Archive for August, 2011
Persistence of weight gain should be measured
(BBC): Experts say the health hazards of obesity may have been grossly underestimated because we are not measuring the condition adequately. Risk calculations have focused on severity of weight gain alone and not how long it persists. Latest research suggests every additional decade of being obese more than doubles death risk. The researchers told the International Journal of Epidemiology a new measure is needed – the "obese-year". Similar to the "pack-year" used for smoking, it gives a further quantification that can be used to help estimate the associated health risks.
A quarter of UK adults are overweight. And one in 10 children younger than 11 in England are obese.
The government says that if the current rate of growth continues, three quarters of the population could suffer the ill effects of excess weight within 10 to 15 years. But Dr Asnawi Abdullah, from Monash University in Australia, and colleagues believe the toll is larger than this because estimates have failed to factor in duration of obesity.
Man gets 4 years in Cayman’s first ram-raiding case
(CNS): A 20-year-old man has been sentenced to serve four years in jail in the first ever ram-raiding burglary in the Cayman Islands, which took place at Solomon’s grocery store in George Town. Devon Wright was found guilty of damage to property and burglary on 16 August, following a judge alone trial for his part in the crime. On 18 July last year, Wright and an unnamed accomplice, who has since died, used a car as a way of gaining access to the local grocery store on Mary Street to steal the cash registe, causing some $23,000 worth of damage. (Photo by Dennie Warren Jr)
Although burglary of commercial premises is generally considered less serious than that of a home, the judge noted that this was a family grocery shop which is open seven days per week to serve the community. Echoing comments made by the president of the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal, as he handed down the four year sentence Justice Charles Quin said there was still a sense of violation and insecurity which gives rise to security concerns for all shopkeepers.
However, it was also acknowledged by the court that no one was hurt during the course of the burglary, despite the extensive damage to the property. The judge observed that this was the first case of ‘ram-raiding’ in Cayman, where the criminals used a vehicle, in this case a Ford F150 truck, to literally crash into the premises in order to enter and steal the cash register.
“Shopkeepers and their premises must be protected and so must the general public. This sort of offence in the very early hours of the morning while most residents are still asleep cannot be condoned. The courts must impose a sentence which will serve as a punishment to the offender and a deterrent to others,” Justice Quin said.
Although the defendant had eight previous convictions for burglary, the judge found that his partner in crime, who had both acquired the vehicle and then actually driven it into the store bringing down the walls, had played the more dominant part. “However, the defendant was clearly on a joint enterprise along with the driver and he played the very active role of the burglar in entering Solomon’s Grocery as a trespasser.”
Despite his culpability, the judge considered the convicted man’s young age and handed down a sentence of four years for the property damage and four years for the burglary to run concurrently.
Following the ram-raiding incident, the owner of the store, Louis Solomon, had rebuilt the property himself. However, he was very nearly the victim of an armed robbery on Friday night as the newly revamped store was targeted by a would-be masked robber. The armed man escaped empty handed after Solomon managed to fight him off in the doorway of the store and bar his entry.
See CCTV footage of the incident here at Cayman 27.
CAL offers free ticket changes in face of Irene
(CNS): As the 2011 Atlantic season’s first hurricane reached category two status the local airline issued a statement, Monday evening, offering free ticket alterations. With Hurricane Irene headed towards the east coast of Florida Cayman Airways said affected customers can change their travel reservations without penalty if they have already purchased tickets to travel on Cayman Airways between Grand Cayman and Miami or Tampa, Florida, from 22 through to 27 August. CAL said it was monitoring the development and path of this storm and would advise the travelling public if flight schedule changes become necessary over the next few days.
“For tickets issued no later than August 21st, 2011, customers will be allowed one change free of charge, the airline stated. “Customers who made a previous change are allowed this additional change at no charge. Customers who wish to cancel their reservations and travel at a later date may be given a voucher for the value of the ticket, good for the next 12 months.”
The hurricane poses no threat to the Cayman Islands at present but it is likely to have become a major storm forecasters stated by the time it reaches the Bahamas on Wednesday. On its current path Hurricane Irene is predicted to reach the Florida coastline by Thursday night.
