SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth - Caribbean Cement Company says local manufacturing of cement is set to go to the "next level" soon, following major maintenance of its kiln at Rockfort in east Kingston.Carib Cement, part of the Caribbean-wide ...

Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton's insistence that the country's inability to locally sequence samples of SARS-CoV-2 should not be of concern to Jamaicans has been described as "ignorance" by his Opposition counterpart...

As the country's hospitals buckle under the pressure of a relentless third wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic, checks across the island have revealed a worrying disregard, in many business places, for the safety protocols being rel...

CHRIS-ANN Ward is paying an exorbitant price to stay alive, battling sickle cell (SS) disease for 21 years.Her life has been a blur of hospital visits coupled with multiple surgeries, orthopaedic interventions, pain and massive medical ...

IT'S hard to get a foothold in the labour market with the current economic downturn fuelled by the novel coronavirus pandemic.For young people starting out in the working world the odds are stacked against them, and for those already fi...

THE islandwide COVID-19 vaccination blitz for students age 12 and over got off got off to a steady start yesterday but the lack of adequate health-care workers to speed up the process dampened the day for many.Dr Mindi Fitz-Henley, pres...

COMMUTERS and route taxi operators across the island continue to spar over the fare increases published by the Transport Authority (TA) last week and the mark-ups some operators have chosen to apply.The Ministry of Transport approved a ...

It has been three weeks now since Police Commissioner Major General Antony Anderson ordered a probe into allegations made by a 19-year-old woman that she was relieved of her Rastafarian locks while in custody at Four Paths Police Stati...

Opposition spokesman on mining and energy Phillip Paulwell on Friday made another call for the removal of the oil hedge insurance tax, describing it as "unfair and unconscionable".According to Paulwell, the tax has left consumers at the...

MICHIGAN, United States (THE CONVERSATION) - Vegetarian and vegan options have become standard fare in the American diet, from upscale restaurants to fast food chains. And many people know that the food choices they make affect their ow...

Thirteen university students who did summer internship at the Jamaica Observer said they are enthused about the experience which provided them with valuable lessons and skills for thriving in the labour market. The students are Kabian ...

AS the new school term approaches and hopeful parents wait to see if students will, in fact, return to face-to-face classes, psychiatrist Dr Maureen Irons-Morgan is reminding them to safeguard their children's mental health. According t...

Principals in four parishes would be ready to resume face-to-face classes next month, but an overwhelming majority of them said they do not have enough space to accommodate all students returning to school at the same time.In light of ...

ARIZONA, United States - (The Conversation) Rose Gagnon could not hug her grandchildren for several months.Not being able to see and touch her loved ones every day because of COVID-19's social distancing protocols was taking a toll on t...

HAVE chalky white teeth? Let's explore why.Why your teeth look chalky whiteChalky white teeth are known as fluorosis. It occurs when a great amount of fluoride has been consumed, which then comes in contact with the teeth and changes th...

THE Government is being urged to have children under 12 years old tested for the novel coronavirus before schools reopen next month in order to avoid any possibility of infections when face-to-face learning resumes.The call has come fro...

FOR many, life insurance is associated with illness and death, but according to Kerry Ann Chong, senior manager, sales and service, Scotia Jamaica Life Insurance Company, a good policy is an important element in any strategic retirement...

WHEN it comes to investing for the long term it is important to have a diversification strategy. Diversification involves an investment strategy that is used to manage risks and increase returns. It is based on the concept of "not putti...

PORT MARIA, St Mary - Motorcyclists without helmets and speeding are among the worrying trends pushing up road fatalities in this parish. "Some of these motorcycles are extremely fast. So by the time a police would step out to stop a ...

HIGH-QUALITY social connections are essential to our mental and physical health and our well-being. Social isolation and loneliness are important, yet neglected, social determinants of the health of older people.Social isolation and lon...

ROSE Miller, head of the JN BeWi$e Financial Empowerment Programme, says there's no denying that getting to the age of 60 with little to no retirement savings is a dire situation."Sadly, this is a situation in which many Jamaicans find ...

PARIS, France (AFP) - The Taliban now hold the keys to an untouched trillion-dollar trove of minerals including some that could power the world's transition to renewable energies, but Afghanistan has long struggled to tap its vast depos...

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AFP) - Survivors of Haiti's devastating earthquake looted an aid convoy Friday as the impoverished Caribbean nation scrambled to roll out a relief effort haunted by the chaotic response to past natural disasters. ...

WASHINGTON, DC, United States (AFP) - Veteran American civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson was hospitalised after testing positive for COVID-19, despite having been vaccinated, representatives said yesterday.Jackson, 79, and hi...

Love's gentle spring doth always fresh remain,Lust's winter comes ere summer half be done,Love surfeits not, lust like a glutton dies,Love is all truth, lust full of forced lies.- ShakespeareThere is behaviour and there is inappropriat...

