RESIDENTS in sections of Old Harbour, St Catherine, had anxious moments yesterday as the rain associated with Tropical Storm Elsa left some areas flooded."The water came inside the house and damaged a lot of personal belongings," Dwayne...

MONTEGO BAY, St James - Tourism stakeholders are upbeat this morning following yesterday afternoon's arrival of Air Canada's Dreamliner flight from Toronto, Canada, at Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, St James.Shortly afte...

Jamaica was yesterday spared the worst effects of Tropical Storm Elsa with only a few parishes experiencing hours of heavy rains, something of a disappointment for some Jamaicans, and a relief for others, who had braced for severe weat...

As Jamaica's tourism sector continues to rebound, Montego Bay will this evening welcome the first of once weekly flights from one of the world's richest countries, Switzerland. The flights are operated by Edelweiss Air, a Swiss leisure...

With an estimate of over 1,500 local burials since the start of the year due to murders, COVID-19, and road fatalities alone, officials are foreseeing psychological issues that may arise hereafter. This comes as many families have had ...

CLASS is in session and Nickesha Lynch is in full control. Lynch, a Jamaican educator teaching in Cayman Islands, has not one or two, but all of nine students in the top 10 of the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) 2020 merit list for ...

JAMAICAN-BORN nurse Dr Sandra Lindsay has been recognised by United States President Joe Biden for being the first American to get the COVID-19 vaccine and for her dedication to her work, at a naturalisation ceremony Friday at the White...

MANDEVILLE, Manchester - With Jamaica recording 234 road fatalities as of June 30, director at the Road Safety Unit (RSU) Deidre Hudson-Sinclair is pushing for a safe systems approach to reduce serious injury and death resulting from cr...

GOOD HOPE, Trelawny - Buoyed up by an uptick of tourist arrivals, Chukka Caribbean Adventures, Jamaica's biggest attraction company, on Friday reopened its newly-transformed eco-adventure outpost here, which was shuttered for over a yea...

FROM he was a baby, Yakeev Morris - the medical intern who collapsed and died while on duty last year - declared he would be a doctor, his sister Ornella Morris said.But Ornella, her parents and siblings are incensed and fuming over wha...

An under-fire chairman of a primary school board in St Thomas has stoutly declared that he is no Obeah man, and said that he would continue to serve in that capacity, despite opposition.Tension rose at Grant's Pen Primary and Infant Sch...

FATHER Richard Ho Lung, known and highly respected for helping the poor and dispossessed for most of his adult life, marks his 50th year in the priesthood today. But his celebration has a tinge of sadness as he has been stuck in The Phi...

PLEAS from Prime Minister Andrew Holness for Jamaicans to prepare for the effects of the now downgraded Tropical Storm Elsa have seemingly been ignored by people living in some flood-prone areas, in particular, sections of the south-eas...

A repeat of the flooding that happened last year would be catastrophic, the people of New Haven, St Andrew pleaded to the Jamaica Observer yesterday as they braced for the effects of Tropical Storm Elsa.As heavy rain from Tropical Storm...

TRAVERSING the Corporate Area yesterday, queues outside supermarkets were lengthy, with shoppers waiting side by side to stock up on precautionary hurricane supplies. With cashiers barely getting a break and items like water, flashlight...

The United States Embassy in Kingston last Wednesday hosted a small reception commemorating the 245th anniversary of America's Independence ahead of the official celebration scheduled for tomorrow.American Independence Day is today, J...

AN emergency fund refers to a financial safety net that protects against future unexpected expenses. It's often the case that an emergency fund is mistaken for the stashing away of funds for "a rainy day". An emergency fund is necessary...

OLIVER Samuels, veteran Jamaican actor and comedian, says he has been enjoying the benefits of digital banking and has urged senior citizens like himself to be more open to the idea.Speaking as a guest presenter during the Scotiabank, S...

HAVE you just retired, working on reduced hours or stopped working for a while? You know sitting at home is not an option and so, now you are contemplating your next move. You thought about volunteering or even giving some time to your ...

JAMAICANS 75 years and older will start receiving benefits from Government's social pension programme announced in April this year.Karl Samuda, the social and security minister, announced in the House of Representatives that the progra...

OUR kidneys are vital organs located above the waist, on both sides of the spine.Though small in size, the reddish-brown, bean-shaped organs filter blood to remove impurities, excess minerals, salts, and extra water. Therefore, we all n...

We know you sometimes have burning questions that can best be answered by a pharmacist. Our feature, Ask Your Pharmacist , seeks to address some of those issues. Send your questions to healthandwealth@jamaicaobserver.com. Question: Why...

THE Ministry of Health and Wellness on Friday issues a health advisory for hurricane preparation as the island braced for inclement weather associated with Category 1 system Hurricane Elsa, which was forecast to start impacting the isl...

Carlyle Grant, 27, always knew that he wanted to be behind the creative thought process of building brands from he was a youngster, but at the time he didn't know that the discipline was referred to as marketing."When I was a child watc...

THE latest alarming coronavirus variant is exploiting low global vaccination rates and a rush to ease pandemic restrictions, adding new urgency to the drive to get more shots in arms and slow its supercharged spread.The vaccines most us...

