Thursday, May 23, 2013Click here to go to the Photos of the Day 2013-05-23 Gallery

KINGSTON, Jamaica - The Jamaican dollar lost against both its North American counterparts at the end of trading today.

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Government has continued the process of ridding the streets of Port-of-Spain of street dwellers. Minister of the People and Social Development, Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh along with several medical personnel conducted a mobilization exercise in the wee hours this morning at Edward street. The minister said those who agree to be relocated will be housed at the Center for Socially-Displaced People at the Riverside Car Park, East Port-of-Spain, which recently underwent major refurbishment. Some of the

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Several roads downtown Kingston will be closed between today (Wednesday, May 22) and tomorrow to facilitate activities related to the Marching Band Festival and Labour Day activities in the area.

AFTER THIRTEEN years and a nearly complete transformation, Diageo, the world's biggest distiller, is making changes at the top.Chief operating officer, Ivan M...

Among the responses I received to the May 12 Careers column titled 'Resume rejections of a returning resident' was one from Madge Sewell Lazarus, a Jamaican author and life coach living in New York....

Authorities are investigating rice mills in southern China following tests that found almost half of the staple grain in one of the country's largest cities was contaminated with a toxic metal.The mills in Hunan province's Youxian county were ordered ...

GraceKennedy Remittance Services (GKRS), a subsidiary of GraceKennedy Limited, has isolated six parishes in western Jamaica whose money transfer transactions will undergo special review prior to payout....

A bipartisan group of legislators in the United States House of Representatives say they have reached a deal in principle in overhauling the US' immigration laws.Aides said the bill in the House of Representatives is similar to one introduced in the US...

CABLE BEACH, Bahamas --- A thunder storm accompanied by sporadic downpour throughout Tuesday night has impacted the Reggae Boyz's final training session in preparation for Thursday's exhibition match-up against English giants Tottenham Hotspur at the newly-constructed Thomas A Robinson National Stadium near here.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Jamaica Cricket Association (JCA) president Lyndel Wright, announced during an emotional speech today, that he will not seek re-election at the Board’s annual general meeting (AGM) which is due by October this year.

KINGSTON, Jamaica - The 150 metre showdown between American Allyson Felix and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce is off for Saturday.

CABLE BEACH, Bahamas — Tottenham Hotspur coach Andre Villas-Boas has said he aims to defeat Jamaica’s Reggae Boyz in an exhibition game at the newly-built Thomas A Robinson Stadium on Thursday.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados -- West Indies have started their preparations in a bid to capture the International Cricket Council’s Champions Trophy 2013 title with a one-week camp in Barbados. Under head coach Ottis Gibson the Windies will go through their drills at Sagicor High Performance Centre.

Peter Ray BloodThursday, May 23, 2013Pastor St Clair Niles poses with his new CD, Break Through. PHOTO: ANDY HYPOLITEBorn into a musical family, it was pre-ordained that Minister St Clair Niles, once a plumber, would eventually become a singer and a recording artiste.

Thursday, May 23, 2013Part of the Costaatt Alumni Association’s mission is to serve the Costaatt community by “providing life-long connections to the college,” according to event co-ordinator Trevonne Gooding-Barrow of

Thursday, May 23, 2013Flashback scenes from T&T Film Festival. The festival will accept submissions from Caribbean filmmakers in the diaspora, and international filmmakers whose films are focused on the Caribbean or its diaspora. The call for submissions for the 2013 edition of the T&T Film Festival (ttff), which takes place from September 18 to October 1, will close on May 31 and filmmakers who wish to submit a film sh

Thursday, May 23, 2013In the European Film Festival today, film buffs have the choice of films from Germany, France, The Netherlands and the UK at MovieTowne, Port-of-Spain.

Thursday, May 23, 2013Jazz Alliance of T&T (JATT) will honour Fitzroy Coleman during Trinidad & Tobago Jazz Week scheduled for June 24 – 28 in celebration of International Jazz Day 2013 under the theme, The Brid

The CDB will on-lend the funds for the financing of public sector projects in Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Volney, who told legislators that he had no intention of “bashing” the government of which he is still a member, said “this is a matter that must be investigated by an independent body”.

Members of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), walked out of a meeting convened to discuss the amendments after they were instructed not to take part in any further discussions after not being privy to a letter in possession of the head of state.

Opponents argue that all embryos, whether created in a lab or not, have the potential to become fully-fledged humans, making such experiments morally wrong.

