BBC Radio Jersey

Jersey people and athletes will be cleaning the beach at West Park ahead of the Super League Triathlon event in the island over the weekend.

The race has attracted world class athletes, including the Brownlee brothers, and some of them will be joining islanders at the beach clean.

As well as the elite event there will be races for juniors and novices over the weekend and organisers want the beach area to be as well presented as possible.

Organiser Chris McCormack says they're hoping to capitalise on last year's success by making the event even more exciting for competitors and spectators.

Image source, Super League Triathlon

Jersey Evening Post

'Rigorous' background checks are carried out on all super-rich immigrants before they are granted the right to live in Jersey, the States have said following allegations that Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich was refused Swiss residency because the country’s police force said he posed a ‘threat to public security’., external

Ryan Morrison
BBC News Online

Jersey officials will meet to discuss where they might be able to set up overnight camping areas for locals after a petition was signed by nearly 1,500 people, external.

The petition called for the introduction of free camping areas for locals in campervans to stay overnight, particularly in beauty spots such as St Ouen's Bay.

Environment Minister, Deputy John Young, said any camping outside registered campsites was currently unauthorised and if they were to create spaces for free camping there would need to be "no adverse effect on the environment."

The response was to the petition on the recently launched States petition website where a ministerial response is required after 1,000 signatures and at 5,000 signatures a States debate is triggered.

Ministers and constables will meet over the winter months to discuss how free camping sites could be created and how much they would cost to set up.

The petition was launched after people complained about people staying in campervans overnight at island beauty spots. The complaints led to authorities attempting a clampdown on the practice..

Guernsey Press

A campaign group helping to make Guernsey more aware of dementia is calling for more volunteers., external

BBC Radio Guernsey

Five years after it began, the trial of a man accused of murdering Guernsey woman Sarah Groves in Kashmir could be speeding up.

Sarah was stabbed to death on a houseboat in April 2003.

Dutch national Richard De Witt denies her murder and the trial that started in 2013 is still going.

Sarah's father Vic Groves says that, 2,000 days since her death, the judge now appears determined to push the legal proceedings forward.

Image source, Vic Groves

Mr Groves said out of 84 hearings only 20 had been productive.

But, he said, on Wednesday a senior police officer summoned to court sent his deputy instead. The judge refused to accept this and has requested the summoned officer attend court.

More on this story:

• Kashmir murder trial told of Sarah Groves' final hours
• Sarah Groves' family 'asked her not to go to Kashmir'
• Sarah Groves' parents seeking justice
• Sarah Groves' body returns to Guernsey
• Sarah Groves murder: 'Things don't go away'

Ryan Morrison
BBC News Online

Fixed broadband speeds in Jersey are amongst the fastest in the world according to speed test service Ookla.

The company runs the website speedtest.net where users test their own home broadband.

Jersey saw a "huge spike" in its broadband speeds according to Ookla. It found Jersey speeds went up by 105% between 2016 and 2018 from an average of under 40Mbps to over 80Mbps. By August 2018 this had jumped to 155Mbps.

Ookla collates these into average speeds per country but the global index doesn't include smaller jurisdictions not recognised by the United Nations as an independent state.

The company decided to examine the speeds in smaller places like Jersey, Monaco and Andorra and found often smaller jurisdictions had much faster broadband than larger countries such as the UK and France.

Image source, Ookla

The global average broadband speed is 47.83Mbps and Singapore has the fastest home broadband in the world at an average of 189.38Mbps. The UK has an average speed of 53.17Mbps.

JT Global, the government owned telecom company has invested in replacing its entire underground copper cable network with fibre and this was finished earlier this year.

Brent Pilnick
BBC Sport

Jersey Reds have made three changes as they finally get their home fixtures under way in the Championship on Friday night..

The islanders host Yorkshire Carnegie, hoping to get off the bottom of the division after three losses.

Aaron Penberthy makes his first start at fly-half since returning to the island in the summer, replacing Brett Herron.

James Newey comes in for Mark Best at centre while Charlie Maddison takes over from Nick Selway at hooker.

Image source, Jonathan Huelin

"Being in front of our home supporters, who will be getting behind us for 80 minutes, means there'll be that little bit more energy," head coach Harvey Biljon told BBC Radio Jersey.

"Preparation's gone well, there's naturally a bit of anxiety through the beginning part of our training session, but as the session went on we improved and got better and better, so hopefully that transfers onto Friday night."

