England's Prince Edward today toured a Cayman Islands neighbourhood rebuilt after a hurricane in 2004 and watched the release of three rare blue iguanas.

ONLY one-fifth of the 1.8 million people made homeless by last December’s tsunami will be in permanent homes by the end of this year, British-based aid group Oxfam International said yesterday.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed condolences, Sweden’s Prime Minister said it was a “painful example” of challenges facing the world and the premier of tiny Mauritius pointed out that vulnerable islands could face the same fate as New Orleans.

AMERICAN football’s NFL is looking into alternative accommodation for the New Orleans Saints after the Superdome was damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Simon Webb, Reuters

FIVE people were killed, a family of five was missing at sea and more than a million homes and businesses lost power after Hurricane Katrina crashed ashore in southern Florida early yesterday.

Hurricane Emily strengthened dangerously today after slamming into Grenada, where it blasted out windows and flooded two main hospitals and tore roofs from homes still damaged by last year’s storms. At least one man was killed.

Tropical Storm Emily grew to hurricane strength today as the system crossed the Windward Islands of the Caribbean, the National Centre in Miami said.

Victoria Ward

Relieved tourists and residents gradually began returning to coastal areas in Alabama and Florida today to survey the damage left by Hurricane Dennis.

Thousands of tourists were evacuated from idyllic US beaches today as a monster hurricane headed their way after hitting the detention centre in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Thousands of tourists were evacuated from idyllic US beaches today as a monster hurricane headed their way after hitting the detention centre in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Heavy rain drenched parts of Florida early today and heavy surf pounded beaches as Tropical Storm Arlene plodded toward the south-eastern US, chasing a few weather-weary residents into shelters.

Fiercely contested elections today in the Cayman Islands pits against each other two candidates who want greater autonomy from Britain for the Caribbean offshore banking haven.

Despite catastrophic hurricanes, tourist arrivals rose significantly in the Caribbean last year with many travellers saying they consider the region a haven from terrorism and other turmoil.

Oil giant BP said today that its oil production in 2004 was set to be just short of target, despite boosting output by 10%.

The Cayman Islands’ strongest earthquake since 1900 rattled windows and sent residents fleeing into the streets, according to islanders and the US Geological Survey.

The Government today pledged a further €250,000 assistance to the Caribbean island of Grenada in the wake of devastating hurricanes which wreaked havoc in the region.

Troubled British furniture group Courts delivered a hammer blow to investors today by announcing it had been forced into talks over a life-saving financial overhaul.

Crude oil futures fell for the fifth day in six, reaching the lowest in almost two months, on speculation rising US inventories and refining output will ensure heating oil supplies are adequate during the winter.

Crude futures eased slightly today in light trade as traders looked toward another expected build in US crude stocks, shrugging off another attack on oil fields in Iraq and a looming strike in Africa’s largest exporter Nigeria.

THE victory of US President George W Bush will do nothing to defuse concerns about oil prices experts have warned.

The price of crude vaulted above $52 today on news that a strike in Nigeria could affect output in the world’s seventh-largest oil exporter, while traders looked for signs of how this week’s US presidential election would affect the market.

The price of crude oil fell for a third straight day today, brought down from a midweek record high by news of higher-than-expected US stocks and by China’s latest moves to cool its economy.

Crude oil futures stayed above 55 dollars a barrel today over fears of a heating oil shortage before an expected cold Northern Hemisphere winter.

Oil giant BP today reported a profits bonanza that saw it bank nearly £1m (€1.4m) an hour on the back of record fuel prices.

Oil giant BP today posted record profits of $3.94bn (€3.1bn) after fuel prices hit new highs.

Crude oil futures inched lower today, after Norway ordered workers to end a strike that was threatening exports from the world’s third-largest supplier.

The cost of oil has hit another record high. The price of a barrel of US crude soared to $55.67, passing the previous high of $55.50, due to fears over a potential shipping strike in Norway.

Crude oil prices surged past an unprecedented $55 per barrel today as uncertainty swirls over production, high demand and tight global supplies.

Crude oil futures inched toward the $55 milestone today, a day after US officials announced a decline in their country’s inventory of heating oil, heating a market already on edge over tight supplies, high demand and unrest in key producers.

Soaring oil prices trumped positive earnings news today, sending stocks skidding as investors rushed to take profits on new fears that the market is in the midst of a commodities bubble.

Oil futures prices advanced to a new high yesterday as a strike began in Nigeria, Africa’s largest exporter of crude, exacerbating global supply concerns at a time of strong demand and reduced output in the hurricane-ravaged Gulf of Mexico.

John Cusack has been keeping some dangerous company lately. The High Fidelity star has become pals with formidable surfing legend Laird Hamilton and the daredevils recently flew quite literally into the eye of a storm in the name of research for a new film.

The Government has announced a €250,000 aid allocation to the victims of the recent hurricanes in the Caribbean.

Oil prices set a new record high today as production problems caused by Hurricane Ivan continued to weigh on the market.

Oil prices were hovering close to last week’s record high today after breaking through the $50 mark again.

Energy giant BP today reported a fall in third quarter production after operations in the Gulf of Mexico bore the brunt of Hurricane Ivan.

Crude oil prices pushed past the psychologically important $50 per barrel mark today to an all-time high of $50.01 as the market stayed bullish on a slow post-Hurricane Ivan recovery in the Gulf of Mexico.

OIL prices soared to new highs on both sides of the Atlantic yesterday as traders fretted over increasingly short supplies.

Oil prices reached a new high in New York and sent US stocks lower today, pushing the Dow Jones industrials back below 10,000.

Jeanne, Florida’s fourth hurricane in six weeks, piled on destruction in already ravaged areas, slicing across the state with howling wind that rocketed debris from earlier storms and torrents of rain that turned streets into rivers.

Crude oil prices in New York fell for the first time in seven sessions on expectations that US stockpiles will rise in coming weeks as imports and production recover from Hurricane Ivan.