iNews Briefs
Cayman Islands Under 15 football (soccer) season ends with scholarly final
Posted by caymanfootball
Scholars International Girls Under-15 finished the season with a flourish, winning the FA Cup in style.
The match at the Annex on Thursday really took life when the best player on the park, Sabrina Suberan, scored for Scholars in the 27th minute with a superb strike.
Jennifer Licona equalized for Tigers in the 35th to give them a lift into the break.
But after the interval, Susani McLaughlin restored the Scholars lead in the 37th minute and Karmaria Whittaker wrapped up the comfortable 4-1 win in the 46th minute.
Tigers played with a lot of heart but were simply overwhelmed by a generally bigger and more experienced side.
Scholars are coached by national team player Kaela Ebanks who is only 17, but directed her side like a veteran. Her mother Lucille Parchment was the Scholars manager so there was a lot to celebrate between them.
Police arrest U.S. soldiers over sexual crime at Everland
By Suh Ye-seul ([email protected]) From Korea Herald
The police arrested three U.S. Army soldiers accused of sexually harassing and assaulting employees of a water park while intoxicated on Saturday.
The Yongin Dongbu Police Station in Gyeonggi Province said the three soldiers belong to the 2nd Infantry Division stationed in South Korea and the victims were employees of Everland’s Caribbean Bay, a unit of Samsung Group.
The soldiers, including a 25-year-old identified only by his initial M, allegedly touched a 32-year-old female employee’s body. They also grabbed the hand of a different 23-year-old female employee and refused to let go, telling her that she is “sexy.”
When Everland staff tried to restrain the three soldiers, they attacked them while resisting.
Everland officials called the police, which ended the incident that lasted for about two hours.
The three soldiers allegedly spat on and punched policemen while resisting arrest.
The police arrested two soldiers on the spot and caught the other after he attempted to run.
The policed said they turned the soldiers over to their base around 4 a.m. Sunday, and will call them in for questioning later.
For more: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20140601000292
Cayman’s Marriott Beach Resort best in Caribbean and Latin America
The Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort is the best Marriott hotel in the Caribbean and Latin American region.
It has won the award as being the top performer among 45 hotels carrying the Marriott brand name throughout the region.
The award was given based on financial performance, customer feedback and staff satisfaction.
Ex-NYC radio personality facing sex charge dies at 78
From Jamaica Observer
NEW YORK (CMC) — Legendary New York radio personality, Dave Herman, has died in jail while awaiting United States federal trial on charges of trying to seduce a six-year-old girl in the Caribbean, his lawyer has confirmed.
Attorney Marc Agnifilo told reporters that Herman, 78, a former announcer at WNEW-FM died on Wednesday after suffering an aneurysm inside the Essex County Jail in Newark, New Jersey.
Herman had been in custody following his arrest last year in the Virgin Islands in an undercover sting operation conducted by Bergen County prosecutors.
He was charged with attempting to transport a minor to engage in sexual activity, a US federal charge.
Court documents indicated the two sides were in plea negotiations in the case.
Herman was arrested October 24 at the St Croix airport, where he planned to meet the grammar school girl and her mom, US authorities said.
But, in a complaint, prosecutors charged that Herman cut an Internet deal with a 36-year-old woman to have sex with her daughter at his island vacation home.
He was extradited to New Jersey in November and held without bail.
For more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Ex-NYC-radio-personality-facing-sex-charge-dies-at-78
Cayman MLA irritated by Tempura secrecy
North Side Member of the Legislative Assembly (LA), Ezzard Miller, is irritated at the secrecy surrounding the Operation Tempura inquiry into corruption in the Cayman Islands involving high ranking members of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) and even a member of the judiciary that turned into a fiasco with payments being awarded to all the accused parties and no successful prosecutions.
Any attempt at an inquiry into the costly debacle (estimates range from $10M – $30M) has been unsuccessful with even a Freedom of Information order being challenged by Cayman’s previous Governor Duncan Taylor. The latest payout to ex-RCIPS Commissioner Stuart Kernohan to settle his lawsuit against the Cayman Islands government has also not beien disclosed
Miller made his voice known at the LA last week during his contribution to the budget debate.
