Jamaica

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The police in the central parish of Clarendon have four Haitians in their custody, two have been charged with illegal entry. According to reports here, two Haitian men were picked up on the weekend by the police as they carried out spot checks in the parish. It was then discovered that the men had illegally entered the country. The men were charged and taken to the police lockup in the parish capital of May Pen. While there, two women went to see them, during the visit it was discovered that they were also from Haiti.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner - THREE OF the country's leading private-sector groups have given Energy Minister Phillip Paulwell and the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) 30 days to lay out a clear road map to secure massive reductions in electricity rates. The Government was banking on the introduction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to reduce the cost of electricity by up to 40 per cent. However, the fate of the LNG project hangs in the balance following the withdrawal of the Government from the process.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Jamaica says it will continue to promote technical and economic co-operation with developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as with traditional partners Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and the European Union.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner - Long admired for world-class academics moulding young minds, the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, could be depleted of such individuals in the next few years. Professor Hubert Devonish has estimated that some 300 academics are due to retire in the next five years, and replacements are hard to find because of comparatively low salaries. Devonish noted that UWI brought salaries down to regional levels decades ago, but the continuing slide of the Jamaican dollar has had a negative impact.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – The Portia Simpson Miller led administration has been forced to cut its spending this year by J$10 million (One Jamaica dollar = US$0.01 cents) as it grapples with lower than projected revenue inflows. The cuts were outlined in the revision that the government has made to its spending plans for the current fiscal year, which ends next month. The governments' spending plans had been under pressure this fiscal year, as it was getting less money than needed to carry out the spending. The cuts were tabled in the Parliament on Tuesday.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC- The Coast Guard of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) has increased border patrols in the wake of reports that more Haitians could be heading towards Jamaica. The heightened concern, follows the arrival of a group of 25 Haitians in Portland on Tuesday. Deputy Director General of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management, (ODPEM) Richard Thompson told reporters on Wednesday that based on information out of Haiti, nine boats left the country hoping to reach the United States.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner - INTERNATIONAL JURIST Patrick Robinson is to be put forward by Jamaica for election to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The announcement was made on Tuesday by Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister A.J. Nicholson as he addressed diplomats during a Diplomatic Week forum in Kingston. The election to the ICJ takes place in November 2014. 

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Gleaner - Jamaica has been touting its plan to develop itself as the world's fourth logistics hub, but Panama is ahead of the game and will likely take that title. Jamaica is banking on Panama's signature project, the canal expansion due for completion in 2015, to realise its own hub dream which will take a decade to realise. Panama began rolling out its hub project in 2007, known as the Panama Pacific Special Economic Area (PPSEA). The tendered project was won by British company London and Regional, which has been developing the hub in Port Arthur since then.

(Jamaica Observer) Phillip Paulwell is insisting that Jamaica’s foray into commercial production of rare earth metals is much more than dollars and cents.
‘Since we made the initial announcement to the Parliament and Jamaica, two weeks ago, most of the attention attracted both locally and internationally has focused on the dollars and cents and the economic opportunity, but the project means much more,’ Paulwell, the science, technology, energy, and mining minister said yesterday.

KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC - A team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) arrived here on Monday for the latest rounds of negotiations with the Portia Simpson Miller administration. The mission follows extensive discussions by Jamaican officials with representatives from the Washington, D.C. based international lending agency as part of efforts to reach a staff level agreement regarding a Letter of Intent. This will form the basis of Jamaica’s submission to the IMF Board for approval of a four-year Extended Fund Facility following completion of prior actions to be agreed.