At 10 am local time on Tuesday Irene was about 70 Miles south of G rand Turk Island and moving toward the west-northwest close to 12 mph. A category two hurricane with winds in excess of 100mph the NHC said hurricane force winds currently extend outward up to 50 miles from the centre with tropical storm force winds extending over 20o miles out.
Cayman Airways Reservations can be reached by calling 345-949-2311 (within the Caribbean) or toll free on 1-800-4-cayman (within the United States).
See more on Irene at the National Hurricane Centre website as well as details of the latest low pressure systems brewing out in the Atlantic.
Appleby pip LIME in dying seconds
(CFRU): Round 9 of The Cayman Summer Touch league was played out last week as teams are starting to look at those all important play-off places come the end of the season. In Division 1, a compelling but low scoring game saw Appleby just pip Team LIME 2-1 in the inaugural Fruit Cup. Appleby put in a golden delicious performance to see off a LIME team who played with plenty of zest but ultimately ran out of juice. Appleby frittered away a few early chances but they used turn-over ball to their advantage and with Desiree Sampang and Karen Hart Thomas at the core of their best moves they blossomed as the game went on. (Photos Caroline Deegan)
Both sliced through the LIME defence to each pick up a try, one in thefinal seconds of the game. Between Appleby’s tries,LIME wedged in a try of their own through the effervescent Eamon Wilson. Key to LIME’s fight back was Katy Bayles and Jonny Hillyard, but Appleby simply refused to crumble. IsAppleby making a real challenge for the title or is it simply a case of (apple) pie in the sky?
A source close toTeamLIME said, “PlayingAppleby was always a potential banana skin for us. Eamon Wilson scored a peach of a try, did you see that man-go? A second try would have been the cherry on the cake. Kumquat may we’ll keep on trying to the end of the season!”
PWC played DMSout the first round of the unofficial Acronym Challenge Trophyand ran out easy winners 7-2. Richard Lewis scored a nice hat-trick bringing his season total to seven. DMS had developed a new “Pick and Go” strategy however whilst there was plenty of “Pick” there was precious little “Go”. Steve Henshaw, who bakes exceedingly good cakes, seemed to be orchestrating this new strategy but admitted that he and his team-mates may have been on different wavelengths at times, and when his fourteenth pass in a row hit the deck I think the knowledgeable and intelligent crowd both agreed.
2010 Touch Champions Maples1 are not going to let the title go easily and in spite of conceding the first try for the third game running, they once again showed that momentum counts for a lot in touch rugby. Playing Walkers Blue Iguanas, they missed a few key players but they gradually ramped up the pressure through the second and third quarters adding a “rapier” in the form of Jyoti Choi to the “claymore” of Guy Major. Choi, who combines quick feet with a quicker brain spotted several gaps in the Walkers defence to run in four tries. Play of the game goes to Joan Murphy though as she finished off a fine solo mazy run past two helpless defenders to score her fourth try of the season.
Genesis Five Nations beat Ogier 7-3. Laren Gillespie, a strapping six-foot-two Scots caber, plays touch rugby which encapsulates the bravery of William Wallace, the poetry of Robert Burns, the dress sense of Billy Connolly and the hair of Rab C. Nesbit, scored two magnificent tries. He plundered the Ogier defences as if they were the gathered Sassenach armies at Stirling Bridge. Philip Fourie chipped in with his usual pair, taking him to thirteen for the season. James Waters (1) and Ben Hart (2) replied for Ogier.
In a make-up game from Round 7, Maples1 played Ogier and eventually ran out 6-4 winners. It was played at a frenetic pace and Ogier put up one of their best performances of the season deserving more from the game. This result puts Maples1 back on top of the table on points difference from Genesis Five Nations and I can guarantee they won’t be happy with that!
In Division 2, KPMG1 maintain their position at the top of the table with a hard fought 8-6 win over Campbells. MVP GhislainGyhoot scored three tries as did fellow South African team-mate Philip Fourie. Campbells never lie down, or roll overand want their tummy tickled though and kept on to the end in search of those elusive tries that would havelevelled the game. Dicky Thomas and Jyoti Choi weighed in with a couple, Nick Quin and Wiki Hitchman adding the extras.
Maples2 stopped their recent run of poor results with a thumping 7-2 win over Harmonic. Chris Palmer marshaled the team with a nice couple of tries and was picked as the star performer on the day. Justin Colgan also picked up two. Harmonic are now entrenched on the bottom with only two wins from nine.