Miller said: “For the governor to come [to the Legislative Assembly] and remind us of the need for good governance and transparency to develop the trust of the people that we represent, while employing every legal and administrative tool at great expense to the very people we represent to maintain the absolute opaqueness, ultimate secrecy and titanium-quality lid on Operation Tempura, this in my view is a bit disingenuous.
“I cannot inform them [his constituents] how much of their money was paid to Kernohan, because they regard it as part of my responsibility as a representative to find out and let them know,” the North Side MLA continued. “Their position is, it’s their money that Cabinet and the government is spending and they have a right to know.”
World Cup bans caxirola noisemaker
By Dan Bowens From yFOXla.com KTTV
The World Cup in Brazil set to begin in just two weeks. And as people from all corners of the globe descend on the South American nation known for its festive culture, one piece of the party is no longer in play: the caxirola, an avocado-sized instrument filled with beads. When shaken, it makes noise and was supposed to be a symbol of Brazil’s Afro-Caribbean roots.
But now soccer fans are barred from bringing caxirolas into 12 stadiums in the country because officials are worried unhappy fans may pelt players with them.
Brazil’s instrument was supposed to be the answer to the vuvuzela, the plastic horn noisemaker that beat down eardrums at the World Cup in South Africa four years ago. The vuvuzela was more distraction than danger.
Still, some we spoke to say officials in Brazil are overreacting. And if fans get desperate, they can always download the caxirola app.
For: http://www.myfoxla.com/story/25657126/world-cup-bans-caxirola-noisemaker#ixzz33QaAe5eB
Cayman’s governor walks National Trust’s Mastic Trail
Cayman Islands Governor, Helen Kilpatrick, enjoyed a fascinating and enlightening guided walk along Cayman’s Mastic Trail at the hands of National Trust botany expert, Stuart Mailer. The Mastic Trail, which is managed and part owned by the National Trust took Governor Kilpatrick through Cayman’s ancient woodland, where she was introduced to a number of rare and endemic to Cayman, species of birds and plants.
The Mastic Trail is Cayman’s oldest woodland.
For more information on the Mastic Trail please visit: http://www.nationaltrust.org.ky/index.php/info-sheets/mastic-reserve-trail
Fruitful dialogue with The Caribbean Society
By Florencia Attademo-Hirt From IDB
More than 30 Civil Society Organizations from The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Trinidad Tobago, Haiti and Suriname met on May 20 – 21, in Paramaribo, for the IV Caribbean Civil Society Meeting hosted by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
For the first time in the history of these fora, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) that are not members of the IDB-sponsored Civil Society Consultative Groups (CONSOCs) were invited to participate -together with CONSOCs’ members- in an open and fruitful dialogue with Government representatives and IDB Management and staff.
Thanks to a new, highly participatory methodology, Civil Society representatives were able to agree on concrete follow-up actions to support the regional development agenda in the topics discussed, which included the Participation of Civil Society in Public Policy Decisions, the relevance of Energy for the future of the Caribbean, and the challenges posed by the vast numbers of Youth at Risk in the Region.
The panel on energy succeeded in creating awareness among Civil Society participants of the need to tackle oil dependence from all angles, starting with dissemination and education, the implementation of energy efficiency measures, and the carry out of constructive advocacy actions in their own communities.
The high cost of energy is the most important challenge for growth in the Caribbean, with particular weight in islands states. 6 out of 13 countries in the Region generate 100% of their electricity with fuel oil. Jamaica, Barbados and Guyana imports of oil products amount to 12% or more of their gross national income.
Caribbean Governments alone cannot change the energy matrix and lessen the current oil dependence. Efforts from all stakeholders are needed; thus, Civil Society has an important role to play.
For more: http://blogs.iadb.org/caribbean-dev-trends/2014/06/01/1711/
Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. declares third quarter cash dividend
GEORGE TOWN, GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS–(Marketwired – Jun 2, 2014) – Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: CWCO), which develops and operates seawater desalination plants and water distribution systems in areas of the world where naturally occurring supplies of potable water are scarce or nonexistent, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.075 per share.
