THE Government yesterday announced plans to respond to the country's vulnerable border landscape issues with a national border security policy and strategy.Permanent secretary in the Ministry of National Security, Courtney Williams, tol...

MANY who preach doom for individuals who are in support of vaccines to guard against COVID-19 listened attentively to Prime Minister Andrew Holness yesterday as he tried to convince them that, no matter the brand, they were made through...

LAST month when the daily COVID-19 body count and cases spiralled and frightening images of overflowing hospital wards and patients bedding down on floors flooded the media, 36-year-old Jamaican, Elizabeth, who was isolated at home, wat...

DOZENS of Jamaicans and friends gathered last Saturday in Paterson, New Jersey, Unites States to witness the renaming of one of the major streets in that city to recognise the outstanding contribution that Jamaicans have made to the cit...

MANDEVILLE, Manchester - The three people charged with murder in relation to the last November's stabbing of 63-year-old businesswoman Marcia Chin-you had their bail extended when they appeared in the Manchester Parish Court, yesterday....

"Mi feel comfortable, because mi come, and mi get through. The place is more spacious and over here is better. Mi more comfortable over here, so for the long term it would be good," outpatient Marcia Edwards told the Jamaica Observer ye...

PRESIDENT of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) Winston Smith is calling on the Government to develop and put its weight behind a national project to enhance education, including significantly better remuneration for teachers, and ...

PRIME Minister Mia Mottley has assured Barbadians that her Government will not be pressured into another lockdown of the country, arguing that it would result in a withdrawal of international flights for possibly the rest of the year an...

THE GraceKennedy (GK) Group, in collaboration with the Private Sector Vaccination Initiative (PSVI), hosted a COVID-19 vaccination blitz at its headquarters in downtown Kingston on Tuesday, which saw 570 people receiving either their fi...

PRESIDING Bishop of the Holiness Christian Church in Jamaica Rev Dr Alvin Bailey has criticised the Government "for not optimising the opportunities to convince the Jamaican public to adhere to the established COVID-19 protocols and to ...

Today is the 252nd day of 2021. There are 113 days left in the year.TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT1991: Saudi Arabia releases 400 Iraqi citizens held in the kingdom in exchange for a Saudi prisoner of war and a Saudi woman held in Iraq. OTHER EVENT...

THE Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is encouraging residents of member countries to verify information they receive about the novel coronavirus pandemic and vaccines and not fall prey to misinformation.Speaking during PAHO's rec...

GENEVA, Switzerland (AP) - Rich countries with large supplies of COVID-19 vaccines should refrain from offering booster shots through the end of the year and make the doses available for poorer countries, the head of the World Health Or...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY for Thursday, September 9, 2021: You are imaginative, open-minded and modern. However, whatever you do, you do with careful precision. You are a gentle person who has compassion for others. You have a good balance between...

The theft of copper cable has robbed students in Padmore district, Red Hills, St Andrew, of Internet connectivity, a setback that could see low participation in online classes over the next few weeks. Reports reaching the Jamaica Observ...

OPERATIONS of the Mandeville Regional Hospital Outpatient Department will be relocated to the Mandeville Seventh-day Adventist Church Hall, 3A Caledonia Road, Mandeville, as of today, September 8.The Southern Regional Health Authority, ...

BY ANTHONY LEWISSAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland - Concerned that the Government-mandated no-movement days are doing more harm than good, the Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce and Industry has put forward suggestions on how to reduce congest...

PRIME Minister Andrew Holness says there is potential for increased investment and collaboration between Jamaica and African nations, especially in agro-industry and logistics.He said that there are also opportunities for scientific res...

OPPOSITION spokesperson on education and training Dr Angela Brown Burke says she is concerned that students and teachers were burdened with additional challenges during the first two days of the new academic year, which fell within the ...

Relatives and friends of two of the three men who died in a septic tank at Moneague College in St Ann on Monday afternoon were inconsolable yesterday as they reflected on the tragedy that robbed them of their source of inspiration, joy,...

MANDEVILLE, Manchester - Claims that work on the May Pen to Williamsfield leg on the east-west corridor of Highway 2000 resulted in flooding in a number of Clarendon communities during the passage of Tropical Storm Ida a few weeks ago a...

OCHO RIOS, St Ann - Forced to lay off about a third of his workforce at Ocean's 11 when COVID-19 upended the economy, former Member of Parliament for St Ann North Eastern Manley Bowen is hoping last month's reopening of the cruise shipp...

Dear Mr Brown:I would like to know when Canada will open its borders to visitors. It has been over a year and a half, since the pandemic started, that I have not been able to visit my family and friends.-DMDear DM:International travelle...

Q. What does it mean when the National Visa Center (NVC) sends a letter to me stating I am "documentarily qualified"?A: Once your immigrant visa case becomes current, NVC will request the necessary documents to continue the processing ...

Suicidal patients, enraged relatives and the anguished shrieks of grief-stricken parents whose children have died is the legacy of the over 18-month-long fight against COVID-19 in the island's public hospitals that one nurse says she, ...

