Jamaica Observer
Mon, Oct 11, 2021 07:20:01 GMT $2-B FIRE
Firefighters spent yesterday putting out the embers of a massive Saturday night fire that razed a large section of Facey Commodity's main warehouse in Kingston and which has left billions of dollars in damage."I don't know the prelimina...
Mon, Oct 11, 2021 06:50:01 GMT $1.7-m gift from JMMB Joan Duncan Foundation
Kim Mair (right), CEO, JMMB Joan Duncan Foundation, and Daryl Vaz (centre), minister of energy, science and technology, look at the new mobile washable Ergotron HIMS cart while Dr Carl Bruce, medical chief of staff at University Hospita...
Mon, Oct 11, 2021 06:20:01 GMT 'I have nowhere to go'
LINSTEAD, St Catherine - Facing the threat of slipping into homelessness with her family once again, Natalie Hutchinson is asking for more time to vacate the plot of land that she is said to be occupying illegally in Linstead.The proper...
Mon, Oct 11, 2021 07:01:00 GMT JHTA says members support a COVID-19 vaccine mandate
The Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) yesterday said that more than 98 per cent of its members have responded with a resounding "yes" to a survey of views on whether COVID-19 vaccinations should be mandated for the tourism s...
Mon, Oct 11, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Mixed responses to US drug maker's experimental COVID-19 pill
JAMAICAN medical professionals have given mixed reactions to US pharmaceutical company Merck's announcement that it has developed a pill to treat the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19.On October 1 Merck had said it wo...
Mon, Oct 11, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Rotary Club donates urology machine to Mandeville Regional Hospital
MANDEVILLE, Manchester - Urology patients at Mandeville Regional Hospital are set to benefit from the use of a Vio s can machine donated last Friday by Rotarians. The machine is particularly useful for patients who depend on catheters, ...
Mon, Oct 11, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Festering Merl Grove dispute overshadows first National Alumni Day
An ambitious plan to unite hundreds of thousands of past students of Jamaican high schools to commemorate National Alumni Day has met its first hurdle in the still festering dispute at Merl Grove High School (MGHS), over the controvers...
Mon, Oct 11, 2021 07:01:00 GMT 'Serial sexual harasser' plagues women at JUTC
A Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) manager, who has been described as a "serial sexual harasser" by some female employees, has been reportedly interdicted while the company conducts a probe into the allegations against him.Last Thur...
Mon, Oct 11, 2021 07:01:00 GMT JPS disagrees with stock exchange proposal
The Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) has disagreed with a suggestion that its transmission and distribution operations be placed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) as, among other things, a means of incentivising investors in rene...
Mon, Oct 11, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Three-year injunction issued against former WIPL directors
Former West Indies Petroleum Company Limited (WIPL) directors Courtney Wilkinson and John Levy have been prohibited from, over a three-year period, executing similar business activities to WIPL and its subsidiary Island Lubes Distribut...
Mon, Oct 11, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Tablets, laptops for 15 St James schools
MONTEGO BAY, St James - Richard Miller knows all too well how much good can come from acts of kindness. He's the principal of Farm Primary and Junior High School and when classes were first forced online because of the novel coronavirus...
Mon, Oct 11, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Sandals Foundation to spearhead 40 sustainable community transformation projects
Sandals Foundation says it will plant 7,000 trees and manage 7,000 more in the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park - a UNESCO World Heritage site in Jamaica - to kick-start Sandals Resorts International's (SRI) 40th anniversary ...
Mon, Oct 11, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Clarendon man's death still shrouded in mystery
CHAPELTON, Clarendon - As a Clarendon family struggles to come to terms with the tragic loss of a loved one, the police investigating his murder are trying to find out why he was in Linstead, St Catherine, at the time of his death. The ...
Mon, Oct 11, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Portland police following strong leads after drug bust
BOSTON, Portland - The Portland police say they are following strong leads and expect to soon make an arrest in connection with last Thursday's drug bust. About 930 pounds of compressed ganja, valued at $6.5 million, and two boat engine...
