Archive for September 25th, 2010

Accused murderer was headed for Cayman

Accused murderer was headed for Cayman

| 25/09/2010 | 0 Comments

(Honduras News): Marcos Joel Álvarez Barahona, aka “the Unicorn” was arrested by National Police while trying to leave the country. Álvarez Barahona is a member of the Mara Salvatrucha, and believed to be one of those responsible for killing the Ceibeño journalist, David Meza Montecinos. The suspect was apprehended at the police post on the southern exit of La Ceiba, where he was being transported by ambulance. According to the Director General of the National Police, José Luís Muñoz Licona, their intelligence agencies warned of the intentof the alleged murderer to leave the country. Álvarez Barahona was bound for Grand Cayman they warned, and would try to mislead the security agencies by being transported in the ambulance as a patient.

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Bush tells UN to include CI

Bush tells UN to include CI

| 25/09/2010 | 34 Comments

(CNS): The Cayman Islands premier has told the United Nations to include Associate Members such as the Cayman Islands in regional assistance programmes and recommended making islands more competitive as the focus of the next stage of the Mauritius Strategy. Bush was speaking at the roundtable for the High-level Review Meeting on Implementation of the Mauritius Strategy in New York on Friday afternoon when hesaid islands such as Cayman were being left out of assistance programmes because of political or constitutional reasons. “The Mauritius Strategy for the Caribbean cannot be fully implemented if some islands are excluded on political or constitutional grounds. We are just as vulnerable to hurricanes, earthquakes and sea level rise as our neighbours,” Bush said.

The Mauritius Strategy is a programme of action for the sustainable development of small island developing states (SIDS). The meeting was opened by Ban Ki-moon on Friday morning when he spoke about the vulnerabilities small island developing states face unique as a result of their small size, isolation, narrow resource base, limitations on economies of scale, and high exposure to global environmental threats.

 
Bush was asked to speak at the invitation of the co-chair of the roundtable the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Ralph Gonsalves, according to a release from the office of the premier’s press secretary.
 
The CI premier told delegates that the Cayman Islands Government is committed to sustainable development and supports the implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for the Caribbean. But he said additional factors that must be taken into account included the point that much of the Caribbean is still recovering from recession and Associate Member Countries of the UN, which includes the Cayman Islands have not been eligible for most of the regional assistance programmes.
 
While he said it is important to address the issue of vulnerability in small islands Bush criticised the historical basis for some of the relationships ofmembers.  “We need to move away from relationships based on post-colonial guilt, and trade preferences that has the unintended effect of discouraging diversification and prolonging dependency. We need a new relationship between partners, based on mutual interests and shared benefits,” he added.
 
The Premier told the UN roundtable that the Cayman Islands had developed a strong financial services sector and was placing great importance on growing the county’s small business sector and encouraging entrepreneurship. “We are committed to increasing efficiency and driving down the cost government,” he also told the UN, the release revealed.
 
Bush also told the roundtable that the next stage of the Mauritius Strategy should focus on making islands more competitive. “We believe this is the best way to achieve the goals of the Mauritius Strategy,” he said.
 
During his opening address Ban had pointed to the problems faced by SIDS and the negative impacts on the fishing and tourism industries, loss of biodiversity, saltwater intrusion and degradation of terrestrial and wetland habitats and destruction of human settlements. He said SIDS still lack sufficient access to financing for the dramatic changes they need to make, such as achieving the range of anti-poverty targets contained in the Millennium Development Goals and to deal with external shocks.
 
“In view of their small size and limited capacity, we need to simplify and streamline financing mechanisms especially during and after natural disasters – such as the one we saw in Haiti,” Ban said.
 
The review processes at national and regional levels have emphasized the need for SIDS to mainstream climate change adaptation plans into national development strategies, he added. They also need increased access to low-carbon technologies and technology transfer initiatives, and improved data collection and information systems to facilitate informed decision making.
Following his appearance on the UN stage Bush continues his latest international tour this weekend when he travels to Singapore where he leads a Cayman Islands delegation to the OECD Global Forum. The Cayman Islands sits on the OECD Steering Committee.

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NRA to start Elgin Avenue road works

NRA to start Elgin Avenue road works

| 25/09/2010 | 6 Comments

(CNS): Traffic flows in parts of the capital are set to be disrupted until February next year as major road works begin along one of George Town’s main thoroughfares this month. The Ministry of District Administration, Works, Land and Agriculture has given the go-ahead to begin the Elgin Avenue road expansion related to the new administration building. Works Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said the aim is to improve future traffic flow along the already busy road as well as public safety ahead of the opening of the government’s new office accommodation, situated next to the existing glass house.

 
“Improvements are critical if we are to facilitate doing business in central George Town. With so many government and commercial offices, as well as banking facilities in the vicinity, Elgin Avenue already experiences heavy peak hour traffic,” the Minister said.
She noted that many public servants who currently work elsewhere will be relocated to the new Elgin Avenue building when it opens.
 
“That means that clients who normally visit those satellite offices will next year have to attend Elgin Avenue. As a result, traffic volume in the area will doubtless increase, again multiplying existing traffic issues,” O’Connor-Connolly added.
 
NRA Director Brian Tomlinson said that the project involved widening Elgin Avenue from its current two, to three and four lanes in different locations. “We’ll be adding a turning lane and a mini roundabout at the intersection with Hospital Road,” he said.
 
 
He explained that additional upgrades entailed widening Humber Avenue and reconstructing sidewalks to provide a continuous walkway along Elgin Avenue between the Hospital Road and CNB roundabouts.
 
“Sidewalks will also be fitted with access ramps and driveways for the disabled, and a pedestrian crossing will face the new government administration building,” Tomlinson revealed.
Drainage improvements are slated, to reduce Elgin Avenue’s customary flooding during heavy rainfall. 
 
Tomlinson explained that the roadwork activity will take place at night to minimise inconvenience to the public. Work should be completed by February 2011.

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Break bra in case of emergency

Break bra in case of emergency

| 25/09/2010 | 0 Comments

(Salon): Breasts, as a source of food, are life-sustaining, and now they are potentially even more so in emergency situations. Ladies and gentlemen, the Emergency Bra, an invention that won Dr. Elena Bodnar the 2009 Ig Nobel Public Health Prize, has officially hit the market. The brassiere, which quickly converts into two gas masks, is available online for 29.95. Also: There are t-shirts reading, "Emergency bra under here." (Personally, I was hoping for one reading, "Break bra in case of emergency.") It may sound like a joke invention, but it’s not: Bodnar studied the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 and found that, as Fox News reports, "if people had had cheap, readily available gas masks in the first hours after the disaster … they may have avoided breathing in Iodine-131, which causes radiation."

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