Trident Titans have worked hard to get up to second in the table and seem intent on staying there or going even higher. UBS offered a fine challenge, but the Titans looked to James Waters (3) and Sharlee Henshaw (1) to get the important scores to take a tough 4-3 victory.
In an entertaining game, Happyfish Ticklers beat DART 7-5. Played at a fast pace that ultimately did for DART who were a little down on numbers for the game, the Ticklers had the jewel in the crown in the form of Simon Crompton. He scored four tries and proved to be a constant thorn in DART’s side with his ability to find a gap and burst through a tiring defence.
In Division 3, Deloitte continue at the top of the table with a good win over fourth-placed Rawlinson & Hunter. Sharlee Henshaw continued her recent try-scoring form with two tries, Neil Ainscow and Tony Campbell pitched in with one each. For Rawlinson & Hunter, Katherine Mew played with great spirit to take the MVP award, and Conrad Proud continued his remarkable season with another try taking his tally of scoring in nine consecutive games. He has scored 16 in total this season, exactly half of the total for the entire team. Deloitte have now won seven games on the bounce, averaging over 6 tries a game. The question for everyone now is,“Can anyone stop Deloitte”?
Perhaps the only team that can is KPMG2. Currently lying second just one point behind the leaders, they dismantled Ernst & Young 7-3 with the singularly-named Lopez getting three and Ian Roberton with two tries respectively. These guys are having a personal tussle to be KPMG2 top scorers with Lopez currently edging out his team-mate 11-10. Niall O’Sullivan chipped in with a couple and his overall performance won the MVP vote. Ronan McCarthy and David Pearlman replied for Ernst & Young.
Against a backdrop of the setting sun, GCM and Credit-Suisse had a fine tussle but neither could find the killer touch and the match ended 3-3. Suisse were missing a few players but with tries from Prinsloo, MacDonald and Kehoe they held off the GCM attack augmented by new boy Dave O’Driscoll (2) and one from James Trundle.
Island Heritage and QueensgateGrizz’s Old Fellas had an interesting start to their game with an unusual bout of “Dueling Defaults”.
Both teams lacked the requisite number of men and women to make the game valid but in the end play went ahead in a fine spirit as befits touch rugby here in Cayman. Both teams played with a smile on their face, more interested in enjoying the game than the scoreline. Special shout-outs must go to Island Heritage players Dan Twist – for his two tries, and Mick Kehoe with a 40m pass interception courtesy of yours truly… ah the shame of it! For the Old Fellas, Mike Johnston flew 5,000 miles to land his try in the corner; John Wagner played with all the fizz of a dyslexic Irish cider; and Caroline Deegan got her third try in two games promising the team a free beer each to celebrate. Thanks Caroline!
Player of the Week
This week’s Heineken Touch Player of the Week goes to Simon Crompton of the Happyfish Ticklers. Four tries against a resurgent DART team earns you a bucket of six ice cold lipsmacking, thirstquenching, acetasting, fastliving, cool fizzing… Heinekens!
ROUND 9
Division 1 Results
Ogier 3v. 7 Genesis 5 Nations
Walkers Blue Iguanas 4 v. 10 Maples 1
PWC 7 v. 2 DMS
Team LIME 1 v. 2 Appleby
Division 2 Results
Maples2 7 v. 2 Harmonic
UBS 3 v. 4 Trident Titans
KPMG1 8 v. 6 Campbells
Happyfish Ticklers 7 v. 5 DART
Division 3 Results
GCM 3 v. 3 Credit Suisse
Deloitte 4 v. 1Rawlinson & Hunter
Island Heritage WIN v. DEF Queensgate Old Fellas
KPMG2 7 v. 3 Ernst & Young
Kids encouraged to sign up for junior rugby
(CRFU): The Cayman Islands Rugby Football Union is pleased to announce that the Comminuity Junior Programme as proudly sponsored by Maples starts up again this month. The programme, which is designed to deliver Rugby to the youth of the Cayman Islands, for the future growth of the sport on home soil, brings families to the Cayman Rugby Football Club in South Sound on Saturday Mornings to work with volunteer coaches and academy squads in u8/u10 and u12/u15 age groups. Some of those groups also meet on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons after school.