The cash dividend is payable July 31, 2014 to shareholders of record at the close of business July 1, 2014.
CWCO-D
About Consolidated Water Co. Ltd.
Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. develops and operates seawater desalination plants and water distribution systems in areas of the world where naturally occurring supplies of potable water are scarce or nonexistent. The Company operates water production and/or distribution facilities in the Cayman Islands, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, and Bali, Indonesia.
Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. is headquartered in George Town, Grand Cayman, in the Cayman Islands. The Company’s ordinary (common) stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CWCO”. Additional information on the Company is available on its website at http://www.cwco.com
Obama declares June to be National Caribbean-American Heritage Month
From Atlanta Black Star
President Barack Obama has proclaimed June as National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, stating that the U.S. is expanding cooperation with its Caribbean partners in promoting social justice and prosperity throughout the Americas.
Obama said during National Caribbean-American Heritage Month, the U.S. will honor Caribbean Americans’ history, culture and their “essential role in the American narrative.”
He said the U.S. is seeking to “create new educational opportunities for young people across the Caribbean basin, as well as for Caribbean Americans in our own communities.”
“We are also working to advance commonsense immigration reform that will allow future generations of Caribbean Americans to share their talents with our nation,” he said in a White House proclamation.
“Caribbean Americans are part of a great national tradition, descendants of hopeful, striving people who journeyed to our lands in search of a better life,” he added, stating they were, “drawn by a belief in the power of opportunity, a belief that, through hard work and sacrifice, they could provide their children with chances they had never known.”
“Thanks to these opportunities and their talent and perseverance, Caribbean Americans have contributed to every aspect of our society – from science and medicine to business and the arts,” Obama continued.
“As America celebrates our Caribbean heritage, let us hold fast to the spirit that makes our country a beacon to the world,” the U.S. president said. “This month, let us remember that we are always at our best when we focus not on what we can tear down, but on what we can build up.”
“I encourage all Americans to celebrate the history and culture of Caribbean Americans with appropriate ceremonies and activities,” he urged.
For more on this story go to: http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/06/01/obama-declares-june-national-caribbean-american-heritage-month/
Residents want Cayman women’s shelter relocated
Angry residents of West Bay, Grand Cayman, who are objecting to the halfway women’s shelter being in their neighbourhood, have handed in a petition. The house is to be operated by The Bridge Foundation and is for women only who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction.
Those persons residing around Uncle Bob Road say the shelter is incorrectly zoned for it to be there and are worried it is placing their families and property value at risk.
The official opening of the shelter this week has been postponed.
One Night Only: Jamaica Observer’s Table Talk Food Awards
From Jamaica Observer
Food Awards conceptualiser NMW (centre) cuts her ‘Sweet 16’ cake from ATL Group with (from left) ATL Group and Jamaica Observer CEO Adam Stewart, his wife Jill Stewart, graphic designer Sharon Walker and her Observer managing director hubby Danville Walker – see attachment
Last Thursday night, the Jamaica Observer’s Table Talk Food Awards celebrated its 16th incarnation with a formidable, well-attended soiree on the East Lawn of historical Devon House. The annual awards, which honour outstanding local food and beverage purveyors, has become the premier event of the country’s — indeed the Caribbean’s — social calendar earning the moniker The Oscars of the culinary industry. This year’s event was host to 75 companies and a cavalcade of beautiful people applauding, tasting eating and drinking it.
For more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/food/One-Night-Only_16776740
MLA blames formation of Cayman’s gangs on mass status grant
Cayman Islands government backbencher, Al Suckoo, has blamed the United Democratic Party, that he was part of, 2003 mass status grants to thousands of people for the gangs that the country now has.
The Bodden Town MLA, speaking on the budget debate last Friday (30) in the legislative Assembly said it was “a social experiment gone bad”.
He said the local society couldn’t deal with the creation of so many Caymanians and the population increase and the gang development was the result. Future governments had failed to encourage integration and now there was even greater competition for jobs especially at entry level. This had which had been compounded by the economic downturn.
