iNews Briefs
Remembrance Day this weekend in Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands Protocol Office has announced that Remembrance Day annual service takes place on Sunday, 9 November 2014, at 10:45 am, on Harbour Drive in front of Elmslie Memorial Church.
The general public should assemble by 10:30am.
Cayman Brac’s Remembrance Day Service will run simultaneously in front of the Cenotaph in Stake Bay.
There will be a special recognition to honour members of the Cayman Islands Home Guard that will be one of the highlights planned for this year’s Remembrance Sunday Parade and Ceremony.
Each year Remembrance Day honours the military heroes lost during World Wars I and II, as well as all mariners lost at sea during the long maritime history of the Cayman Islands. On Grand Cayman, the Governor, Helen Kilpatrick, the Premier, Alden McLaughlin, and Leader of the Opposition, McKeeva Bush are among those who will lay wreaths at the Cenotaph and the Seamen’s Memorial.
On Cayman Brac, wreath layers include the Speaker of the House, Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, and Deputy Premier, Moses Kirkconnell. Religious organisations and the general public are invited to lay wreaths at the foot of the Cenotaph, in honour of local veterans, and at the foot of the Seaman’s Memorial in memory of our Seafarers.
NOTICE: Grand Cayman: West Bay Driver’s Office Closed Monday & Tuesday
Motorists are advised that the West Bay office of the Department of Vehicle & Drivers’ Licensing will be closed on Tuesday, 11 November 2014, as Remembrance Day is being observed on the public holiday (Monday, 10 November).
On Wednesday, 12 November the West Bay office will resume regular office hours; which are – Tuesdays to Fridays from 10am until 6pm; and Saturdays from 9am until 4pm.
Men’s Caribbean Cup starts November 11
(CFU) Kingston, Jamaica
Change of Dates for Caribbean CupFinal Round to 11 – 18 November 2014
Following the request of at least three (3) Participating Member Associations and the support of several other Participating Member Associations, the CFU Executive Committee has been considering the delay of the Final Round of the CFU Caribbean Cup by one day.
On Nov 5, the CFU President and Executive Committee decided to change the dates of the CFU Caribbean. The new dates are 11 – 18 November 2014.
This change of date will therefore mean that Group A of the tournament consisting of Cuba, Curacao, French Guiana and Trinidad & Tobago will commence match play on 11th November 2014, with the second and third match days being played on the 13th and 15th November respectively.
The teams in Group A are therefore required to depart on Sunday 16th November 2014. Additionally, Group B consisting of Antigua & Barbuda, Haiti, Jamaica and Martinique will commence playing on 12th November, with the second and third match days being played on the 14th and 16th November respectively.
The teams in Group B are therefore required to depart on Monday 17th November 2014. The Championship Game and the Third Place Playoff will now be played on Tuesday 18th November 2014.
The match venue and match times remain unchanged as previously communicated.
If you have any questions regarding the changes to the tournament, and/or the information provided herein, please feel free to contact Damien Hughes via email at [email protected] or the CFU Director of Competitions, Miss Latoya DaCosta via email at [email protected]
The Jamaica Football Federation wishes to advise that tickets for the games are priced as follows:
Upper Grandstand $1,500
Lower Grandstand $1,000
Bleachers $500
Tickets go on sale at advertised outlets on November 7th .No tickets will be sold at the match venue.
Catalonia, Next Independent State of Europe
Catalans have decided by a majority to commit to a free future where Catalonia can become one more of the free nations of the world. Last 11thin one of the biggest demonstrations ever held in Europe almost 2 million Catalans went to the streets to ask for permission to vote in a referendum about their self-determination.
A documentary “Catalonia, Next Independent State of Europe” tries to picture briefly the reality of the Catalan nation, a nation with more than thousand years of history. It was produced within the campaign El casdelscatalans (The Catalan’s Case). You can get to know more about it in this website.
There is also a high definition version of the documentary
For more: http://cataloniathenextstate.blogspot.com/
Also see related iNews Cayman story published today “Catalonia: The Next State of Europe?”