The programme reaches approximately 350 children in the Cayman Islands annually with the major highlight of the season being the Conyers Challenge Cup where the children involved in the program get the opportunity to taste what for many is their first real exposure international sports against Bermuda's youth rugby programme.
Junior Rugby Sign Up Day 27th August 2011 8am – Noon
2011/2012 Community Junior Rugby
September 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th
October 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd
November 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th
December 3rd, 10th
Saturday Training Times
U4 & U6 7.45am – 8.30am
U9 8.30am – 9.30am
U11 8.00am – 9.30am
U13 10.15am – 11.15am
U19 10.30am – Noon
Academy Training Times
Monday U13 3.30pm – 4.30pm U15 TBC
Tuesday U11 3.30pm – 4.30pm U19 4.00pm – 5.30pm
Wednesday U15 TBC
Thursday U11 3.30pm – 4.30pm U13 3.30pm – 4.30pm
Friday U19 4.00pm – 5.30pm
U9 Group (birth date between September 1, 2002 and August 31, 2004)
U11 Group (birth date between September 1, 2000 and August 31, 2002)
U13 Group (birth date between September 1, 1998 and August 31, 2000)
Junior Rugby Sign Up Day 27th August 2011 8am – Noon
2011/2012 Community Junior Rugby
September 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th
October 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd
November 5th, 12th, 19th, 26th
December 3rd, 10th
2012 will start up again
Monday 9th January Academy’s will start back
Saturday 14th January MAPLES program starts back
2012 dates TBC
Mac not facing public outcry
(CNS): The opposition has queried how the premier can still be in office representing the Cayman Islands overseas, running the country and making decisions impacting the people when he is under criminal investigation for financial irregularities. Opposition Leader Alden McLaughlin said he was shocked by the lack of public outcry about the fact that McKeeva Bush was still in his job while being the subject of a police probe. “This has to be the only modern democracy in the world where the leader is under investigation and yet still remains in office,” said McLaughlin last week at a media briefing. The PPM and independent members suggested that there is not enough pressure from the public or the media on him to resign.
“How can we have the premier up in Miami negotiating on the country’s behalf with the FCCA (Florida Caribbean Cruise Association) with the full knowledge that he is under investigation?” McLaughlin asked.
The speculation that the premier was the subject of a police investigation was brought into the public domain by the opposition in June. On 30 June CNS posted the details that were known about the investigation, including the invoice Bush had sent to Stan Thomas stating that he had ensured that land owned by Thomas had been re-zoned and asking for a $350,000 payment. In July, after several weeks of avoiding admitting the probe was underway, the governor finally admitted that the premier was the subject of an investigation regarding “financial irregularities”.
However, despite the media coverage and the online comments, the premier has declined to resign, has denied doing anything wrong and has spoken little about the investigation. Although he has stated on a number of occasions that he intends to make a statement on the issue, he has remained silent on this particular subject. In his most recent television statement the premier spoke entirely about the Nation Building Fund and made no mention of the ongoing probe.
Independent memebr Ezzard Miller said that during his last trip to the UK two members of the government had been forced to resign as a result of inappropriate off hand remarks because of media and public pressure, while the Cayman Islands leader of government was under investigation by the police and yet he remained in post. He also questioned why local industry bodies, such as Cayman Finance and the bankers association, were not also demanding the premier’s resignation.
He pointed out that Cayman Finance in particular, which was previously quick to rebut any criticisms in the international media about Cayman’s standing, had not said one word about the investigation to the media, but Miller said he could not possible see how any of them could stand up on the public stage and back Bush under the current circumstances.
“This idea that we must hide our problems from the world must stop,” Miller said, as he pointed out that the country must clean its own house and not wait on the UK to come marching down and suspending the constitution. “The business community must step up to the wicket and apply pressure on the premier to resign.”
His comments were also echoed by the PPM member for East End, Arden McLean, who said it was outrageous that the premier was still in office.
“We have a premier who is under criminal investigation running the country like a bull in a china shop curtailing the voices of the people,” he said. Noting that the opposition had been criticised for doing nothing about him, McLean pointed out that when they did by forcing the issue of the investigation into the public domain nobody else did anything and he is still in office.
