iNews Briefs
Cayman Islands police ‘Christmas Crackdown’ nets many offenders on first day
From RCIPS
The first day of the Royal Cayman Islands Police Services (RCIPS) holiday crack down on bad driving saw 39 persons prosecuted Island wide for various traffic offences, offences ranged from using vehicles with expired registrations , permitting persons to drive without being qualified and speeding.
One person wanted by police was arrested for a criminal offence during one of the road checks.
Acting Superintendent Angelique Howell stated that she is disappointed that the public is still not adhering to the traffic law, and each day they are on the roads, they are putting other road users lives at risk, including their own. She commented further that the RCIPS are just as relentless in prosecuting offenders who believe they are above the law. So far this year 130 persons have been arrested for drunk driving and another 847 prosecuted for using a cell phone while driving.
She is also warning motorist that they must pay special attention to pedestrian crossings or cross-walks. However pedestrians are encouraged to be attentive as well; when crossing the roads by looking both ways before stepping onto a crossing. Safety is everyone’s responsibility Ms. Howell said.
The operation which started Wednesday December 10th 2014 will continue throughout the festive season until Sunday January 4th 2015. The public can expect to see high police visibility during these times.
Which models In the Victoria Secret Show have Caribbean roots?
By NAN ET Editor From News America Now
News Americas, LONDON, England: Since the exit of Selena Banks of the Cayman Islands from the catwalks of the Victoria Secret Fashion show, the Caribbean representation in the show has been nonexistent.
But last night, walking the show’s catwalk from London were two models with roots to the Caribbean.
Joan Smalls
Joan Smalls Rodriguez, the Puerto Rican fashion model who in 2013 was ranked at #8 on Forbes magazine’s “World’s Highest-Paid Models” list was among those rocking the show.
Smalls who has appeared on the “Return of the Supermodel” cover of American Elle, was born in Hatillo, Puerto Rico and is a magna cum laude graduate in psychology of the Interamerican University of Puerto Rico.
Her father, Eric Smalls, is an accountant and is of African ancestry and her mother, Betzaida Rodriguez, is a social worker who is Puerto Rican and of Spanish, Taino Indian, and South Asian (Indian) heritage.
Upon graduation, she moved to New York City to become a model and was signed by Elite Model Management in 2007. In 2009, she left Elite Model Management and signed with IMG Models worldwide, where she changed her focus to runway work.
American model Jasmine Tookes who has West Indian roots, rocked the show as well.
Jasmine Tookes
Jasmine Tookes, 23, was born and raised in Huntington Beach, California and is a stunning blend of West Indian, Brazilian and African ancestry.
Tookes’ grandmother was actually born in Barbados in the Caribbean. She did gymnastics for ten years and was also active in volleyball and softball before she became a model at about the age of 15. Her mother is a celebrity fashion stylist and Tookes was discovered at one of her mother’s showroom appointments. Before breaking out on the international scene, she booked a Spring 2011 DKNY campaign and a layout in Vogue Italia.
Cayman Islands teenage sprinter impresses in South America
From Digicel Sportsmax
Cayman teenage sprinter Rashaun Conolly finished second overall in his age group in the 200 metres at the Grand Prix Central American and Caribbean Athletics Youth and the South American Junior Championships in Cali Colombia last weekend.
Sixteen-year-old Conolly was fifth in his 200-metre heat in 22.91 seconds, a time which won him the silver in his age group.
“I congratulate Rashaun on his fine performance,” said Tyrone Ten, who coaches the youngster at the Mustang Track Club.
“He has been competing internationally for two years and improved significantly in that time.”
Conolly also runs the 400 metres and was a member of the 4 x 400-metre team that broke their own Cayman record earlier this year at the CARIFTA Games in Martinique.
“Rashaun is a good athlete, who is willing to learn and is very coachable,” said Yen.
“He works hard and has a great future in track.”
For more: http://www.sportsmax.tv/?q=articles/2014/12/10/cayman-teenage-sprinter-impresses-south-america
Five traditional sports may face axe under IOC’s Olympic Games modernisation plan
From Z News
Wellington: As the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is determined to modernize the Games, five traditional sports have come under pressure for athletes numbers and events.
