Bringing you the news, sport, travel and weather for the Channel Islands

BBC Weather

It's going to be mainly sunny for the rest of Wednesday afternoon, then mostly fine overnight, with some mist patches forming by dawn.

Any early morning mist patches on Thursday will clear quickly.

Jersey:

Guernsey:

Stephanie Gabbatt
BBC Radio Guernsey

Guernsey's education committee is asking for almost £6m to improve IT services across States schools.

The Committee for Education, Sport and Culture said it was aiming to improve digital services as part of its transformation programme and it had identified the need to bolster IT services across schools.

The £5.8m needed to complete the upgrade is already included in a proposed £157m of education funding which is being debated by the States in two weeks' time.

The IT funding would be used to upgrade network bandwidth and ensure teachers and students had access to high quality reliable equipment, the committee said.

It added that it was also exploring the option of introducing "immersive classrooms" which would allow lessons to take place across more than one site.

Image source, PA Media

BBC Radio Jersey

Jersey's government spent more than £11,000 on accommodation for two temporary civil servants over three months.

A Freedom of Information request showed that £11,478 was spent on hotels and apartments for senior health staff.

In its response, the government said the accommodation was booked at a discounted rate.

Chris Quevatre
BBC News Online

Jersey's government employment board has written to all 3,000 civil servants to ask for their opinion on the latest pay offer.

Members of the Unite and Prospect unions have so far rejected all previous offers.

The latest offer includes previous backdated improvements in pay for 2018 and 2019, as well as a forecast 4.1% rise in 2020 - based on current predicted inflation levels.

Union members will soon be able to vote on the latest offer, although the employment board has accused union officials of being "far from neutral" in their approach.

"The language of their communications to members, along with their insistence in continuing with planned industrial action, suggests that they are far from neutral in their approach," a letter from it has stated.

"Yet they know, as do we, that this final offer is the best that can be negotiated."

Guernsey Press

The family and friends of murder victim Sarah Groves say they have been left with uncertainty following events in Kashmir potentially affecting the trial of her alleged killer., external

Jersey Evening Post

Firefighters have praised a family after they stopped a blaze spreading through their home., external

BBC Radio Guernsey

Guernsey will not have an Olympic-size swimming pool for the Island Games in 2021.

There have been calls from local swimmers to build a 50m pool to improve training, but the Committee for Education Sport and Culture said it would be unrealistic due to the cost of development.

Guernsey's Swimming Club said it believed the island needed to have a longer pool if it was to stay competitive on the international stage.

Swimmers used a 50m pool at the Island Games in Gibraltar this summer, while Guernsey normally uses a 25m pool at Beau Sejour.

The committee said it would be impossible to build a facility to house an Olympic-size pool.

Extending the existing pool at Beau Sejour also was not an option, it said, because extra land would be needed for the redevelopment.

However, it said a project could happen further down the line when funding and other practical challenges were not an issue.

BBC Radio Jersey

Asian hornets stung a farmer several times whilst he was out in his tractor in the Grand Vaux area of St Saviour.

The States' Asian hornet coordinator, external said the farmer carried on working and had not seen a doctor.

A hornets' nest has now been tracked down to St Saviour.

In total, 44 have now been found this year.

BBC Radio Jersey

A Jersey charity foundation has questioned the costs of bringing in UK administrators to manage Channel Island lottery grants.

Grantscape, a charity which specialises in processing government grants, could take over from the Association of Jersey charities if politicians agree to the plans.

Mike Graham from local charitable organisation the Bosdet Foundation does not believe the process of distributing lottery funds "requires an outside organisation".

"Surely we have the wherewithal and the ability on this island to do so", he said.

BBC Weather Watchers

We've had some great photos from our weather watchers in the last 24 hours.

Here are a couple of sunsets from Tuesday night...

Chris Cumulus - St Andrew, Guernsey

Disco Dave - Herm

We've also had some great photos from the sunrise on Wednesday morning...

Roger - Trinity, Jersey

Brass - St Peter Port, Guernsey

BBC Radio Guernsey

Guernsey's director of public health says her staff have been "engaging" with local doctors about trying to increase the vaccination rate after a fall in the past two years.

According to the Committee for Health and Social Care, the number of people vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) across the Bailiwick has dropped from just over 95% in 2017 to 92%.

Dr Nicola Brink has called on parents to make sure their children get the MMR vaccine before there's an outbreak of measles.

She added that these attempts formed part of a strategy to offer parents "evidence-based, factual information" about vaccinations, allowing them to make "informed choices" about their children's healthcare.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Radio Jersey

The organisers of Jersey's Electric Park festival have said they will not refund tickets for last Saturday's event after one of the main acts pulled out at short notice.

The Kooks were forced to cancel their performance after lead singer Luke Pritchard revealed he had suffered a back injury an hour before the show.

The organisers claimed their insurance company had refused to cover the cost of refunds because The Kooks were not the headline act, but they have offered a 25% discount on tickets for the 2020 festival.

Twitter

Guernsey FC striker Will Fazakerley scored from his own half on Tuesday night as Guernsey drew 3-3 against East Grinstead.

It was Fazakerley's first of two goals in the game, and his fourth of the season.

BBC Radio Jersey

The head of a UK charity which could become the administrator of Channel Island lottery grants has said local groups will still be involved with the process.

Jersey's politicians are set to decide if UK company Grantscape should take over managing the proceeds from for 2020.

But there are concerns that its lack of local connections could see some organisations miss out.

Grantscapes Chief Executive Matt Young said the organisation operated as a "local fund for local people" and it intended to "work very closely with local stakeholders" to make sure that the process worked for communities in Jersey.

BBC Radio Guernsey

Guernsey's domestic abuse charity said it has seen a 62% increase in the number of male victims coming forward for help.

Safer saw 21 men in July, compared with 13 at the same time in 2018.

Carol Le Page, from the charity, said she did not know why the numbers had gone up, but added that she was pleased that people were coming forward to report cases.

Mrs Le Page also said that they had seen an increase in LGBT victims seeking help, so the charity had conducted "specific training" to help both groups when they do reach out.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Weather

Any mist in valleys quickly clearing on Wednesday, then mainly sunny with some thin high cloud.

Mainly fine overnight, but perhaps some shallow mist in places by dawn.

Guernsey:

Jersey:

BBC Radio Jersey

A wildlife expert has said Jersey's government must consider the environment when it comes up with a policy for Jersey's growing population.

Mike Stentiford said he believed that, the more people there were in the island, places like St Ouen's Bay "come under pressure."

A panel led by Assistant Chief Minister Chris Taylor is in the process of drawing up plans for a population policy.

More information on what the policy could involve is expected to be published in the coming months.

Stephanie Gabbatt
BBC Radio Guernsey

Nurses in Guernsey are set to begin a rolling protest on Wednesday outside Frossard House over their pay dispute with the States.

Members of the island's branch of the Royal College of Nursing plan to giving up their free time over the next two weeks to campaign for what they are describing as "equal pay".

Local RCN representative Kenny Lloyd said they wanted to resolve the deadlock "amicably" but no progress had been made with discussions.

A petition in support of a pay rise with 4,500 signatures was presented to Guernsey's senior political committee, Policy & Resources, which is acting on behalf of the States in the negotiations.

Policy and Resources said it would comment on the protests while negotiations were ongoing.