MINISTER of Health Rudyard Spencer has appealed to the representatives of The Global Fund to provide continued funding for HIV/AIDS programmes in Jamaica, after the country became ineligible on income grounds.

DIRECTOR of Public Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn this morning commenced her bid in the Supreme Court to quash a ruling by Senior Magistrate Judith Pusey during the Cuban lightbulb trial.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Former prime minister Owen Arthur is calling for stiff penalties for persons responsible in the deadly fire at a clothing store over the weekend.

MIAMI, United States — A hurricane watch has been issued for the coasts of Texas and Mexico in the Gulf as Tropical Storm Hermine approaches.

NASSAU, Bahamas — A judge in the Bahamas dismissed charges today against two people accused of trying to extort money from John Travolta after the prosecutor said the actor no longer wanted to pursue a case stemming from the death of his teenage son.

THE VALLEY, Antigua — Airport operations in the Caribbean island of Anguilla are back to normal because workers have fixed equipment caused by Hurricane Earl.

POLICE have vowed to intensify their presence in schools across the island starting today, the beginning of the new educational year

TWO men have became the first persons in Jamaica to be arrested and charged under the Cyber Crimes Act.

HE is not putting his cards on the table just yet, regarding his strategy to become prime minister of Jamaica one day, but rising star Andrew Holness is willing to admit one thing: "I want to lead my country."

THE Ministry of Education has implemented two new programmes in schools which it hopes will help with the assessment of its policies, the management of data, monitoring of students, and eventually a reduction in disruptive behaviour by delinquent children.

THE Government says it will be saving up to 87 per cent on the monthly electricity bill for traffic signals by replacing all incandescent bulbs with Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps islandwide over the next 12 months.

BOTH Education Minister Andrew Holness and the newly elected president of the Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA), Nadine Molloy, are predicting a smooth start to the academic year today.

INMATES at the Spanish Town lock-up in St Catherine yesterday refused to eat the State-provided meals following a decision by officials to suspend visits by relatives after several items of contraband were discovered in the cells.

THE National Commercial Bank (NCB), forward-thinking and innovative, has joined forces with the Jamaica Observer to celebrate Fashion's Night Out (FNO) on September 10.

NINE hundred and fifty men and women — the majority of whom were requested multiple times by farm operators — left the island over the last three days to work on apple orchards in the United States as Jamaicans continue to be the most sought-after group of farm workers.

Cancer survivor Tina Kruse gets a hug from Jamaica Cancer Society chairman Earl Jarrett at the St Ann and St Mary chapters' fifth staging of the society's Relay for Life in Ocho Rios on Saturday. Relay for Life is staged by the Cancer Society to raise funds for its programmes, create increased awareness about cancer and celebrate those who have survived the condition.

Today's Highlight

THE Opposition People's National Party (PNP) and one of its former general secretaries are on a collision course regarding his candidacy in future general elections, according to information reaching the Observer.

Dear Eve,

SANTIAGO, Chile (CMC) — A new United Nations study says that regional exports will grow by 21.4 per cent this year primarily because of purchases from Asia and increased demands from the United States.