IOC approved radical proposals to bring a change to the Games during a meeting in Monaco this week. The busy athletics programme, the one with the most historic link to the Games, is under pressure to be tightened to allow other sports to be added to the Olympics schedule.
A high ranking Australian official has revealed that the five events regarded most at risk under in an athletics shake-up are, in order: the 10,000-metre, one of the men’s race walks, most likely the 20 kilometre event, the 200-metre, shot put and triple jump, Stuff.co.nz reported.
Shot put won’t be missing in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and 2020 in Tokyo as the sports for these events have already been decided. But long-term the discipline’s future appears decidedly shaky.
Respected Australian athletics administrator Brian Roe, a senior international technical official at the Olympics and world championships, said that he had been at a meeting of influential thinkers in the sport when the options were put and those five events were all presented as the most obvious choices if there were to be changes.
The thinking on the shot put is that while it is a traditional event it doesn’t capture the public’s imagination. But rival field throwing event discus would remain.
Roe said that the IOC clearly has a view to reduce the number of those competing in athletics events and options were raised for how to do that and clearly there was a strong view that the 10,000, 200, one race walk and shot put were the most at risk, adding that the triple jump was the least of those five.
Roe said the triple jump was considered safer than the other events because of its geographical appeal.
Supreme Court: Amazon warehouse workers shouldn’t be paid for security screening time
By Laura Northrup From Consumerist
Two months ago, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Integrity Staffing Solutions c. Busk et al., concerning the question of whether employees at a warehouse–an Amazon distribution center, in this case–should be paid for the time that they spend waiting for security checks when they leave work. The Supremes issued a unanimous decision earlier than expected, and they say that security checks should not be considered part of the job at a distribution center.
The original lawsuit was a class action filed against Integrity Staffing, a company that Amazon contracts to recruit and pay warehouse workers. The two lead plaintiffs, employees of Amazon distribution centers in Nevada, claimed that the process of waiting and submitting to a search for stolen goods took half an hour each day when they left work, and that since this was a mandatory part of their jobs, they should be paid for it.
The Supreme Court reversed a federal appeals court decision declaring that workers should receive overtime pay for security screenings. While employees are searched for the benefit of the company (in this case, Amazon), having their belongings X-Rayed is not part of their job duties. While eliminating the screenings could lead to “shrinkage” problems for Amazon, waiting in security lines is not part of the warehouse workers’ duties.
Shedden Road property demolition – Cayman Islands residents face no charges
After Cayman Islands property owner Kent Rankin complained to the police persons were causing criminal damage and criminal trespass to the homes they had occupied for years and were now being demolished they were arrested.
However, the three women and one man who had refused to leave on October 29th have now been told they will not face charges over the incident.
The family involved were relatives and children of missing George Town Landfill worker Anna Evans.
The five Evans’ children have found living accommodations through the Department of Children and Family Services but the other family members we have learnt are still searching.
This CEO’s mom told him not to give up — and he just sold his company to Amazon
By Matt Rosoff From Business Insider
Twitch, the Amazon-owned service for watching real-time video game streams, has bought GoodGame, a company that manages talented gamers and teams.
GoodGame already worked with Twitch, so this won’t change its business much, wrote CEO Alex Garfield. So it’s sort of like the NFL buying one of the top agencies representing football players, or a Hollywood studio buying a top talent agency.
But the deal almost didn’t happen. That’s because Garfield almost gave up when a team of five players he was managing got drafted in the first-ever draft of professional gamers in 2007. He writes:
I wanted to help out a group of friends that I liked and respected – that’s what I was doing back in ‘04. That’s why, when my Counter-Strike team was drafted into the Championship Gaming Series in the summer of ‘07, my initial reaction was that it was time to move on. I didn’t really see a point in continuing if my players didn’t need my help anymore. I stayed, obviously – thanks in large part to my mom, who insisted that I’d built something valuable that would outlive the loss of five players. I still remember her lecturing me in the kitchen of her house (thanks, mom). Apparently, she was right.
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but Garfield wrote, “There’s no doubt that being bought by Twitch means all of our employees will be taken care of very well. ”
Amazon bought Twitch in August for $970 million, reportedly outbidding Google, who was also interested in the service. Although not widely known outside video gaming circles, Twitch accounted for 40% of all Internet live-streaming traffic, and 2% of all Internet traffic total, when Amazon bought it.
