Archive for July 9th, 2010
Ship sinking cancelled due to towing problems
(CNS): After seven years in the planning and just two weeks away from the scheduled sinking of the USS Kittiwake the project has been cancelled. Although, the Cayman Islands Tourism Association (CITA) has not revealed the exact details the organisation said it was as a result of being unable to tow the vessel to Cayman and was beyond its control. The ship was to form the islands’ latest dive attraction by creating an artificial reef and new dive park. A number of special events had been organised around this months sinking. Although CITA says the vessel would still be sunk in local waters this year it will now be postponed until after the hurricane season which ends on 30 November.
Chad Anglin arrested
(CNS): A three-week manhunt is over for Chad Anglin, who was wanted for questioning in regards to a brutal attack on a young woman. The RCIPS announced this afternoon that he is now in police custody following his arrest sometime yesterday (Thursday 8 July). Unofficial sources told CNS that Anglin was arrested last night in West Bay, the area he is said to be from. His arrest marks the end of a police operation to find 30-year-old Anglin following the incident, which occurred in the early hours of Thursday 17 June. Just before 2:00 am that morning two officers from the RCIPS Uniform Support Group on patrol in Garvin Road, West Bay, approached a parked vehicle and interrupted the attack taking place inside the car.
The victim sustained bruising to her face and a cut to her throat. The offender ran off into the bushes as the officers approached the car. Police said she was bleeding heavily and the officers immediately called for assistance from other officers while they rendered first aid.
The RCIPS launched a search for Anglin, which included releasing his picture to the media. Police say that during the operation officers searched a number of premises, executed a number of warrants and interviewed family, friends and associates of Anglin in an attempt to trace him.
“The police would like to express their thanks to everyone who assisted in this successful outcome,” an RCIPS spokesperson said.
Gov to access unclaimed cash
(CNS): Government could soon receive as much as $US10 million as a result of a new law passed in the Legislative Assembly this morning (Friday 9 July). The Dormant Accounts Bill 2010 gives government a legal and transparent mechanism to seize money from accounts that have laid dormant for six years or more. The law requires the relevant financial institutions to take all reasonable measures to contact the legal holders of account that have not been active for this period but if the money is not claimed within a given period the bank or financial institution will be required to write a report and hand the money to the public purse.
The law also provides a way by which a legal account holder can reclaim seized funds from government even after an account has been closed and removes any legal responsibility from the financial institution in which the money was held.
Bringing the law to the House in his capacity as Minister of Finance, McKeeva Bush said many of the accounts in question had been dormant for many years. He noted, however, that while the law provided a way for government to obtain the funds, it also created a route for the rightful owners to also be reunited with their assets.
Bush explained that financial institutions that identified accounts as dormant with no activity by the legal owner for the last six years should take all steps to locate the rightful owner. Following that, it was required to publish notice in the gazette, newspapers and other relevant media notifying the intended closure and seizure of the cash by July of the given year. If the legal owner had not made contact by the end of that year, the financial institution was required to hand the funds over to the public purse and a report to the ministry and the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA).
The law also requires that Cayman Islands financial institutions keep a register of all dormant accounts.
A government official estimated that among the numerous accounts that have lain dormant for many years there is around US$10 million in unclaimed cash, which government can now take steps to begin to recover.
Following the premier’s presentation of the new legislation the opposition benches offered their support for the intent of the law but raised concerns about the speedwith which the bill was brought to parliament.
Alden McLaughlin asked if the financial sector had been consulted on the legislation. Given that the opposition only saw the bill for the first time yesterday, they had not been able to seek opinion from their contacts in the industry to ensure that it would not cause them any problems or raise any alarm over the power government now had.
Bush dismissed the opposition’s concerns and said they were doing what they always did, which was to try to stop government getting on with what needed to be done. The premier denied the fact that the opposition had only received the bill on short notice and said they had had plenty of time to read the new law.
Teenagers ‘risk premature babies’
(BBC): Pregnant teenagers are more likely to give birth prematurely and have a small baby than women in their 20s, says an Irish research team. Fourteen to 17-year-olds were also more likely to give birth early if they were having a second child, a study of more than 50,000 women in England found. The findings, reported in BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, highlighted the importance of routine medical checks. The team said more studies were needed to find out why the young were at risk. The study included all women aged between 14 and 29 who had given birth in north-west England over a two-year period.
Young women increasingly addicted to Facebook
(The Telegraph): One third of women aged 18 to 34 check Facebook when they first wake up, before even going to the toilet, according to new research. Young women are becoming increasingly addicted and dependent upon social networks according to the study. 21% of women aged between 18 to 34 check Facebook in the middle of the night, while 42% of the same group think it is fine to post drunken photos of themselves onto the social network. 79%are also happy to be seen kissing in photographs posted on Facebook. 58% of those polled use Facebook to track their ‘frenemies’ (people they are ‘friends’ on the site but do not like in real life).
Jamaica-Cayman cooperation opportunity
(Jamaica Gleaner): We are happy that the Cayman Islands authorities, as has been reported by the territory’s premier, Mr McKeeva Bush, are trying to think of ways to ease the visa restrictions they placed on Jamaican travellers. But while Mr Bush’s suggestion of opening entry to Jamaicans who already hold US visas can only be considered a first step, we assume that it is proffered in a genuine spirit of cooperation while both sides pursue a more practical fix.
Manufacturers pull more pain killing meds
(CNS): McNeil Consumer Healthcare have recalled another batch of over the counter drugs following complaints of a musty or moldy odor, which has been linked to the presence of trace amounts of a chemical called 2,4,6-tribromoanisole (TBA). As a result Foster’s said this morning that it is pulling all the products from its shelves and they will no longer be available in any of its stores. In total McNeil has pulled some 21 medicines recently and the latest products affected are Tylenol pain killing medicines including those for children.
Legislators get back to work
(CNS): The country’s political representatives will return to the Legislative Assembly this morning (9 July) in order to resume work on the mounting legislative changes and new policies government plans to introduce. The premier indicated at the last meeting that changes to the planning and immigration laws would be coming to the House at the next sitting. Followingthe budget debate and the completion of Finance Committee, the LA is now working through a number of amendments to existing laws as well as introducing a number of new bills, from the charities law to the new national honours bill passed during the last sitting. (Photo by Dennie Warren Jr)
No sign of fake records, say immigration officials
(CNS): The chief immigration says there is no intelligence to suggest or evidence revealing that any fraudulent police clearance reports have made their way to Cayman. Linda Evans said the Immigration Department had a close relationship with the office in Jamaica and she told News 27 that the local immigration department would be keeping a close eye on the situation. Concerns have been raised following reports from Jamaica of an investigation concerning a former senior police officer and several other members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and possible fake documents.
Crime Stoppers send message with cops’ calling cards
(CNS): New business cards used by RCIPS officers have been sponsored by the local arm of Crime Stoppers and now show the relevant police officer’s contact details on one side and the Crime Stoppers confidential tip-line number on the other. The first batch of 27,000 cards was presented to DCP Stephen Brougham by Eric Bush, Chairman of Cayman Crime Stoppers, on Thursday 8 July 2010. The cards will be used by 54 officers from the Neighbourhood Policing and the Criminal Investigation Departments. Over the coming months all public facing members of the RCIPS will be given the new-lookcards.