MONTEGO BAY, St James - The Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) has now made contact with a family member of the last of 15 children who were placed in State care after the bizarre cult-like ritual in which three people ...

Dr Romario Simpson, a young doctor specialising in internal medicine at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), might as well have been given the middle name 'Service'.Just over a fortnight ago when he was appointed a justice...

The World Health Organization (WHO) last month flagged Jamaica as one of two countries in the region which had imported COVID-19 test kits which were substandard.This was disclosed by Cynthia Lewis-Graham, director of the Ministry of H...

More than one million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have now been administered in Jamaica, the health and wellness ministry revealed yesterday, and the development has pleased Dr Christopher Tufton, who commended health-care workers and Ja...

The first week of the global climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland - referred to as COP26 because it's the 26th meeting or conference of the countries that are party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC...

GLASGOW, United Kingdom (AFP) - COP26's first week saw keynote pledges to end deforestation, phase out coal, and mobilise trillions for green investment. But observers say there is a gulf between host Britain's proclamations and the emi...

Today is the 312th day of 2021. There are 53 days left in the year.TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT1895: Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, German physicist, discovers X-rays.OTHER EVENTS1519: Spanish conqueror Hernan Cortez reaches Mexico City with his small S...

PORT ANTONIO, Jamaica - The planet's largest private residential ship, MS The World , docked at Ken Wright Pier in Port Antonio, Jamaica, yesterday with 90 passengers who will be enjoying some of the island's attractions until tomorrow...

With a market bag and a bottle of juice next to him, a man who appeared to be homeless was found dead at the intersection of Lyndhurst Road and Beechwood Avenue in St Andrew last Friday. A vendor who opted not to be named, told the Jam...

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AFP) - Under ring-of-steel security, Nicaraguans voted yesterday in presidential elections dismissed as a "sham" by the international community, with all viable challengers to long-term leader Daniel Ortega locked up...

PORT MARIA, St Mary - Amid growing scepticism among residents about the long-awaited transformation of Pagee Beach in this parish capital, the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) is urging patience."Bear with us a little," said Johan Rampair...

THE Private Security Regulation Authority (PSRA) now has a mobile registration unit (MRU) and online licence renewal portal aimed at boosting registration and engagement with professionals within the industry. The MRU, which was handed ...

When Lorna Williams died of renal failure in 2013, her eldest daughter Daneille Lopez Watson automatically took on the role of motherhood, nurturing her younger sisters Tiffany Cox and Kimone Cox-Greaves 15 and 20 years old, respectivel...

SAVANNA-LA-MAR, Westmoreland - "Mi soon come back." Those were the last words 25-year-old Romaine Cavalho said to his mother, Sandra Johnson, before he went missing. His casual promise of a speedy return home was his usual way of sayi...

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AFP) - Rebels fighting Ethiopia's Government have played down reports that they would face a hostile population or cause a "bloodbath" if they advanced into Addis Ababa, even as tens of thousands joined a pro-mili...

SEVERAL COVID-19 testing facilities have slashed costs associated with testing by more than 50 per cent.The news comes four days after the Jamaica Observer reported that the Ministry of Health and Wellness (MOHW) is facing strong critic...

When it comes to pranks and trickery Dwayne and Kerri-Ann Miller will always say "I do."Last December, one of the YouTube videos of the ruthless pranks of the couple went viral on social media, and the result is that Kerri-Ann has been ...

Thinking of the elderly population one would conjure up images of peace and lawfulness. But over the course of the last five years, some 164 elders - over 55 years old - have been charged with murder.Data obtained by the Jamaica Observe...

Various rural secondary education principals have shed light on bleak sixth form programmes at their institutions ahead of the Ministry of Education's compulsory Sixth Form Pathway Programme come September 2022.According to the ministry...

Nobody wore a broader smile on the day than principal of Long Road Primary School, Audreth Gardner.It was Tuesday, November 2, and a man who had celebrated the anniversary of his birth a day before - medical practitioner Dr Nagendra Ba...

SHEER misery!That's how one member of Long Road in St Mary South Eastern summed up the quality of the community's main road - a sentiment largely shared in the deep-rural village.The roadway, which allows only for one vehicle to travel ...

MONTEGO BAY, St James - The way has now been cleared for baby Ariah Turner to lead a normal life.That's the suggestion from the toddler's mother, Tashoy Brown, following a major anal reconstructive procedure days ago.Brown had appealed ...

Sheryl Williams has been hoping for over two months.Her daughter, 34-year-old Ruchelle Williams, a teacher of Goshen district in St Ann, has been missing since September 15. After paying people to search for her daughter in September, S...

Various rural secondary education principals have shed light on bleak sixth form programmes at their institutions ahead of the Ministry of Education's compulsory Sixth Form Pathway Programme come September 2022. According to the minist...