World’s most precise atomic clock will still be spot-on in 5 billion years
By Chris Velazco From Engadget
Most of us only pay attention to time when it’s causing headaches, but the same can’t be said of a team of researchers working out of the University of Colorado at Boulder. Led by National Institute of Standards and Technology fellow Jun Ye, they’ve crafted an atomic clock that can keep precise time for billions of years, a world record.
This hefty new timekeeper can tick off the seconds with the same unflinching regularity as the best of them, but it’ll be about 5 billion years before it experiences its first temporal hiccup. For the morbidly curious, that means the clock will still be precise when the sun starts ballooning into a massive red giant. That may not sound like a huge deal now, but when our descendants start laying in escape routes to some more pleasant planets they’ll be glad for that extra precision.
How does the thing work? Well, strontium atoms are held in “traps” formed by lasers, and researchers are able to track how often they oscillate by using that laser light to get them moving. It’s hardly a new technique, but you can’t argue with the results: The new clock is 50 percent more precise than the last record-setter, and Ye says that there are plenty more breakthroughs to come.
For more on this story go to:
http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/22/worlds-most-precise-atomic-clock/?ncid=rss_truncated
Caribbean region looking to adopt Jamaica’s telecoms model — Paulwell
From Jamaica Observer
KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining, Phillip Paulwell, says countries in CARICOM are looking to adopt Jamaica’s successful telecoms model, including the financing of the Universal Service Fund (USF).
Speaking at the official opening of the Michael Black Business Resource Centre in Rose Town, St Andrew earlier this year Paulwell said that at a meeting of CARICOM Technology Ministers in Grenada, an examination of the model developed by Jamaican was discussed.
He said that “major” talks are expected to take place at the CARICOM Inter-Sessional meeting slated for February 24 and 25 in St Vincent, as the countries move forward in adopting Jamaica’s model.
“For the first time… at the meeting in February, ICT (Information Communication Technology) will be a major item for the CARICOM Heads of Government to deal with. Throughout the discussion last week, people were commenting on the Jamaican model, not only how we were able to liberalise and open up the sector, but also how we were able to creatively fund the Universal Service (Fund). It is going to become a model for the rest of the Caribbean,” said Paulwell.
Approximately J$10 billion have come into the fund’s coffers to date and 163 CAPS have been set up, Paulwell said.
For more on this story go to:
Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens sets all-time attendance record
Naples, Florida (PRWEB) – Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens celebrates the start of 2014 with the announcement that the Zoo welcomed a record 369,841 guests in 2013. This represents a doubling of attendance in just over a decade. For perspective, the number of visitors who enjoyed Naples Zoo in just February and March of 2013 matches the total 12-month attendance from 1994.
“We are so grateful for everyone who came to the Zoo in 2013,” says Jack Mulvena, President and CEO of Naples Zoo. “As a private, nonprofit organization, the more families we welcome translates into that many more people connecting to nature and supporting our conservation and education mission here and around the world.”
The Zoo consistently introduces guests to fascinating new animals many have never heard of, let alone seen, like Malagasy fosas, Tonkin bug-eyed frogs, and African honey badgers. And even regular guests discover something fresh on each visit because of the Zoo’s focus on personally connecting guests with keepers and offering engaging, innovative, and unscripted presentations and cruises.
Naples Zoo’s efforts have yielded record-breaking attendance every year since 1998 – except for 2005 when Hurricane Wilma closed the Zoo for a month. This past winter was no different when seasonal residents and visitors had their first opportunity to see the new cheetahs. And 2014 promises to be another interesting year with the recent arrival of South American wonders like a Giant anteater, Patagonian cavies, Cotton-top tamarins, and more.
Just since 2001, the beloved zoo and botanical garden achieved accreditation by Association of Zoos and Aquariums, converted from a family business to a nonprofit charitable organization, earned prestigious awards, created new habitats, and expanded its worldwide conservation efforts. The historic garden is also accredited by The Morton Register of Arboreta and holds membership in the American Public Gardens Association.
Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit 44-acre historic tropical garden founded in 1919 that is home to a nationally accredited zoo cooperating in conservation programs both in and outside the wild for endangered species. Naples Zoo offers a full day of family fun and educational programs. For more, visit http://www.napleszoo.org call (239) 262-5409, or follow them at http://www.facebook.com/napleszoo
Cuba proposes declaring Latam and the Caribbean a Zone of Peace
From Merco Press
Cuba hosted a major regional summit at the end of January andproposed that Latin America and the Caribbean be declared a Zone of Peace.
The 33 heads of state and or government which make up the Community of Latam and Caribbean states, Celac, met in Havana and addressed the issue, since it is considered that “Zone free of Nuclear Arms is not sufficient”.
“We have the intention and we believe that it is of utmost importance that in this II summit to be held in Havana, we proclaim that Latin America and the Caribbean are a Zone of Peace”, Deputy Foreign minister Adalberto Moreno said on Cuban national television.
”For many years now our region is a Zone Free of Nuclear Arms, following on the Tlatelolco treaty (effective since 1969)“, said Moreno who recalled that 33 countries of the region have signed and endorsed the accord. But we think it is not sufficient”, added Moreno.
“We believe that it is necessary that all heads of state and government from the region reach an agreement that any difference, any conflict, will always be resolved through dialogue, negotiations and that the threat or the use of force, never arrives”.
The Cuban proposal is one of 26 special documents under consideration by the experts that are negotiating the package to be submitted to the leaders at the summit, besides the regular 2014 Political Declaration and Plan of Action.
The rest of documents refer among others to the Argentine claim over the Malvinas Islands; rejection of the US embargo on Cuba; war on terrorism; transforming the region and cultural policies, “plus a huge range of issues that are already very advanced in the negotiation process”, concluded Deputy minister Moreno.
For more:
http://en.mercopress.com/2014/01/20/cuba-proposes-declaring-latam-and-the-caribbean-a-zone-of-peace
Guadeloupe Indians seek connections with native land
IANS From Business Standard
Nearly 360 people of Indian origin from the picture-pretty island of Guadeloupe in the French Caribbean have signed a plea asking the Indian government for the Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card and for opening a consulate in Guadeloupe to maintain a direct and permanent link with the land of their forefathers.
An extract from the strongly worded two-page petition in French, a copy of which is with the IANS, says: “I sign the petition to seek the OCI card to repair deep injustice of which I am a victim today but successive Indian governments have made it tough for me to visit, to study, to work, invest, live, meet my family in the country of my grandparents and my country of origin.”
Over 150 years and still counting, the 54,000-strong community in Guadeloupe has kept Indian culture and tradition alive and is seeking to cement its links with the land of its forefathers. But their inability to prove that their grandparents or great-grandparents were Indian has made it difficult for them to attain the OCI, which allows them to live in India as long as they want plus get other benefits like owning property and working.
Over 43,000 indentured Indian labourers came to the l’île Papillion, the butterfly-shaped island, to work on sugar plantations between 1854 and 1889. The French colonial settlers, who had brought them to replace slaves, burnt most of the records so as to avoid sending them back home on completion of their five-year contracts.
It was not before 158 years that India established its contacts with its people in Guadeloupe by sending Minister of Overseas Indian affairs Vayalar Ravi in 2011.
Seeking a waiver of the rules in the case of Guadeloupians, Michel Narayninsamy, president of Guadeloupe Global people of Indian Origin (GOPIO), said the trauma of abandonment and the isolation for nearly 158 years is still alive.
Tiny fungus puts up a mighty fight against climate change
Written by Annie-Rose Strasser By ThinkProgress From Care2
You might be a person who loves to eat a portabello sandwich or one who turns your nose at the sight of a salad bar button mushroom, but no matter your feelings on the gustatory nature of fungal fruit, you’ve got to respect fungi for one thing: Helping to fight climate change in a small but mighty way.
In a new study, scientists found that two certain types of fungi, known as ecto- and ericoid mycorrhizal (EEM) fungi, have the ability to drastically alter how much carbon gets sunk into soil or released into the air by as much as 70 percent. Since soil holds massive amounts of carbon — more than air and plants combined — this has a huge impact on the climate.
