Published:Sunday | October 9, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
The main stage at the Tivoli Grona Lund amusement park, located in the heart of Sweden, holds particular significance for Jamaican dancehall dancer Alvarado Gowe, who goes by the stage name Bigga Elite.It's not only because he showcased his craft...
Published:Friday | October 7, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
The Crime and Violence in Jamaica Report, published by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), has recommended that measures be taken to address what it calls a gap in crime data in the island.While acknowledging that the issue with Jamaica is...
Published:Tuesday | October 4, 2016 | 2:28 PMAndre Poyser
Hundreds of companies have been struck from the register of the Companies Office of Jamaica (COJ) for failure to file information relating to their companies and directors as they are required to do annually.The COJ has indicated that it continues...
Published:Wednesday | October 5, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
Director of the Disaster Risk Reduction Centre (DRRC) Dr Barbara Carby, of the University of the West Indies (UWI), has lamented the way in which information was disseminated during Jamaica's preparations for Hurricane Matthew.According to Carby,...
Published:Wednesday | September 28, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
An Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) study on crime and violence in Jamaica has noted that most victims and perpetrators of homicides are male, young, uneducated and poor.The study, which disaggregated homicide data based on gender, indicates...
Published:Sunday | October 2, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
As flooding from brief periods of torrential rainfall exposed the looming threat of Hurricane Matthew, Minister of Local Government and Community Development Desmond McKenzie yesterday lamented the fact that residents of low-lying and flood-prone...
Published:Tuesday | September 27, 2016 | 1:28 PMAndre Poyser
When he took the podium at the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) President's Forum, held on Tuesday, Commissioner of Police Dr Karl Williams sought to provide answers to the elusive question of what is driving the spike in murders,...
Published:Tuesday | September 20, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
A 2015 audit of the Beechamville Vocational Training Centre in St Ann found that several equipment and fixed assets acquired by the centre were unaccounted for.The centre, which is operated by the Human Employment and Resource Training Agency (HEART...
Published:Sunday | September 25, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
Iceland is a country of sharp contrasts. In this Nordic island, one can find fire and ice coexisting in the same location and also experience the darkest of winters preceded by summer days, where the sun shines even at midnight.The contrast...
Published:Wednesday | September 21, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
In an atmosphere punctuated by the silent suffering of mourning students and staff at St George's College, the most enduring image was the embrace of the school's football coach Neville Bell and the young boys under his charge.Surrounded by the...
Published:Friday | September 9, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
In a globalised economy that is increasingly being driven by technological changes, it is very tempting to view employees over 50 years of age, who are oftentimes slow to adapt to these changes, as a hindrance to the entrance and advancement of...
Published:Sunday | September 18, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
Lieutenant Colonel Mark Denton, a major in the United States Army at the time, tried desperately to prolong the few hours he had left at home the morning he was to be deployed to Iraq. It's two years after the 2003 Iraqi invasion and the military...
Published:Monday | September 12, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
Lecturer in educational policy, planning, and leadership at the University of the West Indies (UWI)-based School of Education, Dr Canute Thompson, has raised concerns about the gender gap which persists in the education sector.Thompson, who was...
Published:Wednesday | September 14, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
Classes for nursing students at the International University of the Caribbean (IUC) have been suspended as the Nursing Council of Jamaica (NCJ) has withdrawn approval for the nursing programme offered by the university.In a release on its website,...
Published:Sunday | September 18, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
Prime Minister Andrew Holness has signalled that the Government will be instituting major reforms in the residential housing market in hopes that a construction boom will drive economic growth.Speaking during the launch of the National Housing Trust...
Published:Monday | September 12, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
An internal audit of the Culloden Vocational Training Centre (CVTC) located in Westmoreland found that 43 trainees who were certified by the centre in 2014 should not have been approved because their final assessments were administered and graded by...
Published:Tuesday | September 13, 2016 | 4:12 PMAndre Poyser
With mixed results being produced by the National Mathematics Programme (NMP), Minister of Education Ruel Reid has signalled that changes are to be made to how the programme currently operates.The NMP was introduced under former Education Minister...
Published:Sunday | September 11, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
Floyd Green, state minister in the Ministry of Education, Information and Youth, is urging parents not to discourage their children when they make non-traditional career choices."Parents, I must speak to you because sometimes the discouragement...
Published:Tuesday | September 6, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
The non-renewal of contract for former CEO of the Passport Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) Jennifer McDonald has been met with strong opposition from the Jamaica Civil Society Association (JCSA), but McDonald seems not to be interested in...
Published:Sunday | September 4, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
Director of the Mona Geoinformatics Institute (MGI), Dr Parris Lyew-Ayee Jr, has reserved criticism in regard to what he describes as the relatively low proportion of signs erected at crash hotspots.Reviewing data on the number of signs erected...
Published:Sunday | September 4, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
Former Deputy Public Defender Matondo Mukulu is arguing that the practice of recommending only some students to sit external examinations based on behaviour and previous academic performance, referred to as creaming or culling, could be considered...
Published:Wednesday | August 31, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
As the back-to-school season gets into full swing, parents can expect to see increases of up to four per cent in the cost of textbooks.The annual national survey of the textbook industry, conducted by the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) in...
Published:Wednesday | August 31, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
Minister of Education Ruel Reid has signalled a desire to introduce legislation that regulates the types of activities that can occur in the exclusive geographic areas in which schools are located.Reid, who was responding to questions relating to...
Published:Monday | August 29, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
Howard Chin was bored. That is how he explains his initial motivation for designing a rocket launcher and spacesuit, which have the potential to revolutionise space travel when the concept of space tourism becomes a reality in the not-too-distant...
Published:Monday | August 29, 2016 | 12:00 AMAndre Poyser
Early indications from the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) have pointed to a breakdown in its protection systems as the most likely cause of the islandwide power outage that occurred over the weekend.While the company has said that more fulsome...