NOVEMBER is Diabetes Awareness Month and diabetes, often referred to as 'sugar' in Jamaica, is a potentially life-threatening illness and is the second-leading cause of death for Jamaicans under the age of 70 years.Locally the month of ...

FOR many people, their senior years are synonymous with retirement, finally getting a chance to step away from the daily stresses and hassles of the working world and spend more time with friends and loved ones. For an increasing number...

MANY retirees want to engage in post-retirement work for the money or out of a desire to stay active. We are interested in opportunities for encore or second careers that are less stressful than our first, which give us a chance to util...

Three years after she left office as chief executive officer of the Universal Service Fund, Suzette Camile Buchanan was back at an event held by the State agency last week.This time, though, it was to bring words of encouragement to the...

FINANCIAL stress is a global phenomenon, but just what is financial stress, and how can it be managed? The Financial Health Institute describes financial stress as "a condition that is as a result of financial and/or economic events tha...

As electricity and Internet connection went out from time to time, 16-year-old Jamie Lowe resorted to purchasing data plans to keep up with classes and take notes.An investment well made, he deems it, after bagging eight ones with strai...

In recent weeks, there have been some press discussions about rising medical inflation, and health insurance providers have signalled a likely increase in premium payments. Currently, only an estimated 15 per cent of Jamaicans are cover...

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett has described the United Kingdom leg of his recently concluded international markets blitz as "extremely successful", and it will result in Jamaica benefiting from several new flights and investments."Ja...

Why do women wait so long to file sex-related claims?A hearing will likely determine whether there is truth to the allegation that Jamaica national women's football team Coach Hubert Busby Jr sexually abused a Vancouver Whitecaps player...

It was the best news Nadian Whyte had in September. She was chosen as the first recipient of the Dr Rickert Allen Scholarship from the NCB Foundation.That meant she could pursue her Bachelor of Science degree in Networking with Cybersec...

RECENT conversations on COVID-19 vaccines have flirted with the idea of mixing and matching vaccines. The argument was also touted in local circles when Jamaicans who received the Pfizer vaccine were unable to get their second doses. Th...

We know you sometimes have burning questions that can best be answered by a pharmacist. Get answers by sending your questions to healthandwealth@jamaicaobserver.comQuestion: Can I smoke while taking antibiotics?Answer: We all know smok...

Not shy about invoking her Jamaican heritage, Republican Winsome Earle Sears is the unlikely lieutenant governor-designate of Virginia after defeating her Democratic opponent Hala S Ayala in last Monday's hard-fought elections.Sears, 54...

The pleasing punishmentThat women bear.- Shakespeare, The Comedy of ErrorsMost men love to please women, but we should ask the question, why? Why does a man take it unto himself to please a woman, sometimes one who he hardly knows?The a...

THE Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) has developed a National Tsunami Response Plan and Standing Order Procedure for Jamaica.This was disclosed by Minister of Local Government and Rural Development Desmon...

Howls of protest from Opposition senators over a two-clause amendment to the old Road Traffic Act yesterday failed to gain traction as the Government used its majority in the Upper House to suspend the Senate Standing Orders and pass th...

Parliament yesterday approved a new Bill, the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act, which will allow for the continuation of fixed penalties under the substantive road traffic legislation.The Bill was approved without amendments in the House o...

Police were last night searching for a gunman who escaped during a firefight with cops in Portmore, St Catherine, which resulted in the death of his crony and injury to three policemen.The dramatic events started unfolding about 3:30 p...

The couple charged with trafficking in persons when a nightclub they owned and operated was raided by police in 2010 was this week sentenced after striking a plea deal.The then Organised Crime Investigation Division (OCID) of the Jamai...

SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth - Following Thursday's stand-off between a judge and police personnel, Jamaica Police Federation Chairman Corporal Rohan James says his members are demanding greater respect from the judiciary.Thursday's unease ...

Sadie Keating, the public servant best remembered for the sensational 2003 Keating Report that lifted the cover off the abuse of children and the horrible conditions in State homes and places of safety, died yesterday, aged 79, her fami...

The death penalty, life behind bars, and imprisonment with hard labour are some of the punishments Jamaicans have recommended for adult men who have relationships with girls below the age of consent and even go as far as impregnating t...

THE Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) says the Ministry of Health's decision to administer only second doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from the current batch available runs contrary to the urgent need to increase vaccin...

Kevin Dale has seen many puzzling things in the two decades he has been driving his taxi. But the strangest of the lot, he said, was the day a man he believed to be a ghost entered his vehicle.The 47-year-old cabbie says he can't quite ...

MONTEGO BAY, St James - Opposition spokesman on transport Mikael Phillips says the temporary injunction granted by the Supreme Court blocking the police from issuing traffic tickets in excess of fines as at 2006 is a result of the Gover...

CHAMBERS PEN, Hanover - The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) is looking to private contractors to help it improve garbage collection for the Yuletide season. The two-week-old programme, which has already added at least ...