Puerto Rico police probe death of US tourist
From Boston.com
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Police in Puerto Rico say they are investigating the death of a U.S. tourist in the colonial district of the U.S. territory’s capital.
Police identified him as 37-year-old man from Connecticut. A hometown was not immediately available.
Police said witnesses told them the man slipped and fell down a slope early Saturday morning while at a park in Old San Juan.
The investigation is ongoing.
Cayman’s seed bank grows
Cayman Islands Department of the Environment have collected over 10,000 wild seeds as part of the Millennium Seed Bank Project and have partnered with the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew for another three years.
The seed bank project aims to have a stock of endemic species safely preserved in case of potential extinction and is funded by the Darwin initiative grant.
The Millennium Seed Bank Project aims to collect seed samples from the world’s plants and trees to store them safely and now has 10% of the world’s plant species saved.
Local collectors from the DoE and the National Trust have been focusing on the Mastic Trail and the Botanic Gardens to ensure it preserves seeds for the countries unique flora.
From Wild Strawberry (Eugenia axillaris) to Satinwood (Zanthoxlum falvum), the collected seeds have been processed according to guidelines provided by the MSB. After the cleaning process the seeds were dried and the samples divided in two. One set will be kept for freezing at the DoE and the other will be sent to the Central Millennium Bank in the UK. A small number of seeds from each species were retained in order to compare germination success before and after the drying process.
For more information go to: http://www.kew.org/news/kew-blogs/seed-conservation-training-in-caribbean-ukots.htm
Rowley re-elected as T&T’s PNM leader
By Azad Ali From Caribbean Life
Opposition Leader Dr. Keith Rowley has regained his post as political leader of the [Trinidad & Tobago’s] People’s National Movement (PNM) in last Sunday’s internal party elections.
Rowley’s team won a landslide victory against his challenger former PNM senator Penelope “Penny” Beckles’ team. Penny contested the post of political leader of the party.
A few months ago, Rowley axed Penny as she is popularly called from the Senate.
There were 14 executive posts up for grab.
The PNM leader’s team polled just over 19,000 votes from a membership of 81,000.
The election was conducted all 41 voting constituencies.
For more: http://www.caribbeanlifenews.com/stories/2014/5/2014_05_23_azad_rowley.html
Cayman Chamber welcomes budget but queries government’s concessions for Cayman Brac
Cayman Brac may be receiving too much help says Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce President Johann Moxam.
Moxam welcomed the cuts outlined in the government’s recent budget but is concerned whether the decade of concessions given to the Sister Island has actually produced any beneficial results.
“Cayman Brac has a unique set of circumstances that must be taken into consideration,” he said. “Every effort must be made to encourage financial independence and having Brac entrepreneurs take advantage of the incentives rather than a continued reliance on a government subsidies, particularly at this time when the Government is about to embark the rationalisation of the public sector in Grand Cayman. The question is: Will the public sector in Cayman Brac be impacted equally? If yes, Brac businesses must be encouraged to absorb any laid off workers”
United Arab Emirates and Guyana Negotiating Aviation Agreement
By Ray Chickrie From Aviation Pros SOURCE: CARIBBEAN NEWS NOW,
An air service agreement will see at least one of UAE’s three major flag carriers operating flights to Guyana in the very near future
May 30–GEORGETOWN, Guyana — Officials from global aviation hub, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), arrived in Guyana on Monday to negotiate an air service agreement that will see at least one of UAE’s three major flag carriers operating flights to Guyana in the very near future, according to a government press release on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, Guyana and UAE officials held discussions at the ministry of foreign affairs in Georgetown. Among the Guyana delegation were the director of Guyana’s Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Zulficar Mohamed; Alvin Majeed from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport Corporation (CJIA); and minister of public works of Guyana, Robeson Benn. The team from UAE comprised from the UAE’s federal government, director general, Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi and Air transport agreements chief specialist Valerie Browne and from the Department of Transport — Abu Dhabi, and senior analyst — government affairs, Saeed Al Suwaidi.
