iNews Briefs, More & Community Events
Community Events
TUE AUG 11
Financial Assistance Meeting Bodden Town
There will be a financial assistance meeting in Bodden Town on Tuesday (11 Aug) at 7pm. The location will be announced later.
National Gallery Summer Cine Club for Kids
National Gallery Summer Cine Club for Kids is back with an all new selection of neat movies to enjoy! Screenings will be every Tuesday afternoon starting at 2:00 PM and children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. To ensure that authentic cinema experience, popcorn, cookies and juice will be on sale at each showing. On Aug 11th the film is My Neighbor Totoro.
CONCACAF Under 15 Boys’ Youth Tournament Volunteers
In hosting the CONCACAF Under 15 Boys’ Youth Tournament from August 11 — 23, the Cayman Islands Football Association is looking for volunteers. Call 949.5775 if you are interested
WED AUG 12
NWDA in West Bay
The National Workforce Development Agency will be at the West Bay Library on Wednesday (12 Aug) from 10am until 1pm.
National Pensions Bill West Bay
The next public consultation meeting for the National Pensions Bill is Wednesday (12 Aug) at the Sir John A Cumber at 730pm.
2015 Orientation Dates for Cayman Islands Government Schools
Released on behalf of the Education Ministry.
Jamaicans celebrate Independence Day in Cayman Islands
Jamaicans celebrated their Independence Day last Friday (7) on Cardinall Avenue, George Town, Grand Cayman.
The festivities marked 53 years of independence from England.
Premier Alden McLaughlin speaking at the event said:
“I wanted to be able to come and spend a little time with you and to offer you the warmest congratulations of the government and the people of the Cayman Islands on the celebration of the 53rd anniversary of Jamaica.”
He was presented with a basket of Jamaican goodies.
There were displays of Jamaican art, performances of a medley of Jamaican songs, and, of course, a plethora of Jamaican food. Dozens of people braved the sweltering sun for a serving of foods like jerk pork, spicy shrimp, rice and gungo peas, and grater cake.
Many people present were decked out in the Jamaican National Costume.
Saturday Social: Soca fix at Countryside
From Jamaica Observer
IMAGE: From left: Cayman Islands natives paramedic Kerriann Robinson, hospitality executive Jenne Figueira, Mudder’s International team member Janice Samson, and SM Brand Management General Manager Shamair Marstin. (PHOTOS: RORY DALEY)
For those who suffered a serious tabanca relapse earlier this week from all the enviable social media visuals coming out of Barbados, which showcased that island’s annual take on mas playing — Crop Over, and as per usual prominently featured Bajan-native and global superstar Rihanna ‘s seasonal return to her hometown — party remedy Haunted came to the rescue, Thursday evening at the Countryside Club with a potent soca antidote!
Saturday Social toured the chattel house village venue and marks the register!
For more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/Soca-fix-at-Countryside-_19222684
Stand by for take off: Cape Town Convention extension date to Cayman confirmed
By Ellie Crespi-McCarthy and Louise Groom
The ratification by the United Kingdom Government of the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and the Protocol thereto on matters specific to Aircraft Equipment (the Cape Town Convention) and its extension to the Cayman Islands has been well publicised.
The UK has now confirmed that the Cape Town Convention will come into force on 1 November 2015, and on that date the Cayman Islands will gain the status of a territorial unit of a Convention State with the benefit of the declarations made on its behalf by the United Kingdom.
Training wheels off…
Harneys is part of a working group formed by the Cayman Islands Government to discuss the practical application of the Cape Town Convention and mechanics ahead of commencement and will continue to support the Government in this respect.
Barbados: Local clubs for Caribbean Children’s Charity Shield
From Barbados Today
Six local clubs will participate in the upcoming Caribbean Children’s Charity Shield Soccer Classic in Trinidad thanks to the Hamilton Lashley Human Development Foundation.
The teams from Empire, Gall Hill, Spooner’s Hill, Haggat Hall, Paradise and Evan Maughan Youth Academy will travel to Port of Spain to face the home team, as well as their rivals from St Vincent, Grenada and Guyana in the August 13 – 18 tournament.
