Archive for April 6th, 2010
NDC sends anti-alcohol message to young people
(CNS): The use of alcohol by young people is a significant problem in the Cayman Islands the National Drug Council (NDC) has said as it launches a campaign to raise awareness about underage drinking during Alcohol Awareness Month. According to the Cayman Islands Student Drug Use Survey (CISDUS) in 2006 44% of those who reported drinking admitted having their first drink between the ages of 6 and 11. The survey also suggests that a third of middle school students get their alcohol from their own parents so the battle to beat under age drinking needs to start in the home.
DoE undertakes night time bugs count
(CNS): Love them or hate them, bugs are an extremely important part of the natural eco-system, and although there are over one million individual species of insects known to science, making them the most diverse creature on earth, very little is known about them. Paradoxically, given their enormous ecological and economic significance, very little is known about the role they play in the natural and built environment. As a result, the Department of the Environment will be spending April counting the aerial (ones that fly about) insects found in Grand Cayman’s night-time skies to shed some light on the life of bugs in our own environment.
More charges in kidnapping
(CNS): The police have now charged a total of four people in connection to the kidnapping of a male victim last month. Sywell Allan Kelly, a 40-year-old Honduran national, was charged with abduction, keeping in confinement an abducted person, blackmail, threatening violence and assault ABH, while Richard Robert Hurlston (32), a Caymanian, was charged with abduction, keeping in confinement an abducted person and blackmail, when the two men appeared in court this afternoon (Tuesday 6 April). These two men join Wespie Mullings-Ramon (36) and Charles Feliz Saunders-Webster (28), both Honduran nationals, who were charged in court with similar abduction offences on Monday 29 March.
UK should pay for T&C enquiry says committee
(CNS): The UK’s Foreign Affairs Committee has said that the UK government should be funding the probe into corruption in the Turks and Caicos Islands as it bears some responsibility for what happened in the territory. In a new report the committee said it had grave concerns about the territory’s future and its precarious financial situation. Chair of the Committee, Mike Gapes (left), warned that the British Government had to pay for the current investigation otherwise it would undermine its own credibility in its use of reserved powers, not just in TCI but in the other Overseas Territories as well.
Treaty to be revised to fight tax evasion
(Bloomberg): The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said it agreed with European nations to modify a treaty designed to combat global tax evasion. The revision of the so-called Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters aims to “align the convention to the international standard on information exchange for tax purposes by allowing for the exchange of bank information,” the Council of Europe, representing 47 countries from Germany to the U.K., said in a statement today. The treaty will be signed at an OECD meeting on May 27-28 in Paris.
Hedge funds head towards pre-crisis levels
(Business week): Global hedge fund assets may return to the pre-financial crisis peak of almost $2 trillion by year- end, boosted by investment profits and capital inflows, according to a Credit Suisse Group AG survey of investors. Industry assets may grow 25 percent from the $1.6 trillion at the end of 2009, according to the annual survey published today. The Zurich-based lender polled about 600 institutional investors worldwide with about $1 trillion of hedge fund assets between them, or above 60 percent of the industry total. Hedge funds posted the strongest annual return in a decade last year, helping to reverse capital outflows in the second half of 2009.
Creighton dominates M$R
(CNS): All the glitz and glamour of Cayman’s annual power boat race was even more visible this year when the Million Dollar Run débuted its new course along seven mile beach. Dale Crighton was this year’s winner of the main event as he dominated the race in his super fast craft, followed by Michael Ryan who came in second and Andreas Ugland who came in third (photo left). The boats powered up and down seven mile beach at an incredible speed and offered a fantastic spectacle for viewers all along Grand Cayman’s famous stretch of beach.
Coming in first for the Dragon Bay Trophy for the Best Time Offshore prize, Dale Crighton made this year’s win his fourth over the years, taking home a cash prize and an exquisite Corum timepiece presented By Magnum Jewelers. Dale Crighton of Team Heavy Metal raced in a 42-foot Yellow and Blue Fountain which was also the winner of the Harbour House best Craft Trophy. Crighton was joined on the water by international throttle-man Troy Hannon of Fort Lauderdale.
In Circuit Class, the Crighton Properties, best time prize was won by a new captain racing for his first time in the event, Wayne Kirkconnell taking to the water in a 38-foot Fountain ‘Way To Go’. As first time competitors Team ‘Way To Go’ started the race at a good pace, but when they saw Ian Tibbetts of ‘More Pressure’ and Merlin Seymour of “Ole Ally Cat” drop out at the last few laps due to engine problems, they took the chance to step up their game and eventually reached first place.
One-stop-cop-shop now open
(CNS): The new police licensing and records office opened its doors to the public this morning Tuesday 6 April offering a one-stop-shop for all RCIPS records and licensing services. The new records office is operating from the former DVDL office in Walkers Road which is now home to the RCIPS Professional Standards Unit, Firearms & Security Licensing Unit and the Criminal RecordsOffice. Twelve members of staff will be based at the site which boasts a large reception area and dedicated interview rooms – facilities which were not available at the old locations.
Jamaica wins final gold
(CNS): The CARIFTA 2010 games ended on a high last night for the Jamaican team which dominated the competition throughout. While the Cayman Islands athletes put in some tough performances during the finals the absence of the country’s sprint star Chantelle Morrison due to a hamstring injury left fans disappointed. More than a dozen CARIFTA records were broken during the event including by Kemoy Campbell of Jamaica, on Monday night for the 5000m.The Jamaican U20 4 x 400m relay team picked up the last gold medal of the games pushing the Bahamas team into a very close second. (Photo by Dennie Warren)
Gordon Brown calls 6 May general election
(BBC): Prime Minister Gordon Brown has confirmed that the UK general election will be held on 6 May. Flanked by his entire cabinet, Mr Brown said it was the "least well-kept secret of recent years". He said Britain was on the "road to recovery" and urged voters not to put it "at risk". But David Cameron said the Conservative Party offered a "fresh start", while Lib Dem Nick Clegg said only his party offered "real change". Mr Brown made the announcement outside Downing Street, after a 20-minute meeting with the Queen at Buckingham Palace to seek the dissolution of Parliament. The prime minister – who faces his first election as Labour leader – said he wanted a "clear and straightforward mandate" to continue the work of economic recovery.