Benn told the UAE delegation, “There are opportunities, via Guyana, we expect and we intend for foreign countries and air service operators to use Guyana as a regional and international hub for the development of the aviation sector, and for the development of other economical and tourism and other linkages between the continents and specifically between the countries like Guyana and the United Arab Emirates.”
Articled Clerk at Cayman Islands AG Chambers gets exposure in private sector
Jeana Ebanks, an Articled Clerk in the Cayman Islands Attorney General’s Chambers since last year, has spent the last four weeks gaining experience in the legal private sector.
Ebanks was seconded to one of the major offshore law firm’s, Walkers, working alongside Associate Andre Ebanks at the Global Investment Funds Group.
She graduated from the Cayman Islands Law School and University of Liverpool in 2010 and completed the Legal Practice Course at the Oxford Institute of Legal Practice under the Clifton Hunter Memorial Scholarship.
Ebanks is hoping to be admitted to the Cayman Islands Bar by the end of this year.
Caribbean seeking to take full advantage of new global fund
By Peter Richards From CANA
Georgetown, Guyana, May 30, CMC – The South-Korea based Green Climate Fund (GCF) is open for business and Caribbean countries are hoping that it would prove to be much more beneficial than other global initiatives established to deal with the impact of climate change.
“Despite our region’s well known high vulnerability and exposure to climate change, Caribbean countries have not accessed or mobilised international climate finance at levels commensurate with our needs,” said Dr. Warren Smith, the president of the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
The CDB, which ended its annual board of governors meeting here on Thursday, had the opportunity for a first hand dialogue on the operations on the GCF, through its executive director, Hela Cheikhrouhou, who delivered the 15th annual William Demas Memorial lecture.
But even as she addressed the topic “The Green Climate Fund-Great Expectations,” Smith was reminding his audience that on a daily basis the Caribbean was becoming more aware of the severe threat posed by climate change.
“Seven Caribbean countries…are among the top 10 countries, which, relative to their GDP (gross domestic product), suffered the highest average economic losses from climate-related disasters during the period 1993-2012.
“It is estimated that annual losses could be between five and 30 per cent of GDP within the next few decades,” he added.
Cayman doesn’t need a new cruise ship terminal just an upgrade says MLA
Cayman islands North Side Member of the Legislative Assembly, Ezzard Miller, says Grand Cayman doesn’t need an expensive cruise ship berth facility and hand the control to the cruise lines.
He thinks all the country needs to do is beautify the terminals that we have and implement bigger and more luxurious tenders.
Speaking in the LA last week Miller said all the passengers needed was “somewhere to step on to that’s safe and clean.”
“Cruise berthing does only one thing which is give the cruise lines greater control,” he added and urged the government to re-thing the whole issue.
Bacteria found in 15 million-year-old amber similar to Lyme disease
From Foxnews
GRANTS PASS, Ore. – Fossilized bacteria found inside a tick encased in 15 million-year-old amber indicates the bacteria that cause Lyme disease were likely around long before there were humans to get the disease.
George Poinar Jr. is professor emeritus of entomology at Oregon State University. He bought the amber about 30 years ago in the Dominican Republic, while researching the ancient origins of diseases spread by ticks and mosquitoes.
He did not find the tick until five years ago, and when he cracked open the amber, saw the tick was full of millions of fossilized bacteria.
Poinar writes in the latest edition of the journal Historical Biology that the fossilized bacteria are similar in form to the bacteria causing Lyme disease.
The fossil record indicates homo sapiens has been around about 200,000 years.
Large marijuana field discovered in East Grand Bahama
From Bahama Islands Info
Police on Grand Bahama discovered a large Marijuana Field at East Grand Bahama.
At about 525am Saturday 31/05/14 Drug Enforcement Unit Officers conducting investigations in the eastern end of the Island made the discovery. Three (3) males two (2) Bahamians and one (1) Jamaican were arrested and are assisting
With this investigation. There were some 32,000suspected Marijuana plants with an estimated street value of 32 million dollars.