Here’s how it works: Nitrogen in soil is what feeds the little microorganisms that break down dead matter and release its carbon back into the atmosphere. But the EEM fungi (not to be confused with a mushroom — the mushroom is the fruit of a fungus) that live in the roots of plants steal some of that nitrogen out of the soil and turn it into nutrients for plants. In the process of stealing it, they’re ridding the soil of nitrogen. So when that plant eventually dies and returns to the soil to be broken down, in places where EEM fungi are present, it’s less quickly turned into carbon that goes back into the atmosphere.
This happens anywhere EEM fungi live — no matter the makeup of the soil or what the climate of the location is.
The process might sound technical and small-scale, but its implications are significant. No scientist studying carbon cycles has factored in the high carbon capture rates of EEM fungi before. And though it isn’t the most common type of fungus in soil — another type makes up 85 percent of soil — it could still change climate models.
“This study is showing that trees and decomposers are really connected via these mycorrhizal fungi, and you can’t make accurate predictions about future carbon cycling without thinking about how the two groups interact. We need to think of these systems holistically,” Colin Averill, the lead author on the study, said.
The relationship between fungi and climate has always been complex. Some mushrooms are thriving thanks to a changing climate — something scientists still aren’t sure is a bad or good thing. Others, like the EEM fungi, are doing their part to help climate change. In April of 2013, scientists first discovered that mushrooms could be major carbon sinks, sequestering between 40 and 70 percent of the carbon in soil, and burying that carbon deeper down in the soil than if it were coming from the decomposing leaves and needles on a forest floor.
This post was originally published in ThinkProgress
For more: http://www.care2.com/causes/tiny-fungus-puts-up-a-mighty-fight-against-climate-change.html
New book tells story of a family in Toco Village, Trinidad during 30’s & 40’s
Vivian Jack presents a mixture of facts, stories and experiences seen through his eyes.
Chesapeake, VA (PRWEB) January 10, 2014
Toco is the most northeasterly village on the island of Trinidad in the County of Saint David at the point where the Caribbean Sea and theAtlantic Ocean meet. Tobago lies only some 35 kilometers to the northeast which renders Toco the closest point in Trinidad to the sister island. The name Toco was ascribed to the area by its early Amerindian inhabitants. The meaning of the name is uncertain, yet its historical significance and value to the country is well noted.
TOCO written by Vivian Jack is a story centered on the Nathaniel family of Toco Village, Trinidad during the thirties and forties. It is a mixture of facts, stories, and experiences seen through the eyes of Jack from the time he was five until he turned fourteen. Gabriel, as the main character is called, talks about his daily life as the youngest of three boys with strict religious parents who believed in the supernatural. He remembers happy days with his family, teachers, and classmates. He also remembers the struggles for survival in a poverty-stricken village called Toco.
Every day around four o’clock in the afternoon, Gabriel positioned himself at the window of their home, a room in the barracks they lived in on the Gordon Grant estate at Garcia often eating a piece of Ma Gool’s roti and hot curry from his East Indian neighbor proudly waving to his father as he rode by on the company’s horse to take the daily newspaper to Mr. Hutton, the Chief Overseer resident at San-Sousi. Those were the days of real poverty. The barracks was one originally built for East Indian Laborers imported as indentured labor in the late nineteenth century consisting of four rooms approximately
Vivian Jack uses humor to make its reading more enjoyable, and at the same time, gives readers an idea of life in a small village in Trinidad. It was written for Caribbean readers who would easily understand the lingo, but Jack has done his best to provide a glossary of explanation for international consumption.
For more information on this book, interested parties may log on to http://www.Xlibris.com
What censoring a gay artist could mean for India
By s.e. smith From Care2
Disabled gay artist Balbir Krishan started exhibiting in India in 2013, but right now, he finds himself at the center of a controversy. His show “My Bed of Roses” was pulled from the Muse Gallery in Hyderabad, sparking discussion about the censorship of gay and lesbian artists in a country that is sometimes very hostile to its LGBQ residents. This comes in the midst of a breakdown in US-India relations which already has some Americans frowning on India, and as discussion rages over anti-gay discrimination in Russia in advance of the Sochi Olympics. In other words, the “morality police” couldn’t have picked a worse time to suppress a gay artist.