“The premier goes about running your country as though nothing has happened,” McLean said directly to the public at large. “We need the public’s help. He is worse than ever now; the people need to stop him. We can’t wait for two more years we need to do it now … I’m not promoting rioting … but someone has to step up.”
The opposition members and Miller all called on the public to write totheir MLAs and put pressure on them to demand that the premier step aside until the investigation into the Stan Thomas affair is resolved.
Vote in the CNS poll: Does McKeeva Bush's performance as premier match your expectations?
Bush paying Dr Frank
(CNS): The premier’s office has confirmed that McKeeva Bush is personally paying “a stipend to the on air talent of Community Voices talk show on Radio Cayman,” the new talk show which the publicly owned radio station was “directed” to be aired by the premier. The show is hosted by former minister and UDP party member, Dr Frank McField, along with local personality, Lorna Bush. According to a letter sent by Radio Cayman to the independent member for North Side, the new show is not a Radio Cayman production and neither of the hosts were paid or employed by the station but it is providing the air time, it confirmed.
“Radio Cayman received verbal directives from the Ministry of Finance, Tourism and Development,” the information manager told Ezzard Miller in response to an FOI request about the details of the business case to launch a second talk show on the heels of the long running Talk Today programme, as well as the details of the recruitment process for the hosts.
Radio Cayman does not fall under the premier’s ministry but is the remit of Deputy Premier and Minister for District Administration, Works and Communication, Juliana O’Connor Connolly. However, this is not the first time that the premier has handled issues from his deputy’s ministry.
As a result of the ForCayman Alliance with the Dart Group, Bush also overrode her ministry’s recent announcement that the future of waste-management would be handled through a waste-to-energy solution by Wheelabrator, the winning bidders, following a request for proposal process last December via the Central Tenders Committee.
Speaking at a press briefing last week, Miller said that he had concerns that Community Voices, the new radio talk show now being broadcast in the late afternoon immediately after Talk Today, was party political propaganda and being aired during ‘drive time’, as the time slot is referred to — a prime time slot. The independent member said that government resources should not be used to promote party politics. He pointed out that the premier was using a known party operative to promote himself through the public’s radio station.
The premier has for some time being seeking ways to promote his government’s agenda via the media and has explored several ideas for creating a UDP newsletter or promotional website. When the premier came to office he continued the weekly televised government press briefings for only a short time. The briefings had been started under the PPM administration and acted as a forum for them to push out government’s message and allow the press to probe policy and other issues,
He reduced the frequency and then stopped the meetings altogether as he accused the media of twisting government’s message. He began issuing statements in recorded televised radio broadcasts instead or from the Legislative Assembly floor when the House was sitting, when there is no opportunity for debate and only questions of clarification.
Earlier this year he announced that he had plans to televise the proceedings in Legislative Assembly, government’s policy position and emergency information on a new government television channel, which would allow the public to see the House in action and not distorted by the media. Bush had stated at a public meeting in North Side in April that the TV station would be launched in June.
He indicated at the time that WestStar TV had agreed to supply the channel free of charge and it would be added to customers’ packages. Bush said his government had to be able to get its message out and important information across to the people. “We will also televise the proceedings of the Legislative Assembly,” he said. “There will be a regular news broadcast of government information. The policy and position of the elected government on issues will also be communicated on this channel,” the premier added, stating that the country could not continue to rely on the skewed reports of CNS.
The opposition has criticised the premier for dropping the regular press briefings and Alden McLaughlin, the PPM leader, said he understood the premier needed “all the ‘PR’ he could get” but the show – Community Voices- was inappropriate as public resources should not be used for propaganda.
See letter from Radio Cayman re Miller's FOI request
CUC investigates 3 hour power cut in North Side
(CNS): A power outage in North Side, Grand Cayman in the early hours of Monday morning remains a mystery the local electricity company has said as the cause of the interruption is still under investigation. CUC said that at 2:30am Monday, around 600 customers from the Old Man Bay Playing Field to Rum Point in Cayman Kai were affected by the power cut. The power was off for around three hours as CUC was able to restore the supply at 5:24am. Offering apologies to its customers in the North Side area the power firm said it did not yet know what had caused the problem and the circuit is still under investigation.
“CUC regrets the inconvenience to customers in the affected areas,” the firm said, adding that customers experiencing power outages should call the Company’s 24-hour fault reporting number at 945-1CUC (1282).
