KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner - HEAD OF Delegation for the European Union to Jamaica Ambassador Paola Amadei has urged Jamaicans to develop the capacity to compete around the world and not to depend on tariff barriers to make domestic industries relevant. "It is not by applying tariffs that you will develop a competitive industry or a competitive agricultural sector. It has been proven that by applying tariff and the higher the tariffs are, the worse it is for the consumers.
Jamaica
WASHINGTON, CMC - Jamaica’s Minister of National Security, Peter Bunting, says crime has severely affected his country’s economic growth. Delivering the third lecture in the “Jamaica 50 lecture” series under the theme, “National Security in Jamaica since Independence” at the Silver Spring Civic Center, Bunting said crime has affected Jamaica’s competiveness, “as we have been falling in terms of the world economic forum competitiveness index, and it affects investor confidence”.
OTAKI, New Zealand (AP) - Sandra Vidulich is so excited about the leather boots she ordered through Amazon that she rips open the box in front of the postman and tries them on. "I looove them," she declares, as the driveway at her tree-lined home in rural New Zealand briefly becomes a catwalk. "They're cool." For now, a boom in Internet shopping is helping keep alive moribund postal services across the developed world. But the core of their business - letters - is declining precipitously, and data from many countries indicate that parcels alone won't be enough to save them.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner - Bank of Jamaica governor Brian Wynter said the ongoing negotiations between the government and the International Fund has contributed to speeding up the depreciation of the Jamaican dollar against the United States dollar. At the same time, Wynter said the above average decline in the value of the currency during the October to December 2012 quarter reflected excess demand for foreign exchange.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Observer - THE Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI) has concluded that Jamaica cannot do without the proposed loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at this time. However, the think tank, established to promote evidence-based policy dialogue within Caribbean societies, says that, while the Government's debt reduction programme is necessary and effective, it is "insufficient" to ensure that the country gets on a path of fiscal sustainability.
MIAMI, CMC - A Jamaican national convicted of killing a Florida state trooper with a pipe bomb has been granted a temporary reprieve one day before he was to be executed by lethal injection. A United States federal district on Monday stayed the execution of Paul Augustus Howell, 47, allowing defense attorneys more time to appeal his case. Michael Ufferman, one of Howell’s attorneys, speculated however that prosecutors may appeal the judge’s ruling. Howell was convicted of killing Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Jimmy Fulford in February 1992.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC - The Government has responded to concerns surrounding the controversial advertisement by German appliance company Saturn, which includes images showing the improper handling of the Jamaican flag. A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday said the commercial appears to be well intentioned, as it seeks to use the powerful symbolism of Brand Jamaica to project the products and services of Saturn.
KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Commissioner of Police Owen Ellington has described as “shameless, heartless and senseless” the murder of retired deputy superintendent of police, Denzil Boyd, 63, who was shot and killed at his home in the Corporate Area on Sunday. The murder of the well-known former crime fighter has sparked anger among members of the police force, with the Police High Command making it clear that those responsible will be found and brought to justice.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - It might sound like the Jamaicanised pronunciation of the number which comes after 79, but Haiti is a historical enigma and its people are a worthy of respect, dignity and even our admiration. This is the last week in Black History Month, and it is ironic that in the 28 days given to us to come to an understanding of ourselves, we have figuratively and literally missed the boat regarding the first nation in modern history to have a black government. The Haitians are not as far from us as one thinks.
KINGSTON, Jamaica - Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has reiterated the Jamaica Government’s position on shifting Jamaica further away from its neo-colonial state by putting plans in place to remove the Queen as Jamaica’s head of state. In an exclusive interview with the Jamaica Observer yesterday, Simpson Miller said that utterances by Shaun Bailey, special advisor to Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron, would not throw the island off course in its quest to move away from the monarchy.