BOGUE, St James - The Jamaica Public Service yesterday promised that Jamaicans would be able to enjoy cheaper energy in the long run as it moves towards increasing its dependence on alternative fuel sources....

IONIE Lumsden could very well be speaking for the just over 3,500 Jamaicans whom Father Richard Ho Lung and his Missionaries of the Poor care for at their six homes in Kingston....

Declaring that it is time for Jamaica to make a paradigm shift, Prime Minister Bruce Golding early this morning outlined his administration's plan for changes in the size and function of government that, he said, will lead to greater efficiency and reduced costs....

BRITAIN'S Director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer, QC, says the decision as to whether or not Jamaica should retain the London-based Privy Council as its final appellate court rests with its citizens and should not be influenced by external forces....

Finance Minister Audley Shaw last night announced an increase in the departure tax and a further hike in GCT on phone calls and instruments near the end of a marathon sitting of Parliament's Standing Finance Committee at Gordon House....

THE Standing Finance Committee went into overtime last night as the parliamentary Opposition, led by its finance spokesman Dr Omar Davies, pressed the Government to explain cuts as well as increases outlined in the supplementary estimates....

An overwhelming majority of adult Jamaicans polled say that it is better to offer a child up for adoption rather than abort it. They also believe that the Church and State have a responsibility to protect the unborn by improving the adoption process....

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A powerful member of President Hamid Karzai's Cabinet threatened to quit after a suicide car bomb attack targeted him yesterday, killing five people, in the latest Taliban attempt to destabilise Afghanistan's struggling government. Two Americans were among six NATO troop deaths elsewhere....

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) - Honduras' interim government gave Brazil a 10-day ultimatum yesterday to decide what to do with ousted President Manuel Zelaya, who took refuge in the Brazilian Embassy after sneaking back into this Central American nation....

BEIJING, China (AFP) - Authorities in China's restive northwestern Xinjiang region yesterday approved a bill making it a criminal offence for people there to discuss separatism on the Internet, state media reported....