Attempted armed robbery on Grand Bahama
From Bahama Islands Info
Police on Grand Bahama investigate reported alleged Attempted Armed Robbery.
Reports are that Sometime around 8 pm Friday 30th May 2014 a lone gunman armed with a hand gun entered a residence in the Freeport Lucaya area and attempted to rob a female resident of cash.
During the incident the gunman was attacked by other residents which resulted in him being injured. During the process he reportedly drop the firearm before making good his escape. The culprit was described as being a dark male about 5 feet 8 inches tall, of slim built, clad in a red t-shirt Black long pants and Black Tennis shoes. The firearm a Black Air gun was collected by the investigators who responded to the scene.
A short time later a 20 years old male fitting the description presented himself at the Rand Memorial Hospital Emergency Room suffering from multiple stab wounds he was arrested and is assisting the police with this matter.
Germany donates 2 Million Euros in technical assistance to the OAS for environmental policies in Latin America and the Caribbean
The Secretary General of the Organization of American States, José Miguel Insulza, today met with the Permanent Representative of Germany to the OAS, Peter Wittig, whose government donated two million euros in technical assistance to the hemispheric institution for the protection of the climate and biodiversity in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Secretary General Insulza thanked Ambassador Wittig for the donation from the German government which will take the form of the personnel and inputs through the National Meteorology Institute of Germany, to jointly implement a project with the OAS on the previously mentioned issues.
The Secretary General of the OAS highlighted the collaboration of Berlin with the hemispheric institution in areas such as democratic governance, the rule of law, human rights, education, climate protection, sustainable economic development and combating organized crime.
The Secretary for External Relations, Alfonso Quiñonez, also took part in the meeting.
For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org
Television show “Crossbones” features El Galeón
As told to Historic City News in St Augustine by Paco Cordero de la Villa with translation by Marinelly Rodríguez
Spanish galleons of the 16th and 17th centuries traveling in the Bahamas were known to carry wealthy passengers; making them targets for Caribbean pirates. One of the most notorious, Blackbeard the pirate, will be featured in “Crossbones” — a10-episode summer replacement series airing Friday nights on NBC.
Actor John Malkovich, who portrays Blackbeard, may not be the only familiar face you see in the television program. In addition to the great floating museum managed by the Nao Victoria Foundation, British actor David Slade and Steve Shill are part of the cast.
“The crew of the ship participated actively as extras with endless professionals,” Rodríguez told local reporters. “The series is set on the island of New Providence, in the Bahamas, where the pirate Blackbeard rules; the filming was done in Puerto Rico.”
Cordero de la Villa described how El Galeon was refit to create an 18th century British ship where the main deck became the stage for the action drama series. The possession of the island lands was disputed by British ships in squabbles and battles that will make the British crown tremble. “There were all kinds of fights, battles, and explosions happening at the same time the ship could sail at sea under full sail,” Cordero de la Villa said.
Once again, El Galeon has returned and is docked at the St Augustine Municipal Marina. The sailing vessel is opened daily for visitors who would like to see, first-hand, the same decks that were journeyed by pirates and navigators in the television series.
Pirate Bay cofounder arrested in Sweden
By Adario Strange From Mashable
After almost two years of evading authorities, Pirate Bay file sharing site co-founder Peter Sunde was arrested in Sweden on Saturday.
Sunde had been on the run after being sentenced to serve one year in prison for copyright violations back in 2009, with subsequent appeals failing to remove the requirement of prison time from his sentence.
Originally ordered to pay millions in fines, along with three co-defendants, Fredrik Neij, Carl Lundström, and Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Sunde’s sentence was later reduced and the fines were increased.
The court ordered Sunde to serve eight months in prison, but authorities had been unable to catch up with him. “We have been looking for him since 2012,” a Swedish National Police Board spokesperson told Reuters.
Following the original trial and sentencing, Sunde has maintained a relatively high profile on the Internet. Just last month he posted a campaign video on YouTube in the run-up to the European Parliament election.
The only remaining co-defendant in the original case still not in custody is Pirate Bay co-founder Neij.
