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Government not pleased with online petition

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC - A campaign by local human rights watchdog, Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), highlighting the plight of children, has not gone down well with the Minister of Youth , Lisa Hanna who has described an online petition by the JFJ as “disingenuous, dishonest, and dangerous”. According to Hanna, the petition - “Stop the abuse of Jamaica's children by the Government” - does not take into account actions being pursued by the Portia Simpson Miller led administration to address the multi-dimensional issues facing children in Jamaica.

Health Minister defends smoking ban in public places

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaica government says while it remains open to facilitating dialogue and reasonable suggestions regarding the newly implemented smoking ban in public places, the policy was not taken in isolation.
“When we look at emerging data, some, 50 per cent of persons who smoke die from some kind of tobacco-related illness. So my actions and that of the Government are not in isolation. It is against the background of a vision,” said Health Minister Dr. Fenton Ferguson.

Jamaica to host PANCAP meetings

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, (CMC) — The Regional Coordinating Mechanism for Global Fund Projects will meet in Jamaica today. The three-day gathering coincides with the 20th meeting of the executive board of the Pan Caribbean Partnership against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) taking place under the chairmanship of Jamaica's Health Minister Dr Fenton Ferguson. The executive board has responsibility for providing policy guidance on the effective management and operation of the partnership and will review the issues and recommendations of importance to the grouping.

After Egypt: uneasy now lies the head that wears a (democratic) crown

KINGSTON, Jamaica - The Egyptian military coup that removed the democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi was justified as an act to save democracy and preserve law and order by preventing the country from sinking into further chaos and violence.
The military claimed that it was prompted not only by social disorder but by the publicly expressed demands of the majority of people. The military moved quickly to put in key positions people of their choosing so as not to be ruling on a day-to-day basis.

Developing countries outperform rich nations in FDIs

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Value-added trade contributes nearly 30 per cent to developing countries' gross domestic product, on average, compared with 18 per cent in developed countries, according to the recently released World Investment Report 2013.
The report also revealed that last year, for the first time ever, developing economies absorbed more foreign direct investment than developed countries.

Government defends integrity of local doping commission

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC - Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has defended the integrity of the Jamaica Anti-Doping Commission (JADCO) after five local athletes, including former world champion Asafa Powell and Olympic medallist Sherone Simpson, tested positive for a banned substance.
Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, Simpson Miller said all five athletes have now been informed of the adverse test results, however only two have responded to information sent to them by JADCO.

Jamaica to launch rare earth elements extraction project soon

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jamaica says it will soon launch the multi-million dollar rare earth elements extraction pilot project, being spearheaded the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI) and Japanese entity, Nippon Light Metals.
Science, Technology, Energy and Mining (STEM) Minister, Phillip Paulwell, whose ministry has portfolio oversight for the initiative, said that construction work on the J$300 million (One Jamaica dollar = US$0.01 cents) plant, being erected is now almost complete.

EDITORIAL - Positive move by private sector on CARICOM

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Perhaps we can now get down to a serious, coherent and fact-based analysis of Jamaica's trade relations with the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and its membership in the Community. Up to now, that debate has been characterised largely by emotive rants, aimed primarily at Trinidad and Tobago, in which private-sector leaders merely ran with the crowd. Now, they are doing something far more sensible and of potential value.

EDITORIAL - Time for deep introspection

KINGSTON, Jamaica - That five more of our athletes - including Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson - tested positive for banned substances is a body blow to Jamaican athletics. It has happened when we are still reeling from the shock of Veronica Campbell-Brown's positive test and the six-year ban of Dominique Blake for a second doping infraction. This, however, is not the time for a pitiful whinging, feeling set upon and/or of being the victim of hidden hands or circumstance. The situation requires deep introspection by the track and field community - associations, clubs, athletes.

Government stands by athletes

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Jamaica government says while it “stands by all our athletes” it adheres to the rules governing anti-doping in sports. Minister with responsibility for Sports, Natalie Neita Headley said that Jamaica, through its Anti-Doping Agency (JADCO) “has consistently had a rigorous programme for in and out of competition testing while providing public education for all who participate or wish to participate in sport, including at the high school level.

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