So online video gaming as a spectator sport could become a huge business, and it looks like Amazon is trying to lock it up.
Out of time gets charges dismissed against two Cayman Islands companies
Cayman Islands Magistrate Philippa McFarlane dismissed charges last Wednesday (10) against Front Door Cayman Ltd and Advanced Road Construction & Paving Ltd, when she ruled they were filed too late. Charges have to be laid under the Labour Law within 6 months.
Front Door Cayman Ltd had 38 charges laid against them for failing to pay overtime to employees at Treasure Island Resort and Advanced Road Construction & Paving Ltd had 6 charges (5 were dismissed) for not paying wages.
Harvard business professor defends rant about restaurant overcharging him $4
By Peter Jacobs From Business Insider
A Harvard Business School professor is in the news after a series of emails between him and the manager of a local Chinese restaurant — a self-described “mom and pop” business — was published by Boston.com.
HBS associate professor Ben Edelman criticized Chinese restaurant Sichuan Garden and restauranteur Ran Duan, who manages the connecting Baldwin Bar, for supposedly overcharging him $4 on his takeout order. Edelman said he had alerted local Boston authorities about Sichuan Garden’s out-of-date website and Duan’s initial offer to only refund him $3.
Here’s how he defended his emails in a statement to Business Insider:
I think the Boston.com piece totally misses the benefit that all diligent consumers provide in looking for overcharges and other errors. We all rely on trust in our daily lives — that when sales tax is added, it actually applies and equals the specified amount; that the meter in a taxi shows the correct amount provided by law and correctly measures the actual distance; that when you order takeout, the price you see online matches the amount you pay in the restaurant. We all take most of this for granted. It would be a lot of trouble to all have to check these things day in and day out. That’s exactly why we should be concerned when folks fall short — because hardly anyone ever checks, so these problems can go unnoticed and can affect, in aggregate, large amounts.
If you look at my other work, e.g. http://www.benedelman.org/airfare-advertising/, you’ll see I’ve been pretty diligent in holding large companies accountable for their false statements of price and other attempts to overcharge passengers. Should all small businesses get a free pass? Some people seem to think so, I wonder if that really makes sense.
Notably, though not emphasized in the Boston.com piece, the restaurant at issue knew the website prices had been “out of date for quite some time.” At what point should they do something about it? I’m pleased to have at least gotten the problem fixed for the benefit of others.
Cayman Islands boxer jailed for driving whilst disqualified
Peter “Lightning” Lewison, a Cayman Islands professional boxer, was sentenced to 10 weeks’ imprisonment last Tuesday (9) by Magistrate Kirsty-Ann Gunn after pleading guilty to driving while disqualified on four occasions. He also is disqualified from driving for a total of eight years – each year carries a mandatory 2-year period of disqualification.
UPS workers credited with saving man’s life in a church on their route
By Mary Beth Quirk From Consumerist
Sometimes, a delivery person ends up bringing more than just a package or a pizza. And for a man who’d suffered a heart attack in a church, two UPS workers who were on the job happened gave him something much better, when they saved his life during their rounds.
The pair of UPS workers in Virginia Beach, VA (who happen to be married) were working together one day when they came upon an 84-year-old man who’d suffered a heart attack at a church on their route, reports WTKR.com.
He wasn’t breathing and had hit his head, his son said. The husband part of the UPS team walked into the church and saw the man on the ground, and went to wave his wife inside. She was the only one nearby who knew CPR.
“He was looking at me,” she said. “His eyes were open and I was just praying to God just let me do this. Let me save this man`s life, let me help him.”
Paremedics said later that what she did may have made all the difference.
“I was proud of her,” her husband said. “It brought tears to my eyes.”
The man is now recovering in the hospital, and his family is grateful for the kindness of strangers.
“Everybody had their hand and God made it happen,” his son said. “That`s how it works.”
Cayman Islands government passes bill aimed at curbing Justice of Peace powers
The Cayman Islands government has passed an amendment to the Summary Jurisdiction Law that gives Cabinet the power to set the procedure for nomination of Justice of the Peace (JP’s), what is required for their training, the arrangements of any tribunal called to hear complaints made against them and the ability to assess “the fitness of a Justice of the Peace to serve” after they reach 70 years of age.
