Archive for August 23rd, 2010
Bermuda MP blasts ‘criminal’ work conditions
(The Royal Gazette): Construction workers say their industry no longer offers a lifeline to Bermudian men who can’t read or write. They claim locals are being priced out of jobs by an influx of non-Bermudians prepared to live and work in extremely poor conditions, for very little pay. And according to Pembroke MP Ashfield DeVent, many people believe the unions should have done more to confront the issue and protect workers. One construction worker, who has been in the industry more than 20 years, told The Royal Gazette he has been unable to find work since April. The man said he used to earn $45 an hour as a self-employed worker, and an average worker would get around $30 an hour.
Hospital in Pakistan scrambles to save children
(CNN): Amiza Mai rushes through the hospital doors, tears streaming from her eyes andher two-month-old boy cradled in her arms. He is screaming. Her baby boy Kalsoon has severe diarrhea and has been vomiting. He is so dehydrated that he needs fluids pumped into him intravenously immediately. He and his entire family are living in harsh conditions after losing everything in a rush of water. They are victims of Pakistan’s mighty flood that has tossed so many families into chaos. "I’m like a rolling stone, going here and there," says his mother, Amiza Mai. "My life is over. I have lost everything. And now I am at the mercy of others and the government."
Victims suffer violent attacks
(CNS): Police are appealing for witness to two further violent crimes this weekend after a couple was stabbed in Elgin Avenue and a woman was held at gunpoint by masked robbers during a home invasion. In the early hours of Sunday morning a couple was attacked following a verbal altercation with a group of men in the car park of the Helium Bar on Shedden Road. The couple left that location with the intention of going to George Town police station to report the incident. After parking in Elgin Avenue they were approached by a man who had been involved in the earlier incident. He attacked the couple stabbing both of them in the stomach before running off towards the town centre. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)
The victims made their way into George Town police station and were subsequently conveyed by ambulance to the Cayman Islands Hospital. The woman, aged 27, was released following treatment but the man aged 28 remains in hospital in stable condition. The suspect is described as 6 feet tall, dark brown complexion with a braided hair style, and spoke with a Jamaican accent.
Radio ban on opposition
(CNS): Lucille Seymour, a member of the PPM, says she has been banned from hosting a talk show on the government owned radio station because she is a member of the opposition. Seymour, who has in the past stood in for Radio Cayman’s regular lunchtime host of TalkToday, Dwayne Sterling Ebanks, was due to do so again next week but has been told she cannot host any more shows . The former George Town MLA said the message was delivered to her on Friday afternoon by station management, who had been told by government that they were using too many “opposition people”, and while they were allowed to appear on the show as guests they would no longer be invited to host the show.