Cayman Island Food

The Consular Agency in Montego Bay is located at St. James Place, 2nd Floor, Gloucester Avenue, tel. (876) 952-0160. Office hours are Monday-Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. The U.S. Embassy also has consular responsibility for the Cayman Islands, a British dependent territory. The Consular Agency in George Town is located in Unit 7 of the Grand Harbour Shops in Georgetown, Grand Cayman; telephone (345) 945-1511; fax (345) 945-1811; e-mail: consulus@candw.ky . Office hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Monday-Friday. For additional information on travel conditions in the Cayman Island, please refer to the Cayman Islands Consular Information Sheet. * * * ... [Read More]

US Department Of State Post Report

Jamaica is the third-largest Caribbean island and lies nearly 600 miles south of Miami, Florida.  Slightly smaller than Connecticut, the island is 146 miles long and 51 miles across at its widest point.  Except for narrow coastal plains mainly on the island's south side, the landscape is one of sharp, crested ridges, unique "cockpit" formations, and deep, twisting valleys.  Almost half the island is more than 1,000 feet above sea level.  Some 50% of the island is used for agriculture, 40% is woodland, and the remaining 10% is divided between mining and urban areas. ... [Read More]

Communities Around the Globe Protect the Underwater World, by Brian Huse, Global Issues, April 2004

Hundreds of volunteers organize and participate in activities to protect their local aquatic environments and raise awareness of the need for marine conservation. Organizers come from all walks of life and every corner of the planet: elementary school students in the Cayman Islands organize beach cleanups; scientists in China conduct reef surveys; environmental organizations in the United States hold fund-raising events for marine parks; and dive businesses in Indonesia install mooring buoys. Although most activities occur around Earth Day, April 22, the program has resulted in successful year-round marine conservation in communities throughout the world. ... [Read More]

Maximum Travel Per Diem Allowances for Foreign Areas

This Per Diem Supplement to the Standardized Regulations (Government Civilian, Foreign Areas) lists all foreign areas alphabetically. Where a country or island is listed it is intended to include all territory within the boundaries of that country or island including any off-shore islands in the same general vicinity. It will not include territories or possessions located elsewhere even though considered an integral part of the parent country or island. In such cases, no cost data pertinent to such territories and possessions were used in determining the established rates. When a political subdivision smaller than a country is named such as: states, provinces, departments, cities, towns, villages, etc.; it will include the corporate limits of such political subdivision or the limits of territory within the normal boundary thereof if it is not incorporated. ... [Read More]

The Caribbean

All the Overseas Territories cooperate regularly with the U.S. DEA and the U.S. Coast Guard on counternarcotics initiatives and operations, and on other drug-related crimes, such as money laundering. Since March 18, 1982, the Turks and Caicos Islands have been a signatory to a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding with the United States and The Bahamas to combat drug trafficking. Known as OPBAT, this permanent operation has seized over 75,000 kilograms of cocaine and 375,000 kilograms of marijuana, according to UK official statistics. In addition to providing police personnel to OPBAT, the Turks and Caicos Islands has a police fixed-wing aircraft and sea vessels to support the operation as required. The British Virgin Islands also has a fixed-wing aircraft and all the other Overseas Territories have police marine vessels to support combined operations. The British Virgin Islands works closely with the U.S. DEA in the U.S. Virgin Islands and with the Coast Guard ... [Read More]

The Caribbean

The BahamasI. Summary Because of its geographic location, The Bahamas continues to be utilized as a major transit country for cocaine and marijuana bound for the U.S. from South America and the Caribbean. The Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas (GCOB) cooperates closely with the United States Government (USG) to stop the flow of illegal drugs through its territory, to target Bahamian drug trafficking organizations, and to reduce the domestic demand for drugs within the Bahamian population. An important bilateral milestone was achieved in June 2004 with the signing of a Comprehensive Maritime Agreement to provide law enforcement officers a ... [Read More]

Money Laundering and Financial Crimes

Cook Islands (Concern). This self-governing group of islands in the South Pacific maintains a free association with New Zealand. Cook Islanders are citizens of New Zealand, and the Cook Islands are part of the British Commonwealth. The Cook Islands have a well-established offshore sector known for its good asset protection features. Financial transactions through the Cook Islands' offshore center have received increasing international attention because of alleged ties to Russian criminal activities. The offshore services available in the Cook Islands include International Business Companies (IBCs), banks, insurance companies, and trusts. Marketers of offshore services via the Internet promote the Cook Islands as a favored jurisdiction for establishing IBCs and for its asset protection trusts. The anonymity and confidentiality offered to financial transactions through Cook Islands IBCs appear to be particularly attractive to those linked to money laundering and other questionable ... [Read More]