(CNS): The opposition party chairman said that Cayman was in a very “strange situation at present” with an ongoing investigation into the premier that has not been explained by him or anyone else and it was having a detrimental impact on the public and business. Part of a panel discussion at last week’s Cayman Business Outlook conference that looked at good governance and transparency, Anthony Duckworth raised the current police investigation into McKeeva Bush concerning what have been termed as “financial irregularities”.  No one else on the panel mentioned the probe during the discussion, which touched on the fight against corruption.

(CNS Business): Overnight visitors to the Cayman Islands during 2011 increased by more than 7% compared to 2010, the Department of Tourism has revealed. Official statistics expected to be released tomorrow show that more than 309,000 visitors flew in and stayed in Cayman last year, exceeding the government’s target of 302,000 and representing a bumper year for tourist arrivals and the best year for a decade, when 334,071 arrived here in 2001. In December alone more than 31,000 air passengers came to Cayman representing the best December figure since the year 2000 and a 6.3% increase on the same month in 2010. Read more on CNS Business.

(CNS): Updated - It is one year since landfill worker Anna Evans disappeared and her colleagues will be holding a special remembrance service for the mother of five who has not been seen since lunchtime on 27 January 2011 today. Despite the launch of a full scale search which included overseas experts there has been no sign of the 38 year old woman or any indication of what might have happened to her. The officer in charge of the enquiry again appealed to the public, Friday. Detective Chief Inspector Mike Cranswick has spent the last 12 months leading a team of officers dedicated to finding out what happened to Anna, and finding answers for her grief-stricken family, the polcie said.

(CNS Business): With the Cayman Islands Further Education Centre into its second year, Minister of Education Rolston Anglin has this message for those in the community who continue to call for the establishment of a trade school: the ministry is “well on the way” to providing vocational training and CIFEC is only going to get better. Others in the ministry are equally enthusiastic about the prospects for expanding vocational courses in Cayman and what that means for employment prospects for young Caymanians entering the workforce. The key is for the vocational education system to train students in areas with employment possibilities by consulting with local industry to target the appropriate sectors. Read more on CNS Business

(CNS): Officers from the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service are hunting for people who have gone that extra mile to keep the Cayman Islands safe. The public are being asked to remain vigilant and report sightings of possible community heroes to the police. Nominations are now being accepted for the 2012 RCIPS Community Award which will be presented at a police awards event at the Ritz-Carlton in March. Last year (2011) the winners were the staff of the Caribbean Club for their part in the apprehension of two men on their premises with a firearm.

(CNS): The crown’s key witness in the trial of Raziel Jeffers for the murder of Marcus Ebanks was described in court as “a jealous woman” who was lying about an alleged confession. During cross examination by the defendant’s attorney on Wednesday in the Grand Court the teen witness, who turned 20 on Thursday, was described as a “professional witness of untruth” who had since she was 14 associated with a number of known gang members. Jeffers lawyer, Peter Champagnie, attacked the witness’s credibility and pointed to the numerous lies she had told to the police before coming with her confession story and what he described as her “everything is true” statement.

(CNS): Stran Bodden (left), Eric Bush (below right) and Alan Jones (below left) have all been promoted to chief officers to step into three vacant top government jobs. Bodden will take over as chief officer in the Ministry of Finance, Development & Tourism, dealing with tourism and development, replacing Carson Ebanks who recently retired; Bush will take over as chief officer for the Portfolio of Internal and External Affairs, replacing Franz Manderson when he takes up his new role of deputy governor on 1 February; and Jones will step into Kearney Gomez’ shoes at the Ministry of District Administration, Works, Lands and Agriculture.

(CNS): Police were forced to close the West Bay Road close to Tiki Beach for a short time on Wednesday afternoon following a road smash involving a van and a motorcycle. The collision was reported to police around 3pm in the afternoon after the motor cycle was hit by what was believed to be a van. The rider was taken to the Cayman Islands Hospital where he was treated for an arm injury. No-one else was injured in the collision and police said that enquiries into the cause of the collision are on-going.

(CNS): In what will be government's fifth amendment to the immigration law since it took office, the next set of changes will address a variety of issues, from making it easier for the grandchildren of Caymanians living overseas to claim status to the introduction of a visitors work visa. Government says the changes are aimed at promoting inward investment by offering residency to the wealthy, assisting local businesses by introducing streamlined entry procedures and addressing anomalies in relation to caregivers’ certificates. It also says changes to the Immigration Appeals Tribunal will help reduce the backlog but those changes in particular may give significant cause for concern to employers and employees.

(CNS Business): Drivers keen to go green with an electric car, ready for the implementation in the next few weeks of the traffic law that will allow electric vehicles on Cayman’s roads, can now borrow the money from the Caledonian Bank, which has become the first institution to offer car loans for electric vehicles and has partnered with Cayman Automotive to help drivers reduce their carbon foot print. Drivers will soon be able to charge their electric vehicles free at one of 12 solar panel stations planned across Grand Cayman. Read more on CNS Business

(CNS): Passions ran high on Tuesday evening when well over 100 people gathered at the Bodden Town Civic Centre to discuss the proposal to move the landfill to the district. Although the PPM was in full force, declaring its support for the Coalition to Keep BT Dump Free along with the North Side MLA, neither of the two government MLAs for the district were present. The meeting focused on the long held plans, based on research, to address the dump at its current location and why it should not move to Bodden Town. The significant local opposition to the move was evident as was the anger over the failure of the UDP’s district representatives to consult residents over the issue.

(CNS): A hooded would-be robber escaped empty handed on Tuesday night when his would-be victim screamed and ran away. Police said that at around 9:30 last night the 911 emergency centre received a report of an attempted robbery on a Pizza delivery man. The driver had gone to the wrong address in the vicinity of Candover Street, North Sound Estates, Newlands, Savannah. When he knocked on the door and asked if the residents had ordered a pizza the person said they had not. As he returned to his vehicle, he was approached by the lone robber who pointed what appeared to be a hand gun in his face and demanded money. The pizza man ran towards his vehicle screaming although followed by the gunman, the pizza-man ran around his vehicle to escape him.

(CNS): The former girlfriend of Raziel Jeffers, who is on trial for the murder of Marcus Ebanks and the attempted murder of four other men in a gang related shooting in July 2009, told the court Tuesday that he had confessed to her that he was one of the gunmen. As the trial moved into its second week, 19-year-old Megan Martinez, who is the mother of one of Jeffers’ children, took the witness stand and stated that the defendant had told her he had shot Ebanks by mistake because on the night of the shooting it was dark and he looked very like Jose Sanchez, the man who was his enemy and intended target.