The Times of India initially reported that right wing activists pressured the gallery curator to take down the show, arguing that it went against Indian values and culture. He said he was afraid to report the incident to police, because the people involved were influential. Instead, he took down the show, which was based on 40 years of closeted life in India — and Krishan didn’t even find out about the incident until he woke up the next day and found an update on Facebook.
The manager of the hotel where the show was displayed, on the other hand, insists that the paintings were taken down because some guests seemed “unsettled” by the exploration of nudes and sexuality. In the interest of keeping guests happy, he opted to take down the artwork, and claims there were no threats or external pressures to take down the paintings.
It wouldn’t be the first time Krishan’s work has been challenged; people have attacked not only his art, but he himself. He was surprised, however, to find such a strong reaction in Hyderabad, believing the city progressive enough to handle the show — and arguing that nudes and sexualized art actually have a very prominent place in Indian society and culture.
For more: http://www.care2.com/causes/what-censoring-a-gay-artist-could-mean-for-india.html
Nassau Container Port rated #1 in the Caribbean
From bahama islandsinfo
NASSAU, Bahamas — Nassau Container Port (NCP) has beat out 24 ports in the Caribbean to be rated number one in productivity by the powerful Florida Shipowners Group, who handles the majority of the trade in the region. NCP and Gladstone Freight Terminal, the port’s inland facility, are owned and operated by APD Limited which, in turn, is owned by a partnership between the Government of The Bahamas, Arawak Cay Port Development Holdings Limited and 11,500 Bahamians.
Making the announcement of the NCP’s outstanding rating was Mike Maura, Jr, President & CEO, APD Limited.
“I am pleased to advise that the Florida Shipowners Group (FSG) have ranked the Nassau Container Port #1 as the most productive port as measured by crane lifts per hour, out of a field of 24 ports in the Caribbean.This news is all the more gratifying because of its source and the metrics on which it is based. The Florida Shipowners Group is made up of Crowley, CMA, Seafreight, Seaboard and Tropical who collectively carry 80% of all the cargo to the Caribbean and collect valuable data on this trade. On a monthly basis they submit port performance metrics to the FSG administrator who compiles the history throughout the year,”Mr Maura explained.
“The surveyed ports are primarily domestic ports like Nassau, which primarily handle cargo intended for the local market and or is exported from local manufactures and producers. FSGshares this information with the purpose encouraging ports to regularly review their productivity.
Migrants and visitors to UK face new healthcare charges
From Caribbean360
LONDON, England, Against the backdrop of spiralling costs and abuse of Britain’s National Health Service (NHS), migrants and overseas visitors will soon be faced with new charges for some NHS services.
Planned increases are said to include extended prescription fees, higher rates for optical and dental services, and the introduction of charges for some emergency care.
The British government had also considered charging for GP and nurse consultations, but decided that easy access at the primary care level was important to prevent public health risks such as HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and TB.
Primary care services that are under consideration for delivery on a paying basis include minor surgery that is carried out by a GP and physiotherapy that has been referred by a GP.
Plans are also on the drawing board to introduce a new system for identifying and recording patients who should be charged for NHS services, but no one will be refused treatment in an emergency.
The changes are designed to assist the NHS to recoup money, and facilitate mainly urgent and emergency treatment.
For more: For more on this story go to:
The Army wants soldiers to wear solar panels and bionic knee braces
By Colin Daileda From Mashable
When United States soldiers venture out on routine three-day missions in the field, they mostly pack the essentials: food, water, ammunition and 10 to 13 pounds of batteries. Modern soldiers have so many electronically-powered devices, from night vision goggles to flashlights to radios, that batteries are a vital component of their livelihood.
In fact, they have to carry so many batteries that the weight impedes mobility. The occasional demand for a resupply means more soldiers must risk their lives just to deliver batteries to other military members in need. To alleviate this problem, the army wants soldiers to sport wearable solar panels and bionic knee braces that would harness the sun and kinetic energy to recharge their devices.
