Archive for August 3rd, 2010
UN climate Czar calls for action from governments
(UPI): The international community must take firm measures to overcome the potential effects of climate change, a UN official told delegates in Germany. Christiana Figueres, the newly appointed executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, told delegates at a climate conference in Bonn, Germany, that world governments must make an ambitious effort to protect the environment."As individuals, as governments, as a global community, we must all exceed our own expectations, simply because nothing less will do," she said Tuesday. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a July report that human activity was a contributor to climate change and that global warming was a real phenomenon.
Mormon founder bible on sale for $1.5m
(KSL.com): The rarest of rare books, a one-of-a-kind family Bible, has surfaced in Salt Lake City. It’s going on sale at an asking price of $1.5 million. That’s because its original owner was evidently Joseph Smith Jr., the founder of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "It is in fact, unique," said rare books dealer Ken Sanders. "It’s the only copy in the world, the family Bible belonging to the founder of Mormonism and his first wife, Emma Hale Smith." Sanders has been keeping the book locked up in a safe at his Salt Lake City store while he looks for a buyer.
Appeal allows hedge funds access to Lehman cash
(The Lawyer): The Court of Appeal has ruled that hedge funds whose money was not properly ringfenced when Lehman Brothers went into administration will have access to client money deposited with the UK division of the bank, Lehman Brothers International (Europe) (LBIE). The judgment overturns a decision handed down by Justice Briggs which stated that money not segregated when theinvestment bank collapsed would not be accessible. The appellate court has referred the case back to Briggs to give further guidance on how the client money funds should be traced, prompting warnings of further disputes over exactly what funds should be included in the money pool and who is entitled to a share.
Scientists plumb depths to ask how many fish in the sea
(The Guardian): It has been the biggest and most comprehensive attempt ever to answer that age-old question – how many fish are there in the sea? Published today, a 10-year study of the diversity, distribution and abundance of life in the world’s oceans attempts just that. The Census of Marine Life, which hopes to paint a baseline of marine life, estimates there are more than 230,000 species in our oceans. A team of more than 360 scientists around the world have spent the past decade surveying 25 regions, from the Antarctic through the temperate and tropicalseas to the Arctic to count the different types of plants and animals.
Fit heart can slow brain ageing, US researchers say
(BBC): Keeping your heart fit and strong can slow down the ageing of your brain, US researchers say. A Boston University team found healthy people with sluggish hearts that pumped out less blood had "older" brains on scans than others. Out of the 1,500 people studied, the team observed that the brain shrinks as it ages. A poor cardiac output aged the brain by nearly two years on average, Circulation journal says. The link was seen in younger people in their 30s who did not have heart disease, as well as elderly people who did. The participants with smaller brain volumes on magnetic resonance imaging did not show obvious clinical signs of reduced brain function.
United States names and shames tax dodgers
(Swissinfo): The United States authorities are wasting no time in meting out swift punishments on tax cheats who used Switzerland’s UBS bank to hide their assets. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has named and shamed 17 offenders on their website with sentences ranging from tough fines and prison time. The Swiss parliament recently ratified a deal to hand 4,450 UBS client names to the IRS. One watch manufacturer was put behind bars for ten months, a children’s toy dealer will spend six months under house arrest after serving three months in jail while a yacht broker received two months in prison and five months of home confinement.
Major smash claims life
(CNS): Updated — The woman killed in the major collision along the Esterley Tibbetts highway yesterday morning was FederAnn Faustino (24). The accident took place near Lakeside Condos at around 12:30 Tuesday 3 August. Three people were involved in the accident Faustino, her boyfriend who was driving a Honda Civic and a teenage girl who was driving a Toyota Land Cruiser. Both vehicles suffered extensive damage indicating the severity of the car smash. Police have not yet revealed the cause of the crash but have said two people are currently assisting police with their enquiries. (Photos by Dennie Warren Jr)
Child suffers suspected barracuda attack
(CNS): An 11-year-old boy is recovering in the hospital after an attack by what was probably a barracuda on Sunday. The child has suffered a serious hand injury after being bitten while playing in the ocean at public beach by what he said was a very big fish, News 27 reports. The boy says he was so frightened that he thought it was a dream, but when he look down at his hand and saw that it was bleeding, he realized it wasn’t and he was taken to the hospital. A Department of Environment spokesperson said it was likely to be a barracuda going after bait fish and it would have bitten the child by mistake as such attacks are very rare.
Hospital unveils art in healing garden
(CNS): A new piece of work by local award winning artist Gordon Solomon has been unveiled at the Cayman Islands Hospital. The Health Services Authority (HSA), with the assistance of the ‘Do Something Cayman Campaign’, recently upgraded the exterior landscaping of the facility, which included the creation of a healing garden with Solomon’s artwork as a focal point. CEO Lizzette Yearwood said this new mural is an important part of the garden. “We wanted to provide a peaceful and serene environment filled with hope and life. I think that this mural, combined with the fantastic landscaping job done recently completed by dozens of volunteers, achieves that result,” she said.
The mural was entirely hand painted by Solomon who drew the outlines of all the figures Friday evening and painted all of the main outlines and fine details himself. Six other volunteers worked under his direction on Saturday to fill in some of the larger areas. The paint used in the creation of the mural was a regular semi-gloss exterior and donated to the hospital by Cayman Coating.
Court is PMFL’s exception
(CNS): Following criticisms made in a government audit that the court was not fully complying with the Public Management and Finance Law, officials have denied falling foul of the legislation as it is exempt from certain provisions. The audit, which was conducted in 2008 by the Internal Audit Unit, suggested that it was difficult to determine if the court had delivered the work (or outputs) for the financial year end June 08 as it was supposed to because of the way it was billing Cabinet. Auditors said the court’s invoices were not directly matched with outputs. However, the court has stated that because of the nature of its work the PMFL provides for the court to report its performance in a way that does not impinge on the independence of the judiciary.