The bill effectively curbs a JP’s misuse of power especially in regulatory capacity to sign arrest and search warrants.
Artificial evolution is now possible in chemicals, but life remains elusive
By Jon Fingas From engadget
We’re still a very long way from creating an evolving lifeform from scratch in a lab. However, the University of Glasgow has managed to foster artificial evolution in chemicals. Their technique uses a 3D printing robot to both create oil droplets and choose the next generation based on desirable properties, like stability. No, the chemicals aren’t evolving on their own, but the process works much like natural selection — after 20 generations, the droplets were noticeably more stable. In the long run, the scientists hope to use this discovery both to study the beginnings of life and maybe, just maybe, create it.
That last part may be particularly daunting. If you need proof, you need only look at another study published this week. Czech researchers say they’ve created the chemical ingredients for RNA (a simpler cousin to DNA) by blasting clay and a chemical mixture with a laser, recreating the conditions from an asteroid impact and thus the circumstances that might have produced Earth’s first organisms. While the findings support beliefs that it’s possible to create life through bursts of energy, whether from asteroids or laser beams, it didn’t actually generate the RNA itself — and there weren’t many chemicals, either. The basic concept isn’t necessarily wrong, but there’s clearly more involved than what we’ve seen so far.
For more: http://www.engadget.com/2014/12/09/artificial-chemical-evolution/?ncid=rss_truncated
Cayman Islands: Complaints Commissioner resigns to accept top UK appointment
The Complaints Commissioner, Nicola Williams, has tendered her resignation and has accepted the appointment as the UK Service Complaints Commissioner – the Ombudsman for the UK Armed Forces, based domestically and worldwide. She will leave office in early January 2015.
The role of the SCC was established by the Armed Forces Act 2006, as part of a service complaints system which came into effect from 1 January 2008.
Ms Williams was selected following open competition and a rigorous five stage selection process which was chaired by an independent assessor from the Commissioner for Public Appointments. The recruitment process was conducted in accordance with the Commissioner for Public Appointments Code of Practice for Ministerial Appointments to Public Bodies.
Ms. Williams also had to appear before the House of Commons Defence Committee for a pre-appointment hearing. Pre-appointment hearings enable select committees to take evidence from preferred candidates for major public appointments before they are appointed.
Commenting on the announcement, Minister of State for Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans Anna Soubry said: “Nicola Williams is an excellent candidate for this post and I have no doubt she will ensure the armed forces complaints process is working fairly, efficiently and effectively. The MOD is currently taking a Bill through Parliament to strengthen the role of the Service Complaints Commissioner into that of an Ombudsman. This will add a powerful, independent voice to the armed forces complaints handling system and ensure all our personnel can have the confidence to raise matters of concern.”
Source: Office of the Complaints Commissioner, Cayman Islands
Widow puts her diamond ring in Salvation Army kettle (on purpose)
By Mary Beth Quirk From Consumerist
While we’ve heard our fair share of stories where wedding rings or other jewelry accidentally end up in donations bins or tip jars, this time a diamond ring was placed in a Salvation Army Kettle entirely on purpose, as an act of charity from an anonymous widow who said donated it in honor of her late husband.
A Boston branch of the group found the surprise sparkler in a red donation kettle outside North Station last week, reports the Associated Press.
The ring, valued at $1,500, came with a note where the woman wrote the she hoped the ring would be sold and the money used to buy toys for needy kids. She added that her husband always had a giving spirit, even more so during the holidays.
“To honor his memory, I donate this ring. I’m hoping there’s someone out there who made lots of money this year and will buy the ring for 10 times its worth,” the note read.” After all, there’s no price on love or the sentimental value of this ring. But money will help the kids. May everyone have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!” her note read.
A Salvation Army rep said that the group is happy to have the “incredible” donation as a way to spread cheer.
“We’re so moved and incredibly grateful to the generous individual who made such a loving and kind donation,” he said. “This heartwarming gift boosts all of our staff, bell-ringers and volunteers.”