HAUGHTON COURT, Hanover - The Hanover police division was yesterday plunged into mourning following the sudden death of Inspector Michael Brown who collapsed on the job. It is understood that Brown, who served the Jamaica Constabulary F...

THE Victoria Mutual Group (VM), in partnership with the Private Sector Vaccine Initiative (PSVI) and the Ministry of Health & Wellness, staged a COVID-19 vaccination blitz on Saturday, which saw close to 500 people being inoculated ...

THE Jamaica Customs Agency has embarked on the second phase of its Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) programme with the recent launch of the exporter component.The AEO programme is a supply chain security programme that deals with impl...

MANDEVILLE, Manchester - Motorists eager for the completion of work on the US$188-million May Pen to Williamsfield leg of Highway 2000's east-west corridor will have to wait longer as the project has been extended to January 2023.The pr...

STONEHENGE, St James - In the quiet, rural community of Stonehenge, a one-man battle to save the environmental has raged for four years. Sixty-five-year-old Basil Edwards collects plastic waste and transforms it into craft, jewellery, a...

THE National Family Planning Board (NFPB) is appealing to residents in gated communities to facilitate interviewers when they come to conduct the 2021 Reproductive Health Survey (RHS).The survey is being conducted by the Statistical Ins...

THERE is no charge to tourism workers to participate in the Tourism Workers Vaccination Drive, according to Clifton Reader, co-chair of the Tourism Vaccination Task Force.He was responding to reports in the local news media that the wor...

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent (CMC) - A 56-year-old woman, who had been charged with injuring Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves during an Opposition-led protest in the capital on August 5, has been slapped with another charge.Annamay Lewis, a v...

THE University of the West Indies (UWI) yesterday announced the appointment of Professor Paula Morgan as the new director of the Institute for Gender and Development Studies (IGDS). Professor Morgan's appointment took effect on August 1...

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (AFP) - At least 17 patients died after floods swept through a hospital in central Mexico, disrupting the power supply and oxygen therapy, authorities said yesterday.The facility in the town of Tula in Hidalgo state ...

Today is the 251st day of 2021. There are 114 days left in the year.TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT1992: Nelson Mandela calls for the removal of the homeland ruler whose troops killed 24 protesters, sparking a major confrontation between black and wh...

NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC) - The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is assisting The Bahamas's Tourism Development Corporation (TDC) and Ministry of Tourism and Aviation in developing certifications systems that will be used to strengthen...

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The Taliban yesterday announced an all-male interim Government for Afghanistan, stacked with veterans of their hard-line rule from the 1990s and the 20-year battle against the US-led coalition, a move that see...

NEW JERSEY, United States (AP) - Pointing accusingly at climate change, President Joe Biden toured areas affected by deadly north-east flood damage yesterday and said he was thinking about all the families who suffered "profound" losses...

LONDON, England (AP) - UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced yesterday how he plans to keep a key election promise to grapple with the rocketing cost of long-term care for Britain's growing older population. However, to do it, he br...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY for Wednesday, September 8, 2021:You are confident and levelheaded. People admire you because you are trustworthy, loyal, hardworking and reliable. (Ironically, you are a busy thinker who resists routine.) This year you w...

OCHO RIOS, St Ann - A freak accident that claimed the life of a tractor operator at Noranda Bauxite company in Discovery Bay, St Ann, has left his colleagues stunned and in anguish.Fifty-three-year-old Mark Wint died last Thursday after...

A number of essential service workers in Kingston and St Andrew yesterday expressed satisfaction with being able to walk in to fast-food restaurants and make purchases as the country went through the second of this week's three no-movem...

A group of independent public health providers who say they have treated some 300 COVID-19 patients between the ages of 18 and 104, without any dying, is urging the Government to lay off what they call oxygen-centric care which they arg...

MANDEVILLE, Manchester - Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA) Chairman Wayne Chen says Jamaica should be vaccinating at least 15,000 people daily and push to have 60 per cent of the population inoculated three months ahead of the M...

Opposition spokesman on commerce, science, and technology Hugh Graham says very little has been done over the summer holiday to improve the education system's technological readiness and ability to facilitate the continuation of online ...

MANDEVILLE, Manchester - Despite Jamaica having recorded more than 1,600 COVID-19 related deaths since the onset of the pandemic, including more than 350 in August, veteran funeral director Calvin Lyn says there is no issue with storage...

Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) President Winston Smith says the first day of the new academic year showed that while there are still major problems with connectivity across the island, there have been some improvements to the syst...

MANDEVILLE, Manchester - President of the Jamaica Association of Certified Embalmers (JACE) and Funeral Directors Calvin Lyn is calling for changes to be made at the Registrar General's Department (RGD) for the agency to issue copies of...

One of Jamaica's leading corporate entities, Red Stripe, as part of the Private Sector Vaccine Initiative (PSVI), will host 'Trust the Facts, Get the Vax' - a vaccination drive on tomorrow for companies along the Spanish Town Road indus...