Full scale police op nets teen ganja smokers
(CNS): A full scale police operation involving the helicopter, marine vessels, canine units, drug task force, special constables and regular officers netted just two teenagers for smoking ganja at Rum Point at the weekend. The RCIPS said that the operation led by officers from the Eastern Districts was to reassure residents and visitors, at the favourite weekend spot, that the police are focusing on stamping out crime inthe area. Marine vessels Niven D and Tornado patrolled the sea and officers on Marine Unit wave runners also interacted with the boaters that were anchored there to root out any criminal behaviour, the police said. However, just two teenagers aged 16 and 17 were arrested over ganja and a knife.
Police said that the teens ended up behind bars on Sunday afternoon for consumption and possession of ganja and one was also arrested on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon — namely a buck knife.
The RCIPS said it is committed to carrying out more of these types of operations in the future and will be working with other agencies to create a national Marine safety strategy, looking at all types of safety on the sea and rooting out criminal behaviour.
Chief Inspector Martin Bodden Jr, Commander of the Eastern Districts, said the operation was about providing a visible police presence, “to make sure that everyone who was taking part in the customary gathering at Rum Point was safe,” and free from crime.
“We have received a number of reports recently about people being involved in low level criminality and causing annoyance to the hundreds of law abiding people who enjoy the regular weekend celebrations. This operation willserve as a warning to the minority who do flout the law that they will be arrested,” the senior cop stated.
Sergeant Leslie Laing, the officer in charge said these types of operations will continue in the future. “Already we have received many positive comments from those who were in the area at the time. They say it was good to see the officers at Rum Point and that the presence not only delivered results through the arrests, but made them feel reassured that officers were doing all that they could to keep Rum Point crime free,” the officer added.
Facebook postings raise concern during Anglin trial
(CNS): Postings on the social networking site Facebook about witnesses in the trial of Devon Anglin for the murder of four year old Jeremiah Barnes became the subject of discussion in the courtroom on Monday morning before the proceedings resumed. Crown counsel Andrew Radcliff stated that the comments were inflammatory and in order to prevent an offence occurring, as they could fall foul of the law, he requested that the judge issue an order asking people to refrain from prejudicial comments while evidence was still being heard. Justice Howard Cooke, who is sitting alone, pointed out that he doesn’t look at the site and therefore the comments will have no effect on his deliberations but out of an abundance of caution he issued a statement.
“It has been brought to my attention by the crown that certain comments concerning the trial have been posted on Facebook. I have not seen them and it will not affect my consideration of the evidence in anyway,” he said. “However, it is clear that at a time when evidence is still being called in this case no comments must be made that might be thought capable of prejudicing any person in favour of or against any of the parties to the proceedings.”
The judge added that the comments were not directed at the press and were not intended to compromise the proper reporting of the proceedings.
As the trial moved into its second week the prosecution presented further witnesses in its case against 26 year old Devon Anglin from West Bay including one witness who was present at Batabano Plaza when the father of Jeremiah, Andy Barnes and Devon Anglin had exchanged angry words in January, two weeks before the shooting of his son at the gas station in Hell in February.
Barnes had testified that Devon had threatened to kill him and had shown him what appeared to be a hand gun. The witness said she was there on the afternoon in question and she had seen the men exchange angry words, but there was a large crowd many of whom were shouting. The witness said that she had seen something in Anglin’s hands but was not certain it was a gun. Although she had made a statement in February 2010 saying she assumed it was a gun as a result of the gestures made by Anglin she told the court that she had never said it was a gun as she had not seen a gun that day.
The crown also called the pump attendant from Hell gas station that was on duty on the night Jeremiah was shot and killed. He revealed how he had been standing at one of the gas station’s four pumps filling a customer’s car when he saw someone wearing a Halloween mask approach the forecourt.
As he reached Andy Barnes’ car, the attendant said the person then opened fire with a hand gun at the Barnes’ car. He said the individual fired two shot as the car was at the pump and another shot as the car pulled out of the gas station before the gun man ran off, he said seconds later he saw a car exit the gas station at speed. The attendant told the court that the person had his face covered and therefore he was unable to see any of the gunman’s features.
The case continues tomorrow with further crown witnesses.