CLEFT lip and cleft palate are openings or splits in the upper lip, the roof of the mouth (palate), or both.Cleft lip and cleft palate result when facial structures that are developing in an unborn baby don't close completely.What cause...

There is an old poor man....Oppressed with two weak evils,Age and hunger.- ShakespearePEOPLE often misquote the saying when they cite that money is the root of all evil. Actually the correct quote is, 'The love of money is the root of a...

DEBATE on a Bill seeking to make extraditions much easier descended into an angry exchange between Opposition Senator Lambert Brown and several Government senators in Gordon House yesterday.Senator Brown seemed to signal to Government m...

Orange Bay, Portland - Residents of Orange Bay are on edge following two murders in their community where the victims were left for dead inside their houses, which were then set ablaze by their attackers.The latest incident occurred on ...

BALACLAVA, St Elizabeth - There have been mixed reactions among school leaders at four institutions in St Elizabeth and Manchester ahead of the start of summer school next Monday.Against a backdrop of extensive learning loss for studen...

SINCE June 16, Jamaica and the United States have implemented more changes to the operational protocols of the Shiprider Agreement, which covers cooperation between both countries in suppressing illicit maritime drug trafficking."It is ...

MINISTER of Justice Delroy Chuck says he will be taking to Cabinet soon, a submission for an increase in the level of fees paid to legal aid lawyers as well as a new method of payment for their services.Chuck was responding to questions...

With the island now into a new phase of relaxed COVID-19 measures, professor of public health, epidemiology and HIV/AIDS at The University of the West Indies, Mona, Peter Figueroa, is warning Jamaicans against throwing caution to the wi...

WINSTON Jarrett, the golden ager convicted for murdering his 18-year-old sister-in-law in a fit of jealousy in January last year, only to report her missing a day after he knifed her to death, actually led a life of crime from as far ba...

WITH a hurricane warning in effect for Jamaica as category 1 storm Elsa strengthens on approach to the central Caribbean, some citizens are stocking up on necessities while others have admitted to being unprepared.The Meteorological Ser...

Errol McKenzie (left), vice-chairman of Jamaica Legion, Royal Commonwealth Ex-Servicemen League, demonstrates how the new wheelchair-enabled vehicle - purchased from donated funds - works to Asif Ahmad (second left), British High Commis...

HEYWOOD HALL, St Mary - Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie could not knock on the door to ask the elderly man living in a dilapidated wooden structure in this community if he could enter because the ramshackle structure has no d...

MANDEVILLE, Manchester - Health services at facilities in three south-central parishes were severely impacted yesterday with almost half of the scheduled doctors calling in sick, reducing operations to emergencies only.The public health...

MONTEGO BAY, St James - Services at Cornwall Regional Hospital in this parish were scaled down yesterday, according to senior medical officer of the facility, Dr Derek Harvey.This follows Wednesday's meeting of the Jamaica Medical Docto...

A major COVID-19 testing facility yesterday dropped its price by a third - from US$150 to US$100 per test - immediately raising hopes for a big jump in business travellers who might not now have to quarantine on arrival in Jamaica.The o...

There could be a spike in the number of visitors from Curacao to Jamaica as the country yesterday welcomed the inaugural weekly air service from JetAir Caribbean Airlines.JetAir will fly every Thursday into Kingston, departing on the s...

THE Jamaica Public Service (JPS) has appealed to the Government to help stamp out electricity theft by throwing the weight of the justice system behind the issue, dedicating a special utility court to deal with cases.The senior manageme...

THE Ministry of Health & Wellness reported late last night that normal operations will resume at health facilities across the island beginning 8:00 this morning."The decision was reached following a meeting of senior executives in t...

A tropical storm watch was last night issued for Jamaica as the island prepares for possible impact from Tropical Storm Elsa.The National Meteorological Service last night said that the projection is for rainfall in excess of 50 mm acro...

President of the Senate, Senator Thomas Tavares-Finson, (right), and Speaker of the House of Representatives Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert, (2nd left) pose with Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba, Her Excellency Inés Fors Fernández (cent...

Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck says the report from the joint select committee (JSC) reviewing the National Identification and Registration (NIDS) Act, 2020 could be tabled in the House of Representatives as early as next week."We ha...

Today is the 183rd day of 2021. There are 182 days left in the year.TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT1777: Vermont becomes the first American colony to abolish slavery. OTHER EVENTS1502: Conflict between French and Spanish over partition of Naples bre...

MONTEGO BAY, St James - President of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) Janet Silvera is making an urgent plea to Prime Minister Andrew Holness to move with alacrity to bring health-care services provided at the ai...

LEADING tobacco and cigarette distribution company Carreras Limited has cautioned the Government against an excessive regulatory regime that it says will be tough to implement and enforce, and will impose provisions that will put the to...

When the first two Jamaicans arrived in Nigeria in 1846, it symbolically marked the reverse journey, and a homecoming of sorts, as many Nigerians were among the estimated 12.5 million Africans snatched from the continent and taken to f...