KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- The government is moving speedily to put in place legislation to facilitate Jamaica's entry into the tourism timeshare market. This disclosure was made on Wednesday by Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, at the weekly Post Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House in Kingston. read more...

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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados -- The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) will honour over 120 people from across the region as part of activities to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations. The Council will host two awards functions in July. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Minister of Finance, Audley Shaw, has assured Parliament that Jamaica will not earn the reputation of a tax haven, when the proposed International Financial Centre (IFC) is established in downtown Kingston. Some $100 million have been earmarked in the budget to establish the IFC. read more...

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MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica (AFP) -- A man who hijacked a Canadian plane full of tourists and held them hostage for several hours in Jamaica in April was Tuesday declared mentally fit to stand trial on more than 20 charges. Stephen Fray, 21, appeared in the Montego Bay magistrates court with his father Earl. read more...

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MANDEVILLE, Jamaica (JIS) -- Minister of National Security, Senator Dwight Nelson, has said the government intends to wage a relentless battle against the criminals in Jamaica, and to retake the communities, the towns and the parishes. "We are going to retake our country and make it a safe place," the Minister declared read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Prime Minister Bruce Golding has reiterated the Jamaican government's commitment to resume hanging, as soon as possible. Speaking to a large crowd at a Town Hall Meeting in Montego Bay recently, Golding said the government was prepared to honour the "yes" vote taken by Parliament last year. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (Reuters) -- Double Olympic champion Usain Bolt won the Jamaican 200 metres national title on Sunday, his first run at that distance this year, but conceded he is far from top shape ahead of the world championships in August. Bolt faces a showdown in Berlin with world champion Tyson Gay. read more...

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GEORGETOWN, Guyana -- Percival J Patterson, former Prime Minister of Jamaica will receive the Order of the Caribbean Community (OCC), the Region’s highest award, on 2 July 2009 at the Opening Ceremony for the 30th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, in Georgetown Guyana. 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 said that next month's CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting in Guyana would address a number of critical regional issues in light of the global economic crisis. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (AFP) -- The Jamaican athletics championships will feature the world's fastest men Usain Bolt, Olympic sprint double champion, and former world record holder Asafa Powell in a 100 metres showdown. "Not 100 per cent, but I am in good enough shape," Powell said. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- The number of Influenza A (H1N1) cases in Jamaica now stands at 21, after two more persons were confirmed with the virus in Kingston and St Catherine. The Ministry of Health said that the infected person in St Catherine had travelled recently and may have contracted the virus overseas. read more...

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MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica (JIS) -- A Casino Gaming Bill is to be tabled in Parliament next week, Jamaica's Prime Minister Bruce Golding announced on Thursday night. Golding told a Town Hall Meeting in Montego Bay that Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, will table the Bill in the House on Tuesday. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Prime Minister Bruce Golding and Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw, will meet with the social partnership group on June 25 to discuss the terms under which Jamaica should enter into a funding arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Programme Manager for Sustainable Development at the CARICOM Secretariat, Beverly Reynolds, has called on Caribbean governments and stakeholders to "act now" to tackle drug trafficking and abuse in the region. She was addressing a Think Tank in Jamaica. read more...

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KARACHI, Pakistan (AFP) -- The son of former Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer said Thursday captain Younus Khan's decision to dedicate the World Twenty20 title to his late father was "very sweet and lovely". Bob Woolmer coached the team from June 2004 until his death in March 2007 in Jamaica. read more...

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PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (Reuters) -- Trinidad and Tobago's Prime Minister Patrick Manning said Wednesday that sending liquefied natural gas to stimulate investments in Jamaica's alumina sector was now a matter of national priority. Manning said he hopes to enter into an arrangement for Jamaica. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- A CARICOM working group on traditional knowledge, traditional cultural expressions and genetic resources is currently on a fact-finding mission in Jamaica. The group is made up of representatives from the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office and several of their counterparts in the region. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Prime Minister Bruce Golding says if Jamaica is to attract meaningful investments and business, it must do away with unnecessary bureaucracy, complicated ways of conducting business, and the use of discretion in a way that can lead to unfairness and corruption. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- The Ministry of Education in Jamaica has directed all schools in Manchester to be closed, after two cases of Influenza A H1N1 (formerly called swine flu) were detected in two students. The Ministry is also directing that all graduation functions for schools in Manchester be cancelled. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Jamaica's Minister with responsibility for Information and Telecommunications, Daryl Vaz, has urged journalists to remain cognizant of their responsibility to be fair and objective in exercising their duties. He urged journalists to pursue every opportunity... read more...