For more: http://consumerist.com/2014/12/09/widow-puts-her-diamond-ring-in-salvation-army-kettle-on-purpose/
Disclosure of interest legislation of Cayman Islands civil servants to be brought back to LA
Cayman Islands Premier, Alden McLaughlin, confirmed on Wednesday (10)
legislation governing the disclosures of senior public servants’ personal interests will be brought back to the Legislative Assembly in early 2015 for amending,.
The Premier said the legislation will be brought back to the House early in the new year.
Forget mistletoe drones, these inventory drones are where it’s at
By John Biggs From techcrunch
Let Amazon have its scuttling crab-like robots that can move entire shelves – a German company is working on an inventory management system that will fly around warehouses and confirm whether items are in stock. The Fraunhofer Institute for Material Flow and Logistics has created a sort of mobile antenna that can move through a warehouse and ping RFID tags (or read barcodes) on inventory items. Called InventAIRy, the project allows managers to get an autonomous review of their inventory in a few minutes by a drone or series of drones.
In this project, the IML researchers are moving toward the goal of engineering autonomous flying robots that are capable of independently navigating and conducting inventory. These flying assistants should be able to localize objects both in the warehouses as well as the exterior area, and be able to track through barcodes and RFID tags. The advantage: These robots act independent of ground-based obstructions. Furthermore, they can move in any direction and see into hard-to-reach places, such as tall storage shelves.
These sorts of autonomous robots aren’t new but they do offer a decidedly interesting use for drone technology. While everyone else is delivering beers and hurting people, these quiet drones can do some actual work while flitting around warehouses. They also map their environments automatically, a feature that ensures you won’t have to install difficult-to-manage beacon systems or indoor GPS analogs.
I, for one, welcome our warehouse drone overlords.
The first roman Bible
From I Love Typography
Sweynheym and Pannartz are credited with introducing printing to Italy via their press at the monastery of Santa Scolastica at Subiaco, outside of Rome in 1465. They appear to have been relatively successful, even sending quite a number of their books to Rome itself. However, in 1467 they move their press to Rome, where by 1473 they were all but out of business. However, in addition to being Italy’s first typographers, they were the first to print a Latin Bible in roman type (ISTC: ib00535000; Type: 2:115R)
It is strange that apparently Luigi Balsamo* claimed it as the only 
Latin Bible printed in roman type during the entire fifteenth century. He was almost right: The only other Latin Bible I know of, printed in roman type in the fifteenth century, was published by the R-Printer, Adolf Rusch, in Strassburg, ca. 1473 (ISTC: ib00536500) (though GW takes the minority view in dating it to 1470).
In 1476, Jenson prints his first Bible in Latin (ISTC: ib00547000) but it is set not in roman but gothic type.
Not until the Reformation do we begin to see many more Latin — and vernacular — Bibles set in roman type.
IMAGES:
Detail from Biblia latina, with handwritten Lombardic capitals in red & blue. Rome: Sweynheym & Pannartz, 1471. Image courtesy of Austrian National Library
Detail from Biblia latina, Strassburg: Adolf Rusch (The R-Printer), circa 1473. Image courtesy of Austrian National Library
Pope notes resistance to reform but moves ahead
By Nicole Winfield From U-T San Diego
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis convened his cardinal advisers to chart the reform of the Vatican bureaucracy Tuesday after acknowledging resistance to his changes but saying he welcomes the debate and is nevertheless undeterred.
It’s the seventh time the group of nine cardinals, representing five continents and the Vatican, have met to plot a revamp of the Vatican administration, which Francis has said needs to be overhauled to make it more efficient and responsive to today’s church.
In an interview with Argentina’s La Nacion newspaper before the meetings, Francis acknowledged that internal resistance to his changes “is now evident.”
But he said opposition is healthy. “That is a good sign for me, getting the resistance out into the open, no stealthy mumbling when there is disagreement,” he said in the interview published Sunday.
For more: http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/dec/09/pope-notes-resistance-to-reform-but-moves-ahead/
There’s a store in Palo Alto staffed exclusively by robots.
From Business Insider
The Beam store, which was recently visited by a writer for IEEE Spectrum, sells telepresence robots that let you attend meetings you can’t be at.
The store’s salespeople use the BeamPro — which costs $20,000 — to sell more robots.
Beam is also working on a cheaper model that will cost about $2,000.
The lack of humans in the store may seem weird, but it makes sense that Beam would use its own products to sell more of them. The entire store is basically a demo for the robots.