“If we can cut down on the need for batteries, we’re saving fuel costs with the convoys that have to deliver these items to the field,” Chris Hurley, battery development team leader at the U.S. Army’s Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, told Mashable. “We’re also saving lives in that there’s a huge risk in bringing these convoys out to the fore field.”
Harnessing bionic energy is one way to help. Harnessing bionic energy is one way to help. The idea is for a soldier to wear a knee brace that captures the energy used by the joint when he walks, according to Bionic Power CEO Yad Garcha, whose company is working with the military.
The knee brace has little to no medical value, but Garcha told Mashable it doesn’t impede a soldier’s mobility; if it did, the army would, at best, be wary of the technology. The brace is hooked to a power manager that recharges the 2.2-pound batteries to power soldiers’ array of electronics. Each brace produces 10 to 12 watts of electricity every hour, approximately enough to charge three smartphones, which helps supplement the 10 to 13 pounds of batteries — but not totally replace them.
“Instead of four or five [2.2 pound] batteries, they might carry two that are rechargeable,” Garcha said.
Tethys Petroleum Limited: Board Changes
GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS–(Marketwired – Nov. 4, 2014) – Tethys Petroleum Limited (“Tethys” or the “Company”) (TSX:TPL)(LSE:TPL) today announced that Dr. David Robson and Liz Landles have resigned from the Board of Directors of the Company, with immediate effect.
Dr. David Robson said: “It is with regret that, in the interests of the Company, I feel compelled to step down from the Board of Tethys Petroleum Limited as a director. I have been a director of the Company since its creation in 2003 and, for the last 11 years, I have worked my hardest to build a successful business and I believe that we have a very effective oil and gas exploration and production company working in Central Asia and the Caucasus with some notable firsts and with enormous potential. Our team has a very high reputation in the area both for good exploration success and for our professional approach to business and we are very well respected as a highly competent oil and gas operator. I wish the staff and the Company well for the future and hope that it can further develop its business from the solid and diverse platform we have created.”
Rt. Hon Peter Lilley MP, Vice Chairman of the Board commented: “It is difficult to overstate the contribution David Robson has made in building Tethys Petroleum into the company it is today. It is his vision, energy and leadership that have built Tethys into a successful oil and gas exploration and production company. His immense experience of the oil and gas business and tireless enthusiasm have been an inspiration for the Tethys team as it has grown from owning a single stranded gas field in Kazakhstan to being an oil and gas exploration and production company operating in several countries and in Tajikistan the respected partner of two of the largest oil companies in the world. David’s leadership has been essential in this growth and he leaves behind a strong business where he will be greatly missed by his friends and colleagues. We all wish him well for the future.”
“Liz Landles was one of the founders of Tethys Petroleum and has played a pivotal role in making the Company into what it is today. Her professionalism and dedication have been an inspiration to the Tethys team and she too will be missed by friends and colleagues. We wish her every success in the future.”
Tethys is focused on oil and gas exploration and production activities in Central Asia and the Caspian Region. This highly prolific oil and gas area is rapidly developing and Tethys believes that significant potential exists in both exploration and in discovered deposits.
This press release contains “forward-looking information”. Such forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are subject to certain assumptions. See our Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2013 for a description of risks and uncertainties relevant to our business, including our exploration activities. The “forward looking statements” contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release and, unless required by applicable law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise such information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Hydro Infra Technologies
Hydro Infra Technologies (HIT) is a Stockholm based clean tech company that has developed an innovative approach to neutralizing carbon fuel emissions from power plants and other polluting industries that burn fossil fuels.
HIT is now taking its technology to market via joint venture partnerships and is being invited by various government ministries around the world to provide solutions to the critical levels of pollution emissions being generated by power plants and other industries.
The technology developed by HIT uses a patent pending method of generating a gas call Hydro Nano Gas. ( HNG )
HNG effectively reduces the pollution emissions from burning fossil fuels to almost zero, when injected into exhaust outlets.
HIT shares its know how with partners who deploy and implement the HNG applications.
HIT is Swedish public company preparing to list on the stock market in 2015.
Website: www.hydroinfra.com