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LONDON, England (JIS): A previously unknown photograph and a rare signature of Jamaican-born nursing hero, Mary Seacole, have been unearthed at one of England's oldest private schools, Winchester College. The photograph of Mary Seacole is full face with a wealth of detail. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, says Jamaica could lose 30-50 million pounds as a result of the British Government's increase in Air Passenger Duty (APD) effective November. The revised APD will place destinations like Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean into one of the highest bands. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (AFP) -- The home of triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt was burgled on Tuesday night while the Jamaican sprinter was competing in the Czech Republic, police revealed here on Thursday. The thieves took around 1,000 US dollars' worth of electrical goods, including a camera, a laptop and mobile phones. read more...

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OSTRAVA, Czech Republic (Reuters) -- Olympic champion Usain Bolt clocked a wind-assisted 9.77 seconds over 100 meters at the Ostrava grand prix on Wednesday. Jamaican Bolt, who set a world record of 9.69 seconds in the Beijing final last year, was assisted by a following wind of 2.1 meters a second. read more...

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WASHINGTON, USA (JIS) -- Despite the continuing fallout from the current economic meltdown, Jamaica's tourist industry is holding its own. In April, Jamaica recorded a 5.8 per cent increase in visitor arrivals, when compared with the similar period last year. According to Chairman of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB)... read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Major Richard Reese, has affirmed the Jamaican government’s support for the United Nations Security Council resolution, which requires all UN member states to criminalise the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- A total of 26 Jamaican students have been awarded scholarships to study at universities in Cuba, under the 2009/10 Cuban Scholarship Programme. The scholarship awards, were presented by Cuba's Ambassador to Jamaica, Gisela Garcia Rivera, at a ceremony held on Sunday. read more...

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BASSETERRE, St Kitts (JIS) -- Speaking at the 6th Petro-Caribe Summit of the Heads of State and Governments in Basseterre, St Kitts, Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding commended Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for his vision in creating PetroCaribe. He highlighted the value of the Agreement. read more...

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TORONTO, Canada (AFP) -- World record-holder Usain Bolt won his first 100-meter race since a foot injury suffered in an April car crash, capturing the title at the Festival of Excellence meet here Thursday. Rainy conditions kept the Jamaican star from approaching his world record of 9.69 from Beijing. read more...

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TORONTO, Canada (Reuters) -- Jamaica's Usain Bolt has won three Olympic gold medals, smashed world records and drawn comparisons with Jesse Owens and Carl Lewis but he's not the greatest, yet, according to Michael Johnson. Bolt smashed both the 100 and 200 metres world records last year. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- The Jamaican Cabinet will on June 22 receive a submission from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Article IV review mission to the island last week. The government used the occasion to discuss the facilities that would be available from the fund. read more...

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TORONTO, Canada (JIS) -- Despite the current economic crisis worldwide, the number of Canadian visitors to Jamaica has been increasing and this has enabled the country to be one of only three markets in the Caribbean to record growth in visitor arrivals in 2009, according to Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) -- Jamaica's Prime Minister Bruce Golding has cautioned that the existence of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the only organisation dedicated to the economic interests of Caribbean countries, was at risk. Golding warned against the support of a rival organisation. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica -- The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a government guarantee for loans valued at US$101.8 million to Air Jamaica Limited, in support of the funding requirements for its approved business plan for the financial year 2009/10. Air Jamaica is now operating under a new business plan. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica -- Contempt proceedings brought by Digicel against its telecommunications competitor LIME and two of its top executives were dismissed by Justice Glen Brown in Jamaica’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, 9 June. Justice Brown also ordered Digicel to pay all of the legal costs incurred by LIME. read more...

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TORONTO, Canada (AFP) -- Triple Olympic champion Usain Bolt will warm up for a European campaign focused on the August World Championships by contesting the 100m at the inaugural Festival of Excellence athletics meeting here Thursday. Among those challenging Bolt will be American Bernard Williams. read more...

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TORTOLA, BVI -- Sad news out of the Dominican Republic reports that a pregnant 17 year old tuberculosis patient who contracted the new Influenza A H1N1 virus died at a Santo Domingo hospital on Saturday 6th June. This was the first life in the Caribbean claimed by the virus formerly referred to as “Swine Flu". read more...

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Last week one of Jamaica’s most stable and respected financial institutions, Scotia Group announced higher loss provisioning and halving of its retail banking division profit by J$1 billion. Credit losses jumped $360 million to $473 million and Scotia isn’t alone. National Commercial Bank reported an increase in revenue. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica – Buckingham Palace has formally announced that The Queen has approved the submission for the Governor General of Jamaica, Patrick Allen, to be Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George. The Governor General will be knighted on Friday, June 12. read more...

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KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) --The European Commission (EC) has approved just over $217 million (Euros1.9 million) for disbursement to assist the Jamaican government with the budgetary impact and infrastructure repairs resulting from Tropical Storm Gustav in 2008. Another $230m (Euros2 million) is to be allocated. read more...

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