The Senate resumed sitting yesterday in a much-improved atmosphere following Thursday night's rancour over a vote to extend the existing states of emergency. But the session was brief, in keeping with a long-standing political protocol...

Residents of some Corporate Area communities in which states of emergency (SOEs) are in force yesterday gave mixed views on the security measure.While some said they saw no benefit to the SOEs, others told the Jamaica Observer that the...

KIX by Lee's Fifth Avenue is the newest addition to the family of 20 stores in Tropical Plaza, Half-Way-Tree, offering a new and friendly shopping experience.Fyah 105 FM will be on-site today to herald the opening.The trendy set-up cate...

Representatives of the global Baha'i community of 187 countries, including Jamaica, and 2,100 tribal communities, are now assembled at the Baha'i World Centre in Haifa, Israel, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ascension of Ab...

THE Opposition indicated yesterday that it is undaunted by any possibility of a political fallout from its refusal to support an extension of states of emergency (SOEs) across seven police divisions in the country in which murders have ...

MONTEGO BAY, St James - The Opposition's vote against extending the states of emergency (SOEs) currently in force in seven police divisions across the island has been met with disappointment and anger by stakeholders in western Jamaica....

PRIVATE Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) President Keith Duncan has given support to the states of emergency (SOEs) declared in seven police divisions to help quell the escalating spate of murders across the island."If the police c...

The Opposition's vote against an extension of the states of emergency has triggered furious debate across the country.Some Jamaicans have painted the Opposition as reckless, given the spiralling crime rate in the island, while others sa...

Undaunted by a worrying spike in COVID-19 cases in Germany, one of Jamaica's markets for leisure travellers, Director of Tourism Donovan White yesterday remained optimistic that earnings projected for the sector will hold up."Germany is...

PATERNITY testing has always been a sensitive subject. However, since Parliamentarian Heroy Clarke called for mandatory DNA testing at birth, St Mary residents are expressing mixed views on the issue.On November 9, the Member of Parliam...

BRUSSELS, Germany (AP) - The discovery of a new coronavirus variant sent a chill through much of the world Friday as nations raced to halt air travel, markets fell sharply and scientists held emergency meetings to weigh the exact risks,...

THERE'S no doubt that when it comes to being a taxi operator one will have to face many challenges - sometimes on a near daily basis - and for Mandeville taxi driver Gary Dyer, interacting with passengers has oftentimes proved to be mor...

LLUIDAS VALE, St Catherine - It's a case of better late than never for staff and students of Juan de-Bolas Primary School which resumed face-to-face classes here in St Catherine on Monday, two weeks after the reopening date announced by...

MANDEVILLE, Manchester - Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton yesterday reiterated that the Government's position is that parental approval must be given in relation to COVID-19 vaccines being administered to children."We ...

While Jamaica Police Federation officials were in court yesterday dealing with a claim for overtime pay owed to rank and file cops, many of whom were outside the building protesting for their money, the head of the Police Civilian Over...

An admission by the lead police investigator in the case against the 33 individuals who stand accused of crimes committed by the St Catherine-based Klansman gang that he had not placed any identifying mark on a rifle taken from the boso...

JAMAICA College (JC) Parents Teachers' Association (PTA) President Collin Greenland is fuming over a Wednesday-night hospital visit by a JC board member, whom he says has been the source of recent public discontent among the board, the ...

Opposition Leader Mark Golding says he agrees with the position of Integrity Commission chairman, retired Justice Seymour Panton, that the auditor general's position as one of five commissioners of the commission poses no threat of a co...

President of the Senate Tom Tavares-Finson last night severely criticised an order which requires the Government to win over at least a single vote from the Opposition to pass legislation with constitutional implications.Tavares-Finson...

MONTEGO BAY, St James - The protest over arrears for overtime work staged by police in Kingston and St Andrew yesterday received strong support from their colleagues in St James who also complained about less than adequate working condi...

Three of the passengers on the Nieuw Statendam cruise ship seem to be celebrating their arrival at PortRoyal yesterday. The Holland America vessel is the largest cruise ship to date to visit Port Royal. It has acapacity of approximately...

THE US Embassy in Kingston has partnered with Junior Achievement Jamaica (JA Jamaica) to provide tablets for students in need at the primary and high school levels.This initiative, valued at $3.7 million, is tied to two flagship program...

FALMOUTH, Trelawny - With over 1,300 murders reported across the 19 police divisions since the start of the year, prime minister and Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader Andrew Holness is expected to address the country's worrying crime pr...

HUMAN rights group Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) is urging people who have experienced gender-based violence (GBV) to consider getting legal support in order to claim their rights and access justice.GBV is a human rights violation and peo...

Pastor of the Constant Spring Road Church of God Rev Winston George Lewis says men and boys need be retrained to respect and protect women and girls."If we are going to have safer spaces for our women and girls, there must be a retrain...

