Tuesday, October 27, to participate in the inaugural ceremony of the Fifth Ministerial Meeting on “Agriculture and Rural Life in the Americas.” read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Jamaica's Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett, has insisted that the sector is the most resilient of all industries, with the fastest capacity for turnaround". He reiterated the point at an award ceremony for the Spruce Up Jamaica Tourism Essay Competition on Friday. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- The Jamaican government's tax reform programme will benefit from the input of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the United States' Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Treasury Department, Finance and Public Service Minister, Audley Shaw, has announced. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Leader of the Opposition, Portia Simpson Miller, has given full support to the Charter of Rights Bill, which is being debated in Jamaica's Lower House. She welcomed the move to put the legislative foundation in place for the Charter of Rights and the discussions on joining... read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Minister of Finance and the Pubic Service, Audley Shaw, has assured the country that the application process for the US$1.2 billion standby facility Jamaica is seeking from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is "running fairly smoothly". Shaw said that discussions with the IMF's top executives... read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA (JIS) -- Jamaica's first national hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, has received major hemispheric recognition with the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington DC re-naming its Hall of Culture in his honour. The hall is a venue for major cultural events. read more...

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TORONTO, Jamaica (JIS) -- The 2010 Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival will be expanded from three to seven days, from January 24 to 30, in Montego Bay, and feature top-notch entertainers, including Jennifer Hudson and Maxi Priest. Walter Elmore of Turnkey Productions made the announcement. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Jamaica's Minister of Education, Andrew Holness, has said that the police should investigate the parents of all the persons linked to the killing of a student of Ferncourt High, St Ann, on the school premises on Wednesday. Holmes said negligence on the part of the parents may be a factor. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Jamaica's Minister of Education, Andrew Holness, has condemned Wednesday's fatal stabbing of a 17-year-old high school student, Garron Jones. He said he was "very disappointed and very disturbed" by the incident, which took place on the grounds of the school in St Ann. read more...

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