PILL UNDER PRESSURE - Local companies blocked from selling cheap, life-saving drug
JAMAICAN pharmaceutical company, Indies Pharma, is gearing up for a court battle with international drug-manufacturing giant, Pfizer-USA, over local distribution of hypertension medication used by thousands of Jamaicans living with the debilitating illness.

A woman's years of travail - Abuse victim speaks out
WHEN 12-YEAR-OLD Camille Tulloch (real name withheld to conceal her identity) felt the blunt, hard force of the rock as it landed on her lower back, she awoke in sudden and extreme agony. She shrieked loudly like a wild animal as warm blood quickly soaked the sheets on which she slept.

Youths pledge to 'take back' Jamaica
"WE CAN take back Jamaica and I think the Police Youth Clubs (PYC) are the perfect place to start," says president Rory Griffiths.

Sex education for tots
EXPERTS SAY sex education should be given to children as young as five years old in an attempt to combat teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, as well as to protect against paedophiles and sexual predators.

Walker resolute - Despite officer being shot at, customs chief vows to fight on
In the wake of an attempt to shoot a customs officer as he left work on Friday night, Commissioner of Customs Danville Walker said yesterday that his department remained resolute against corruption.

HEART short on skills training, says JMA
THE JAMAICA Manufacturers' Association (JMA) is laying blame at the foot of the island's main skills training institute, HEART Trust/NTA, for the absence of a pool of adequately skilled recruits in the productive sector.

PNP youth leader says party losing its identity
THE PEOPLE'S National Party (PNP) will have to clearly define and enunciate its plans, programmes and philosophy to Jamaicans if it is to recapture the hearts of the majority of the nation's voters, head of the party's youth arm, Damion Crawford, says.

PNP urgently needs renewal - Franklyn
FORMER JUNIOR minister, Delano Franklyn, says the People's National Party's (PNP) failure to implement the recommendations of the Meeks Report it commissioned two years ago has contributed to the party's stagnation.

Mixed feelings for Government stimulus package
SECTOR LEADERS have expressed mixed views about the impact of the Government's stimulus package, announced last December. In the wake of the global economic fallout, Government outlined a number of strategies to shore up the local economy, including alleviating the economic burden on small-industry operators.

Media training for western Jamaica
Media practioners in western Jamaica will be exposed to advanced news-writing techniques at a workshop hosted by the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) from April 3-4 in Montego Bay.