Sun, sand and new strategy
WESTERN BUREAU: TOURISM OFFICIALS say they will immediately embark on a series of aggressive marketing strategies in a bid to increase the number of visitors to Jamaica during this "normally testing period".

'The age of cheap oil is over'
WITH SOME petroleum industry analysts forecasting the price of oil to reach US$100.00 per barrel in the near future, Raymond Wright, group managing director of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), yesterday appealed...

'If I go back to Jamaica I will be killed'
THE JAMAICAN mother of seven-year-old Toni-Ann Byfield, who was shot dead in north London in September 2003, has won a last-minute reprieve from deportation and has been allowed to stay in the United Kingdom.

Haitian-born woman named G-G of Canada
TORONTO (AP): PRIME MINISTER Paul Martin formally announced yesterday the appointment of Michaelle Jean, a Haitian-born television journalist based in Quebec, as the next Governor-General of Canada.

Portmore advised against toll appeal
THE PORTMORE Citizens' Advisory Council (PCAC) is still undecided as to whether it will be appealing the ruling of the Judicial Review Court regarding the controversial Portmore toll road.

Relieve Phillips of portfolio - Smith
OPPOSITION SPOKESMAN on National Security Derrick Smith has asked Prime Minister P.J. Patterson to relieve National Security Minister Dr. Peter Phillips of his portfolio for failing to devote more time to his job of reducing crime.

Stiffer fines for smuggling produce
STIFFER PENALTIES, among them a $100,000 fine, are coming for importers who smuggle plants and produce into the island. Carol Thomas, chief plant quarantine officer in the Ministry of Agriculture, said yesterday...

Gov't considers fare hike for JUTC, taxis
MINISTER OF Transport and Works, Robert Pickersgill, has confirmed that Government is considering the granting of a fare increase to the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) and taxi operators.