The robots are tracked using GPS and weigh 92 pounds each, making theft less of an issue.
They’re also impossible to operate without Beam’s software.
Beam isn’t the only company working on telepresence robots. Cisco has a similar robot that runs off of an iPad app and costs between $4,000 and $6,000.
Check out the video of customers interacting with the “salespeople”:
For more and the video go to: http://www.businessinsider.com/these-robots-literally-sell-themselves-2014-12#ixzz3LZQRdCmN
Lamborghini smartphone will cost you $6,000
By Rex Santus From Mashable
The word “Lamborghini” likely makes you think of very expensive cars, but there’s another product line with the same name that will set your wallet back, too.
The 88 Tauri is the latest smartphone from the Tonino Lamborghini Group and it comes with an extravagant price tag of $6,000, according to Russian tech website hi-tech.mail.ru.
Tonino Lamborghini manufactures luxury products, like watches and accessories. The company’s name comes from it founder, who’s the son of the late Ferruccio Lamborghini, the man behind Lamborghini cars.
Only 1,947 88 Tauri devices will be made — the number was chosen for the founder’s birth year.
The technical specs aren’t groundbreaking — it’s in line with already available smartphone options — but this phone is clearly more about showing off wealth than any sort of advanced functionality.
There’s a 5-inch HD display and a 2.3GHz quad-core processor. It also comes with 64GB of storage and 3GB of RAM. The 20-megapixel camera is a bit more impressive, along with a front-facing 8-megapixel camera.
The phone is available in real leather (in black, blue, red, orange or brown) and steel (in black, gold or silver).
Overall, the exorbitant sticker price is pretty much all about that Lamborghini name, plus the high-quality build materials and exclusivity of the product. There’s nothing too forward-thinking about this phone, but we doubt the target consumer is overly concerned about that.
Although this might be a product the rich and famous might want to add to a Christmas list, sales don’t begin until late December.
Bombardier welcomes new authorized service facility in Saudi Arabia
From AERO News Network
Arabasco Will Perform Line Maintenance For Challenger 605 Aircraft Models
Bombardier Business Aircraft has announced the recent addition of Arabasco as an Authorized Service Facility (ASF) for Challenger 605 aircraft customers based in or flying to Saudi Arabia.
Under the ASF agreement, Arabasco will offer Bombardier Business Aircraft customers a full range of maintenance services from its approximately 31,446 square foot maintenance facility located at the Private Aviation Terminal of King Abdul-Aziz International Airport in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The facility, which has been providing maintenance on business aircraft for 32 years, is certified by the FAA, the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Bermuda Department of Civil Aviation and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands and employs over 40 people.
“This agreement will provide our Challenger 605 aircraft customers across Saudi Arabia and the surrounding countries with greater access to quality and first-class customer support in their own backyards,” said Éric Martel, President, Bombardier Business Aircraft. “Arabasco has a solid knowledge of our Challenger aircraft, as well as over three decades of maintenance experience, and we are confident they will meet the needs of our customers in the region.”
“This authorization firmly strengthens Arabasco’s position as the premier provider of aircraft maintenance services in Saudi Arabia,” said HRH Prince Abdullah Bin Turki Al Saud, Chairman of Arabasco. “It is one of the several steps Arabasco has taken throughout its history in supporting business jet customers in the Kingdom.”
There are 100 Bombardier Business Aircraft in the Middle East. Arabasco will join a network of more than 50 ASFs worldwide and work in close collaboration with Bombardier’s maintenance network of service centres and ASFs in the same time zone, as well as its network of parts hubs and depots.
For more: http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=6794d8c2-20b5-4f8b-93a8-dc2cec9927c9
More violence in 2nd day of Haiti protest marches
By Evens Sanon From Caribbean Life
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) _ Thousands of anti-government protesters marched Saturday through Haiti’s capital for the second time in two days amid anger over delayed elections and other issues.
The crowd began marching peacefully toward the Canadian Embassy in Port-au-Prince, but protesters later began burning tires, throwing rocks at police and trying to force their way through barricades as officers fired tear gas.
Many protesters carried posters demanding that President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe step down.