A CONCACAF integrity report accused Warner of using deceptive methods to secure funds from CONCACAF and FIFA as well as induce FIFA to transfer funds earmarked for development purposes to bank accounts he controlled.

THE EDITOR, Sir: Once again, Dr Wayne West of the Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society (JCHS) resorts to half-truths to spread his anti-gay message.

THE EDITOR, Sir: A baby boy was left in the street at 64 Henderson Avenue in St Andrew in 1970.

THE EDITOR, Sir: A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.

THE EDITOR, Sir: I write in response to The Gleaner piece by Mr Winston Donald ('Remove statue, bust of racist Gandhi', May 21, 2013).

Dear Editor, I respond to the article headlined 'Belize case said being used to push gay agenda in Caribbean' of Sunday, May 19, 2013 in the Jamaica Observer. I am one of the lawyers who appeared in this case — on behalf of the applicant — Caleb Orozco. Accordingly, I anticipate that, in fairness, you will publish this reply. In September of 2010, Caleb Orozco filed a constitutional challenge of Section 53 of the Criminal Code of Belize as being contrary to and in contravention of

WE'LL start by first acknowledging that the Caribbean is in the midst of a serious debt crisis as measured in the debt/GDP ratio as follows: 140% in St Kitts-Nevis; 100% in Antigua-Barbuda, Grenada and Jamaica; 80% in Barbados and Dominica; and 80% in Belize, St Lucia and St Vincent.

Last weekend's meeting of Caribbean political and business leaders in the British Virgin Islands was not the type that would normally attract much attention. However, the issues discussed were most important to the survival of this region.

It's easily and readily recognised that good, proactive leadership is essential to the organisation of any society. Sadly, it is a quality lacking all across Jamaica, which is one of the main reasons so many communities are dysfunctional.

Haiti is, more often than not, dismissed as a viable market for exports from Jamaica and is usually not thought of as a possible opportunity for Jamaican companies to establish and do business there.

WE join the football fraternity in hailing Harbour View FC, champions of the Red Stripe Premier League for 2012/2013.

BRADES, Montserrat (GIU) -- Heads of all British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies have been invited to a meeting with Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss tax transparency. In a letter themed “The G8 and tax and transparency,” Cameron said he is looking to...

LONDON, England -- The world’s four largest international tobacco companies have forged a joint venture to fight the illegal trafficking of dutiable consumer goods. British American Tobacco, Imperial Tobacco Group, Japan Tobacco International and Philip Morris International have launched...

Artist Faulein Rudder is a remarkable woman. This sentiment was echoed recently when the artist invited friends and art aficionados to her Diego Martin home to view her extensive collection of works and her personal art collection titled “The Jubilee Collection (1987-2012).” The artist, who has for decades made an indelible mark on the art landscape of this country and has paved the way for countless women artists, is still clever with the brush.

With the legendary Beryl MacBurnie at its helm, the Little Carib Theatre (LCT), in the early 40s was a vibrant institution where talented and legendary dancers from this country executed their craft to appreciative audiences. The theatre, still the preferred home for a number of practitioners in the arts, has lost for the most part, the core of its foundation — dance. That is about to change however — the LCT is set for a revival, with the help of proficient and artful choreographer and dan

MOSCOW, Russia -- The G20 group of the world’s leading economies should deepen consideration of the development concerns of small, poor and vulnerable economies in their efforts to promote equitable and sustainable economic growth. Dr Cyrus Rustomjee, director of the...

While bullying among young people is certainly an ill which should be eradicated, passing a law to that effect may not be the best approach.

WHILE the three-year-old People’s Partnership Government of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar was yesterday preparing to defeat an opposition no-confidence motion, the 18-month-old administration of President Donald Ramotar in Guyana was pondering the timing of a general election that now seems unavoidable later this year.

It would be putting it very mildly to say that I was seriously taken aback when, within days of Indian High Commissioner Malay Mishra relating a humiliating encounter with an immigration officer at Piarco International Airport, a near similar experience was revealed by British High Commissioner Arthur Snell.

The appointment of a new board will not save Caribbean Airlines (CAL). We must change the basis on which the airline operates.

After a week dominated by Caribbean Airlines (CAL), brace for more. This is another case of the media pushing the Government to act using information the Government had the means to know. Minister of Finance Larry Howai offered a weak apology for CAL’s corporate governance troubles. That’s just the beginning, and whatever the accounting changes Howai will engineer, CAL’s problems are likely to linger for a while.