Mon, Oct 11, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Container of Love donates to Sav Hospital
SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland - One hundred and twenty nurses at Savanna-la-Mar Hospital recently became the latest beneficiaries of Cornerstone Jamaica's Container of Love project.On October 5 the health-care workers received packages w...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Go easy on water, says NWC, despite storage at full capacity
The National Water Commission (NWC) is chanting conservation, even as storage at the Corporate Area's two main supply facilities has reached capacity.Corporate communications manager at the NWC Andrew Canon said that despite the Mona Re...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Mom, son graduating at the same time UWI function to be memorable occasion for both
He dedicated his BSc in Terrestrial Ecology with a minor in cultural studies to his late grandmother. She dedicated her MSc in Management and Educational Leadership to her late mother. For both, that is Daisy Williams who succumbed to c...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT No time for tears
HART HILL, Portland - One day after she became a certified nurse's assistant Cassandra Bennett was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was 45 years old. She did not cry; instead, she chose to fight. Born in the community of Mahoe in Portl...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:30:01 GMT Bad jab experience turns good second time around
A four-hour wait to receive the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine back in August resulted in Janice Smith collapsing on the grounds of St Ann's Bay Baptist Church, being used as a site at the time.After what she describes as a traumati...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT St Ann residents want mentally ill off streets, after man is beheaded
ST ANN'S BAY, St Ann - The man who was shot dead by police yesterday after he was accused of beheading another was described as a violent individual who was feared by many in this north-eastern town.Said to be mentally challenged, and k...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT I TURNED IT DOWN
On the heels of news that Pastor Merrick "Al" Miller has been removed from the list of national honorees for 2021, the clergyman has charged that he will continue his work towards building a better Jamaica."Please be assured that, as I...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT 'Squatters' told to get off land earmarked for Highway 2000
LINSTEAD, St Catherine - Fourteen members of a family, including children who up to last month were sleeping in chicken coops, have been ordered to leave the land they are accused of occupying illegally in the vicinity of Linstead Fire ...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Baby Ariah closer to surgery, but...
MONTEGO BAY, St James - Ariah Turner, the now one-year-old girl whose mother recently made an appeal for help, is well on her way to receiving the anal reconstructive surgery she needs to live a normal life, said the toddler's mother, T...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 08:20:01 GMT Sunday Brew - October 10, 2021
Holness should listen to his wife some moreThe accolades cannot be too many for parliamentarian Juliet Holness who has shown all her peers in the House of Representatives that serving the people of this country goes beyond party borders...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Flood-shy Treasure Beach residents await another shot at completing drainage canal
TREASURE BEACH, St Elizabeth - For residents of this community, and more particularly the Great Bay area, the floods of mid-October 2005 triggered by Hurricane Wilma, which passed south of Jamaica, was unlike anything before or since.Ru...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT COVID-19 forces people to drink more liquor - NCU study
The novel coronavirus pandemic and its lockdown measures have triggered an increase in the consumption of alcoholic beverages among sections of the Jamaican population and this includes people who reported that they suffered from emoti...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Clickbait danger; seniors at risk
As the world observes October as Cyber Security Awareness Month, it is essential to engage the senior community in conversations about cybersecurity. The elderly, according to an article by Digicel Jamaica, are constantly urged to be v...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT WHO pushes for age-friendly environments
Age-friendly environments, such as in the home, community, foster healthy and active ageing by building and maintaining intrinsic capacity across the life course and enabling greater functional ability in someone with a given level of ...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Keep your retirement plan on track during pandemic
C OVID-19 has not only created a health crisis but also a retirement dilemma for many.The negative impact of the pandemic on the stock market is a contributing factor to the decline in pension funds in 2020. Pension funds suffered a los...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Managing grief and depression after mastectomy
Breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death among Jamaican women and although rare, men can get breast cancer too.A breast cancer diagnosis can be devastating, and navigating potential treatment options can be stress...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT On finding an oral care routine that suits you
October is celebrated as oral health awareness month. We care for every part of our body, so why should our mouths be neglected? Oral health month is a reminder about the importance of maintaining good oral hygiene, always. Oral health ...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Nestlé, partners promise over 3,000 job options for Caribbean's youth
More than 3,000 youth across the Caribbean will benefit from jobs and opportunities as a result of Nestlé Caribbean's partnership with several corporate interests. The announcement was just one of the many highlights coming out of the...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT 'I cried when the doctor told me it was malignant'
PORTMORE, St Catherine - When Juliet Mullings was diagnosed with breast cancer 14 years ago, she was determined to fight the disease so she would be around for her then six-year-old daughter. "I fought for Junniel because she never leav...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT A joy to be educating inmates
Neither Jezzanna Buchanan Vivet nor Levoy Paul ever imagined they would be educating inmates. And now that they are doing so, they wouldn't give it up for the world.Through human rights group Stand Up for Jamaica (SUFJ), Buchanan Vivet ...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Caring for the carer
Today is World Mental Health Day and sometimes we forget how important protecting our mental health is, especially when we spend most of our time making sure the people around us are healthy. Particularly, you may find those who care fo...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Tips to prepare for a mammogram
BREAST cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide and is even more common in black women under 45 years.Black women are more likely to die of breast cancer and as a result, it is recommended that breast cancer screening should ...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Father of five's murder puts MoBay family in a tailspin
After his father died in a motor vehicle accident in 2010, and his brother in 2014 due to asthma, 36-year-old Kayon Thompson was the only male remaining in his immediate family.And so, the businessman vowed to support and provide for hi...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Defying the odds!