“We need elections in the country so democracy can continue … not corruption,” said Jean Ronald Brison, owner of an auto parts store.
Martelly’s administration was supposed to call elections in 2011 for a majority of Senate seats, the entire Chamber of Deputies and local offices. But both he and Lamothe have blamed legislators for blocking a vote that would lead to approval of an electoral law. Six senators have said the legislation is unconstitutional and favors the government.
For more: http://www.caribbeanlifenews.com/stories/2014/12/2014-12-08-ap-haitiprotest-cl_2014_12.html
Cuba to continue renewing passports in U.S. despite banking issue
By Agencia EFE News Services From Caribbean News Desk
Washington, Dec 10 (EFE).- The Cuban Interests Section in Washington announced Wednesday a three-month extension of passport-renewal services in the United States, which have been hampered by the mission’s lack of a local bank.
Cuba’s diplomatic mission said that while it “continues searching for a solution” to the banking issue, through March 31, 2015, the interest section will renew passports for Cubans traveling to the island.
Applications submitted “on humanitarian grounds will continue receiving expedited processing,” the mission said in a statement.
Cubans living abroad must have a valid passport to travel to their homeland.
“Despite the efforts made since February 2014, it has been impossible to identify a U.S. banking institution, or a foreign institution operating in the United States or a third country, to perform the banking services required to provide full consular services,” the interests section said.
The predicament, according to Cuba, results from “an intensification of financial persecution measures connected with the (economic) embargo” the U.S. government has enforced against the island in effect since 1962.
The Cuban Interests Section in Washington and Cuba’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations have been without local banking services since March 1, when their long-time provider, M&T Bank, got out of that line of business.
As a consequence, Cuba had to suspend consular services for all but “humanitarian cases” until May.
Caribbean Court of Justice to hear Belize nationalization case
From Latin American Herald Tribune
SAN JUAN – The Caribbean Court of Justice will take up on Wednesday the nationalization case pitting the government of Belize against British Caribbean Bank and businessman Dean Boyce.
The court will spend three days listening to arguments in six consolidated appeals lodged against Belize by Dean Boyce & Trustees of the BTL Employees Trust, British Caribbean Bank Ltd and Fortis Energy International (Belize) Inc.
In 2009, the government of Belize enacted a number of statutes citing a public purpose for the compulsory acquisition of utility companies BTL and BEL properties, belonging to Boyce and British Caribbean Bank Ltd.
Boyce and BCB successfully challenged the constitutionality of the government’s actions in the Court of Appeal.
The government responded in 2011 by passing additional legislation to address the problems cited by the Court of Appeal, whose decision to uphold the nationalizations based on the amended statutes prompted Boyce and the other plaintiffs to appeal to the CCJ.
The 12 CCJ member states are: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
For more: http://laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2364457&CategoryId=14092
Election of new Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP)
From First Look Go Jamaica
Jamaica has congratulated Ambassador Patrick Gomes of Guyana who was today selected by the Council of Ministers of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States as the next Secretary General of the Group for the 2015 – 2020 period. Ambassador Gomes has served as Guyana’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union for the last nine years. He was selected from a field of three candidates which included Mrs. Patricia Francis of Jamaica and Dr Hamid Ghany of Trinidad and Tobago. The nomination of the three candidates by CARIFORUM was done in keeping with the rules of procedure and modalities of the ACP for the selection of the Secretary General.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator the Honourable Arnold J Nicholson observed that “with the expiry of the ACP-EU Cotonou Partnership Agreement in 2020, Ambassador Gomes will serve as Secretary General of the ACP during a critical period in its 39-year history”.
He extended best wishes to the Secretary General-elect for a successful term of office, saying that the Government of Jamaica “pledges full support and cooperation as the ACP seeks to transform and reposition itself to become a more effective and self-reliant organization capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st century”.
Minister Nicholson commended all three candidates for the level of professionalism and expertise they displayed and noted that this was a reflection of the depth of talent in the CARIFORUM and wider ACP region.
Dr. Gomes will be the second Caribbean national to serve as Secretary General of the ACP. Sir Edwin Carrington of Trinidad and Tobago served in that capacity from 1985 to 1990.
For more: http://go-jamaica.com/pressrelease/item.php?id=4010
Cayman Islands Postal Service Christmas Hours