As the observance of Black Friday shopping celebrations continues to take off locally, Scotiabank says it is making the period more festive for its credit cardholders as they make use of the planned specials on household and personal ...

OCHO RIOS, St Ann - As her mother battled renal failure, which would eventually claim her life in 2013, a then 16-year-old Tiffany Cox took solace in the support and care provided by a nurse. Though she cannot remember the medical care ...

The Forestry Department and the National Road Operating and Constructing Company (NROCC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to reforest land in St James to restore tree cover that may be affected during the construction of ...

OCHO RIOS, St Ann - Flash mobs, church hops, catchy jingles and phrases were all part of the creative ways the North East Regional Health Authority (NERHA) used to encourage vaccination against the novel coronavirus. Not only did their ...

THE message of controlling diabetes rang loudly on World Diabetes Day, which was celebrated on November 14.As part of its corporate responsibility and to commemorate the day, Portmore-based Joong Pharmacy, located on Newland Road, held ...

THE Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is worried that measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 have been lifted or are being relaxed in many densely populated areas of the region, even though vaccination numbers remain low."This...

MANDEVILLE, Manchester - Opposition spokesman on housing, transport and works Mikael Phillips is appealing to the Government for urgent rehabilitation of Jamaica's south coast road network, between May Pen and Westmoreland, saying that ...

ISTANBUL, Turkey - Demonstrators chant slogans during a protest against gender-based violence on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, in Istanbul, yesterday. (Photo: AFP) 

LONDON, England (AP) - The deaths of at least 27 people in the English Channel is fuelling tensions between the UK and France over how to stop migrants from crossing the world's busiest waterway in small boats.Despite a pledge from Brit...

HAVANA, Cuba (AFP) - Five years after Fidel Castro's death the revolution he started in 1959 appears to be at an impasse, with Cuba's economy battered and an ever-larger part of its population clamouring for change.The communist island ...

LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) - Britain said yesterday it would ban travel from six southern African countries, after South Africa detected a new COVID-19 variant with a large number of mutations."The early indication we have of this var...

PARIS, France (AP) - France is launching a new process for women to formally report domestic violence and sexual and other abuse, circumventing police stations where many victims feel uncomfortable filing such complaints.The measure com...

CHAIRMAN of the Integrity Commission retired Justice Seymour Panton staunchly defended Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis's membership on the commission, dismissing arguments that it is a conflict of interest."That is not so. There has...

THE Integrity Commission (IC) says it is not backing down from its position that the gag clause in the legislation which governs its operations be removed to allow it to announce and comment on ongoing investigations.Arguing that a gag ...

Having approved the provisions of the National Identification and Registration Act (NIRA) after a lengthy debate last Friday, the Senate will now refocus on the issues of the latest states of emergency (SOEs) which were approved in the ...

SEVERAL Jamaicans, particularly those at the policy level, failing to make the link between violence against women and the spread of HIV/AIDS has led to calls for emergency action by the island's leading non-governmental organisation tr...

JOY Crawford, co-founder and executive director of the female support group Eve for Life, is urging the Government to begin to view violence against Jamaica's women and girls as a pandemic and treat it similar to how it has approached C...

MANDEVILLE, Manchester - Even as three leading schools here mobilised students for a COVID-19 vaccination blitz hosted by the Jamaica National (JN) Foundation yesterday, one principal complained about the undermining effect of vaccine h...

THE police investigator regarded as a linchpin witness in the prosecution's case against 33 alleged members of the notorious St Catherine-based Klansman gang now on trial, yesterday listed 13 scene of crime locations where detectives ha...

Designer Tamia Carey (centre) is flanked by current JAMPRO President Diane Edwards (left), and former President Pat Francis for the official ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the launch of the Tamia Carey Shoe Collection. The ceremony too...

Today is the 329th day of 2021. There are 36 days left in the year.TODAY'S HIGHLIGHT1999: Five-year-old Elian Gonzalez is rescued at sea after a boat capsizes during a voyage from Cuba, killing his mother and 10 others. Elian is turned ...

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) - Three white men were found guilty of murder yesterday for shooting dead an African American man after chasing him in their pickup trucks, following a racially-charged trial in the southern US state of G...

Member of Parliament (MP) for St Catherine North West Hugh Graham has assured residents of the Orangefield community in his constituency that the National Water Commission (NWC) has committed to completing improvement works to their wa...

MINISTER of Tourism Edmund Bartlett says he is very encouraged by the planned start of flights between Sweden and Jamaica later next year. VING, operated by Sunclass Airlines, will run direct flights between Stockholm, Sweden and Monteg...

THE increasingly worried relatives and friends of missing 25-year-old Leaford "Chubby" Mighty, a resident of Drewsland, St Andrew, will have to wait a little longer to find out if the body of a male found in a barrel in St Mary on Novem...