MONTEGO BAY, St James - Members of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) are voicing their disapproval of aspects of the latest COVID-19 restrictions announced by Prime Minister Andrew Holness to stem the transmission...

ST THOMAS, Jamaica - Kareen Boucher's son Jaheem was only three months away from his first birthday when he died. His mother had publicly appealed for help to raise the roughly US$250,000 needed for him to get a liver transplant in the ...

THE Ministry of Health and Wellness yesterday asked the public who have vaccination appointments for today through to Tuesday, August 24 to make new appointments.In a release yesterday, the ministry said in order to set the new appointm...

IF you've ever been to Portland's capital, Port Antonio, you might've noticed a blue shop with various metal items outside on display. From saving pans to graters and hanging poultry feeders, the items can be seen lining the sidewalk at...

MAY PEN, Clarendon - Several assets in Clarendon are at risk due to the shortage of fire stations - a situation that Winston Maragh says he is trying to address but can't find the funding needed.Maragh, chairman of the Clarendon Municip...

The Government has been accused of subjecting Jamaicans to a constant game of 'one, two, three red light' by the frequency with which it relaxes and tightens curfews geared at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus.The charge was ...

WHILE some Jamaicans have high praises for Prime Minister Andrew Holness following his most recent announcement of measures to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus, including the implementation of seven no-movement days, others b...

"Drive guh over deh so!"Those were the chilling words taxi operator Andrew McLeish heard as he felt the cold metal of the barrel of a gun pressed against the back of his neck eight years ago. The command came from the sole passenger in ...

You can now subscribe and get your Jamaica Observer delivered to your doorstep via ENDS.Log on to ends.gov.jm, click newspapers, then Observer and complete the process.Stay in the know with your Observer during the lockdown.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Reports of targeted killings in areas overrun by the Taliban mounted yesterday, fuelling fears that they will return Afghanistan to the repressive rule they imposed when they were last in power, even as they ur...

FLORIDA, United States (AP) - People infected with COVID-19 were captured in a photo this week lying on the floor in pain while waiting for antibody infusions at a treatment site set up inside the library in Jacksonville, Florida. The i...

After two years of refurbishment, female victims and survivors of gender-based violence will finally be accommodated at a transitional home designed to provide an escape from their ordeals. The 30-year-old building was renovated throug...

September 1 remains the official date for the reopening of schools for both vaccinated and unvaccinated students, Education Minister Fayval Williams stated yesterday.However, while vaccinated students will be eligible immediately for f...

SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland - The Westmoreland Municipal Corporation (WMC) will reopen today after shutting its doors for an entire day because of a COVID-19 scare. The building underwent deep cleaning and staff were advised to get tes...

FALMOUTH, Trelawny - Up to late yesterday evening Westmoreland Central Member of Parliament (MP) George Wright was a patient in the Falmouth Field Hospital after he tested positive for COVID-19.Wright's common-law wife is also said to h...

PRIME Minister Andrew Holness yesterday said he was saddened by the death of former Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Member of Parliament (MP) and attorney-at-law Ernest Smith."I express heartfelt condolence to his wife, children, including o...

With COVID-19 cases averaging 500 a day, pushing the island's positivity rate to a staggering 41.9 per cent, Prime Minister Andrew Holness last night announced seven no-movement days designed to break the transmission of the rampaging ...

Leaders of five major religious groups representing thousands of people across the island yesterday spoke with one voice urging Christian and non-Christians alike to accept the COVID-19 vaccines, arguing "it's a health issue, not a rel...

This dog appears to be puzzled by the pile-up of garbage at this open space on Upper Oxford Street in downtown Kingston yesterday. (Photo: Joseph Wellington)    

Today is the 232nd day of 2021. There are 133 days left in the year.TODAYS HIGHLIGHT2008: In Beijing, China, Usain Bolt of Jamaica breaks the world record by winning the 200 metres in 19.30 seconds. OTHER EVENTS1741: Danish explorer Vi...

More than 300 employees of Moon Palace Jamaica in Ocho Rios and nearby companies were vaccinated on Wednesday as Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) members and tourism industry partners intensify their support for the Ministr...

OCHO RIOS, St Ann - The police in this parish have launched an investigation into the alleged theft of Flow equipment that has left a number of residents in Breadnut Hill without Internet service for almost a month. According to a repre...

WITH Jamaica having received its first cruise ship following a 17-month hiatus forced by the novel coronavirus pandemic, Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett is insisting that the zero-tolerance approach to COVID-19 protocols breaches wi...

THE National Water Commission (NWC) is assuring that the US$25-million Spanish Town Road Potable Water Transmission Mains project along Spanish Town Road and into central and downtown Kingston, which is expected to bring significant ben...

WITH an increase in the number of "strangers" being seen in College Green, Hope Pastures, St Andrew, which has been attributed to the presence of a short-term rental property on Scotland Drive, some residents are concerned about their s...