Lashley, the former minister of Social Transformation, told a news conference he was disappointed in the lack of government assistance to community-based groups.
“Sports, culture and community development should be given the highest level of priority,” he said.
“If communities are not supported in their efforts, particularly efforts such as these, then you are going to have chaos and chaotic reactions in the communities across Barbados.”
The former MP appealed for the government and private sector to contribute more to community development, noting that sports brings a level of stability and tranquility into communities especially in areas plagued by social deviance.
“Far more investments must be made to communities in Barbados and across the region, particularly when they are attempting to bring a unified Caribbean at the community and grassroots level together,” Lashley said.
Barbados hosted the tournament in December last year.
For more: http://www.barbadostoday.bb/2015/08/09/local-clubs-for-caribbean-childrens-charity-shield/
Software eccentric McAfee arrested for DUI: US media
AFP From Business Insider
Washington (AFP) – John McAfee, the reclusive anti-virus software creator who in recent years has had recurring trouble with the law, was arrested in the US this week for driving under the influence, American media reported.
CNN reported that McAfee was arrested in the US state of Tennessee, where he now resides.
He was also charged during his arrest with possessing a gun while intoxicated and reportedly has been freed on a $5,000 bond.
After being released, McAfee told CNBC television: “I was impaired, I must admit.” He explained that at the time, he was having bad reaction to the anti-anxiety medication Xanax, which he had been prescribed for stress.
McAfee made international headlines in 2012 after being questioned in the death of his neighbor in Belize, where the software entrepreneur lived at the time.
Since selling McAfee antivirus software — which was recently given a new name to disassociate it from its founder — he has been running a cybersecurity firm called Future Tense Central, US media reported.
He told CNBC that he had a gun in the car for his personal protection.
McAfee lost most of his $100 million fortune in the 2008 stock market crash.
He was living in Belize when police came looking for him to discuss the murder of his neighbor — a crime which he maintains he is innocent of.
He managed to flee the Central American country, where he says he left behind most of what remained of his assets.
IMAGE: File picture shows John McAfee, the reclusive anti-virus software creator, who was arrested in the US this week for driving under the influence
© AFP/File Paula Bustamante
Target promises to stop sorting kids’ merchandise by gender
By Laura Northrup From Consumerist
While every kid has preferences, there’s no reason why little boys can’t play with dollhouses or why little girls can’t play with plastic dinosaurs. Some parents, kids, and other activists have started to ask retailers why store sections for anything marketed to kids is always separated into strict “girls” and “boys” sections with signage to match. One retailer announced today that they’ll be changing that.
Target will phase out their red-and-blue and pink-and-purple sections in the coming months, instead sorting items by what they are. For example, all cartoon character bedding sets or animated movies would be shelved together instead of separated by shelf for boys and for girls. Toys will be arranged the same way, with Target promising to even get rid of subtle cues about who toys are for, like “pink, blue, yellow or green paper” behind the actual shelves.
Right now, our teams are working across the store to identify areas where we can phase out gender-based signage to help strike a better balance. For example, in the kids’ Bedding area, signs will no longer feature suggestions for boys or girls, just kids. In the Toys aisles, we’ll also remove reference to gender, including the use of pink, blue, yellow or green paper on the back walls of our shelves. You’ll see these changes start to happen over the next few months.
UK-based Let Toys be Toys has done great work in pointing out examples of this from all over the world, and they also explain very clearly why gendered toys are such a bad idea. They explain why kids should be allowed to choose what they want to play with, rather than having retailers reinforce who each toy is for:
Toys focused on action, construction and technology hone spatial skills, foster problem solving and encourage children to be active. Toys focused on role play and small-scale theatre allow them to practise social skills. Arts & crafts are good for fine motor skills and perseverance.
McDonald’s is a notable example of this, too: when there are two different sets of toys available, customers used to be asked whether they wanted the girl toy or the boy toy. While the chain has been trying to phase this out here in the U.S., apparently it’s still common in Canada.
