 |
 |
 |
 |
|
isle of man manx radio | ||||
|
|
Isle of Man News, Articles and InformationVLM improves cabin comfortVLM, the Belgian airline that flies to locations around the UK and Europe from London City Airport, has upgraded its seats to offer improved passenger comfort.The carrier's fleet of 15 Fokker 50 aircraft will be kitted out with stylish beige seats that are now wider and enhance the ambience of the cabin, giving it a more business-like feel. .Pastor paid 'slave wages' to illegal migrant buildersThe leader of a newly-formed evangelist church was preparing to face his congregation last night to explain why he illegally shipped a group of African workers into Britain so that they could help build his house on "slave wages". Pieter van Rooyen, 46, founder of the Life Church in Douglas, Isle of Man, helped get the men through Customs on the pretext that they were embarking on a business training course. Once they were on the island their employer, who boasts on his website that "the light that shines the farthest shines the brightest at home", paid them as little as £1.36 an hour for what was sometimes a 72-hour week, renovating the luxury home in Onchan. Yesterday Van Rooyen, who when not preaching was working as a senior manager with Barclays Bank, appeared at a Manx court with another South African, Jacobus Visser, 43, the owner of a building company and himself an illegal immigrant.Monday Newspaper Review - Irish Business News and International ...The Irish Independent reports that the runaway property market is finally beginning to cool and some homes are even seeing a drop in prices for the first time in more than a decade.Estate agents said yesterday they had seen the first evidence of a "soft landing" after years of astounding growth. But the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute insisted there was no prospect of a property crash. Its chief executive Alan Cooke said: "The soft landing seems to be happening. It won't happen across the entire market in one fell swoop and it won't hit geographically at the same time." He said it would affect a range of mortgage holders across different sectors first. "But it's only a question of time until it levels out." Fintan McNamara, chief executive of the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers said a number of members had reported a significant drop in interest in property.
Senior disappointment for FinneganMartin Finnegan had a disappointing end to his 2006 Isle of Man TT when he was forced to retire on the fourth lap of Friday's Senior TT. The Klaffi Honda/Alpha Boilers rider was holding on to a strong 6th place at mid-race distance but the exhaust of the Honda Fireblade had cracked and he was black flagged at Ballacraine and his race was over. With conditions absolutely perfect and the Island lapping up the glorious weather, Martin blasted off the line and after the first 9 miles he found himself in 7th spot, just adrift of eventual third placed finisher Bruce Anstey. The team had worked hard after the opening Superbike race and with Ian Hutchinson retiring, Martin's opening lap of 124.595mph placed him in 6th, six seconds behind Anstey but three ahead of Carl Rennie and Paul Hunt. Like most of the other competitors, Martin went quicker on the second lap and a speed of 125.806mph, his fastest of all race week, maintained his position.SA pastor falls from grace on Isle of ManSouth African Pieter van Rooyen has had it good in the United Kingdom, working as a senior manager for Barclays Bank and heading his own popular church - but the lure of cheap, illegal labour from back home could prove to be his undoing. Van Rooyen was headhunted by Barclays, one of the world's biggest banks, in 2001. Last year, he, his wife Sonja and their two daughters, Lezandri, 14, and Shandri, 12, settled on the Isle of Man, where he subsequently started the Life Church. But his peaceful existence with his family came to a grinding halt last week, when he was accused of flying in illegal immigrants from South Africa to renovate his house, and paying them slave wages - about 1,36 (R18) an hour. .Rising RiverRichmond Water Rescue team has already responded to a number of calls this season on the James River. On Sunday, they had to help rescue a man who slipped on the rocks at Belle Isle and injured himself. This is just one illustration of the potential dangers when the water is rising."At five feet, six feet and seven feet, people kind of look at it, misjudge how swollen the river is, misjudge how much water's coming through here. And it's very easy to get in trouble here in the river today," explains Keith Vida of the Richmond Fire Department. Vida says people tend to stay out of the river when it gets up around 8, 9, and 10 feet because the danger is more obvious. But right now, at the 5 and 6 foot level, it can actually be more dangerous because no one expects it to be.
|
|
||