Jersey Reds: Slowik; Marx, Newey, Ma'afu, Van Dam; Penberthy, Homer; Godfrey (capt), Maddison, Atalifo, Sexton, McKern, Venter, Joyce, Argyle

Replacements: Selway, Morley, Holenstein, Beckett, Bartle, Waters, Best.

Ryan Morrison
BBC News Online

Guernsey Water says people should avoid using waste disposal units to get rid of food waste due to the impact putting fats down the sink can have on the island's sewage system.

Water Quality Manager Margaret McGuinness says the use of a food disposal unit in the kitchen sink "may sound a sensible option" but food waste cannot simply be disposed of down the drain.

She said fats, oils and grease mixed with other solids in sewage such as wipes risk blocking the sewer, causing flooding and pollution.

Ms McGuinness said food waste should be put into collection bins so they can be properly treated, rather than put down the drain.

BBC Radio Jersey

Jersey will mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War with a Armistice concert in the island.

It will bring together a number of the island's music groups, including the Jersey Armistice Choir and the Jersey Chamber Orchestra.

The concert will also feature a piece of music called Two Brothers, about two Jersey boys who fought alongside each other during the Great War.

The work is a new commission by Jersey composer Charles Mauleverer and will be performed alongside popular songs from the period.

BBC Radio Guernsey

Guernsey can prepare for a non-deal Brexit by stockpiling supplies, according to a senior island politician.

Deputy Lyndon Trott, a member of the senior Policy and Resources Committee, said the island was ready both politically and financially should talks end without a deal in March 2019.

However, Policy and Resources President, Deputy Gavin St Pier has written to Prime Minister Theresa May urging her to strike a deal, saying a no-deal scenario would not "be in the Bailiwick of Guernsey's interests".

He said in the letter to Mrs May: "I would welcome your continued commitment to building on the strong relationships we have and ensuring that the Bailiwick of Guernsey’s interests are properly represented."

BBC Radio Jersey

A Jersey football match has had to be rescheduled for November because birds have dug up the pitch.

St Brelade and St Lawrence were due to play each other at the St Brelade ground on Saturday but seagulls and crows have damaged the pitch in their hunt for food.

Steve Landick, from the Jersey Football Combination, says the St Brelade pitch "looks a lot like a bomb site".

Image source, Steve Landick

Jersey Evening Post

Recreational fishermen could be able to catch and keep bass again as early as Monday if EU officials and the Environment Department agree to change the law this week., external

BBC Channel Islands News

Needles have been found in the toilets of a Catholic church hall.

St Thomas Church in St Helier will now close other than for Mass of specific church events.

The Church was established in Val Plaisant, St Helier in 1842 and restored in 2006. It is the largest Catholic church in Jersey.

Guernsey Press

A £3m pot of money will be put aside to manage the impact of Brexit under recommendations to be made in the Budget., external

BBC Radio Jersey

A historian is trying to track down relatives of a man who was deported from the Channel Islands in 1944.

Guernseyman James Tardivel was sent to prison in France, via Jersey, after insulting a German soldier. He escaped from prison and joined the French resistance.

Expert in the Channel Islands occupation, Dr Gilly Carr is now hoping to find his family after discovering reports of his exploits in a newspaper from 1945.

Image source, Priaulx Library

BBC Radio Guernsey

A woman and her two young children have been hit by a van in a hit-and-run.

The incident happened at around 08:25 on 25 September, Guernsey police have said.

The van which failed to stop drove down Upper Mansell Street and turned left into Lower Vauvert.

The condition of the three victims is not known.

Police are appealing for witnesses.

BBC Radio Jersey

Immigration officials could soon ask people hoping to move to Jersey to provide physical information such as fingerprints, external, as part of the island's Brexit preparations. Ministers say it would bring Jersey inline with the UK.

At the moment Jersey immigration officials can only take fingerprints from people in certain circumstances including if they don't have a valid passport or are claiming asylum.

If States Members agree, it will mean the government is able to come forward, in future, with rules that could request everyone making an immigration application to provide "biometric details".

Ministers say there is an "immediate need" for this as a result of Brexit - a process that will see the status of EU citizens living in both the UK and Jersey change.

The plan will be debated on the 6 November.

BBC Radio Guernsey

People in Guernsey are more likely to be treated at home by paramedics without having to go to hospital as part of a new deal between the States of Guernsey and the St John Emergency Ambulance Service, officials say.

Paul Smith, a director with the service, says it will slowly evolve over the next 10 years of the recently signed contract.

He says delivering emergency care at home saves time and money and is more convenient for the patient.

Image source, SJEAS