The phrase "overcoming the odds" is an understatement for 24-year-old Joshua Burgess. Though born with congenital rubella syndrome, which has caused him to suffer from a number of health challenges over the years, he continues to break...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Permanent secretary sent on leave following arrest
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) - The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, Sharon Hicks is under investigation by the police for demanding money with menace and fraud.Hicks is accused of demanding GUY $200,000 from the ow...
Sun, Oct 10, 2021 07:01:00 GMT What men fear
The cuckoo then, on every tree,Mocks married men, for thus sings he,Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, a word of fear,Unpleasing to a married ear.- ShakespeareIs that ominous news for married men? That bird, the cuckoo, can certainly mock the mar...
Sat, Oct 9, 2021 12:30:02 GMT 'Real Rich' faced death determined to take would-be killers with him
A request for a "turn-off" from a male passenger who wanted to be taken off the established route to a "fortune teller" in Ackee Walk, St Andrew, from Chancery Street, was enough for 42-year-old taxi driver Colin Shirley to become suspi...
Sat, Oct 9, 2021 07:01:00 GMT After the Facebook shutdown and allegations of wrongdoing...
On the heels of eyebrow-raising allegations against Facebook in the United States and a six-hour shutdown of social media platforms operated by the company this week, the Jamaican Government is being urged to move faster in its preparat...
Sat, Oct 9, 2021 07:01:00 GMT 'Ten per cent won't cut it!'
MONTEGO BAY, St James - Saying he has been playing his part in the country's effort to recover from the ravages of COVID-19, Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett yesterday said more needs to be done to increase the number of Jamaicans who a...
Sat, Oct 9, 2021 07:01:00 GMT BIG INSECURITY
Chief Justice Bryan Sykes yesterday issued a scathing response to the Government's planned redeployment of trained police from the Protective Services Division to front-line crime-fighting duties and replace them with private security ...
Sat, Oct 9, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Built for a lifetime
Residents of Bobo Hill and Taylor Land in the St Andrew East Rural constituency now have access to new concrete roads which some are grateful to have while others are already pointing out faults.According to one elderly female resident ...
Sat, Oct 9, 2021 07:01:00 GMT PM undecided on COP26
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has issued a personal invitation to Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness to attend the United Kingdom-organised World Leaders Summit as a part of COP26 scheduled for October 31 to November 12 in ...
Fri, Oct 8, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Over 700 cases referred to domestic violence centres
Since the establishment of four domestic violence intervention (DVI) centres last March under the European Union-United Nations Spotlight Initiative aimed at eliminating violence against women and girls, 704 cases have been seen, leadin...
Fri, Oct 8, 2021 07:01:00 GMT 'We are in full control,' says St James top cop
MONTEGO BAY, St James - Despite Wednesday afternoon's car chase through the streets of Montego Bay that ended with three dead and five injured, assistant commissioner of police for Area One Clifford Chambers says the police are in "full...
Fri, Oct 8, 2021 07:01:00 GMT Unacceptable, JPS
Energy Minister Daryl Vaz yesterday scolded the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) over the manner in which it has been managing premature failure of its transformers, lines and other equipment triggered by electricity theft.According...
Fri, Oct 8, 2021 07:01:00 GMT MP Crawford appeals for info on Royal Flat murder
MANDEVILLE, Manchester - Member of Parliament for Manchester Central Rhoda Crawford yesterday asked for the public's assistance and cooperation following the murder of a man in Royal Flat.This follows an appeal from the Manchester polic...