For more: http://consumerist.com/2015/08/07/target-promises-to-stop-sorting-kids-merchandise-by-gender/
Islamic State targeted in 19 strikes by US led coalition: Statement
By Caribbean Digital Network
IMAGE: ISIS-fighter-with-flag-JPG
WASHINGTON, August 8 (Reuters) – The U.S.-led coalition conducted 19 air strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq on Friday, the Command Joint Task Force said on Saturday.
The greatest concentration of attacks was near the Syrian city of Hasaka, where nine fighting positions, three bunkers, a weapons cache and other targets were destroyed, the task force said in a statement. Tactical units also were hit. Islamic State assets near Aleppo, Raqqa and Deir al-Zor also were struck.
In Iraq, 10 air strikes near eight cities hit tactical units, vehicles, weapons facilities and fighting positions.
UWI vice-chancellor to open C’bean economic history congress
From Trinidad Express
From the arrival of Europeans with their imperial ambitions to the emergence of independent economies, the Caribbean has had a fascinating and sometimes climactic economic past. That over 500-year history will be the subject of the Third Congress of the Caribbean Economic History Association (Asociación de Historia Económica del Caribe, AHEC).
The congress will be held on November 4 to 8 at the St Augustine Campus of The University of the West Indies (The UWI). It will include lectures by vice-chancellor of The UWI, Prof Sir Hilary McDonald Beckles and secretary general of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) Prof Alfonso Múnera Cavadía.
Under the theme “The History of Investment in the Caribbean”, the four-day congress will look at “the evolution of investment in the Caribbean from the 15th century to the present; the movement of capital flows into and out of the greater region and the incorporation of the Caribbean into global economies and markets over the past centuries.”
Over 120 presenters from more than 20 countries and 60 different research institutions are expected to take part in the third AHEC congress. Sir Hilary will give the opening lecture on November 4 and Prof Múnera Cavadía will provide the closing lecture. There will also be nine special lectures from presenters from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, France, Haiti, Jamaica, the UK, the US, and Trinidad and Tobago.
AHEC was established at its first congress in Santa Marta, Colombia in November 2011, which included some 150 scholars from 22 countries. Among the association’s goals is “to stimulate and promote education, research, publications and general knowledge of subjects related to the economic history of the greater Caribbean Area.” AHEC’s second congress was held in June 2013 at Santo Domingo City in the Dominican Republic.
The third AHEC Congress will be held from November 4 to 8 at UWI, St Augustine. For further details e-mail [email protected] or call 662-2002 ext. 83773.
Sports Broadcasting Legend Frank Gifford dies at 84
From All Access Music Group
FRANK GIFFORD, the football star turned longtime broadcaster, died SUNDAY of natural causes at his CONNECTICUT home. He was 84.
GIFFORD, a USC product, starred with the NEW YORK GIANTS in 1952-64, working at CBS RADIO during his playing career.
He then joined CBS as a sportscaster, anchoring sports for WCBS-TV/NEW YORK, continuing to anchor a nightly sports roundup for CBS RADIO NETWORK, and calling NFL games through 1970, then moving to ABC to call MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL with HOWARD COSELL and DON MEREDITH; he was with MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL as play-by-play voice and then analyst through 1997, after which his role was cut back to pre-game studio host in the wake of a personal scandal involving an affair.
He was inducted into the PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME in 1977.
Announcing the Screencraft Short Film Production Fund!
From ScreenCraft
We’re excited to announce our ongoing Short Film Production Grant Program! In partnership with BondIt, a media hedge fund based in Beverly Hills, we’re giving production grants to our favorite short screenplays! We’re guaranteeing full production of at least four short films per year. Apply below.
ScreenCraft is accepting rolling short film screenplay submissions in all genres for consideration, guaranteeing production on at least one project per quarter and up to ten projects per year. Grants will range from $10,000 to $20,000 based on the scale and merit of each selected short film production.
We’re awarding funding every 3 months! Next upcoming deadline is August 31st!
Apply here: https://screencraft.org/fund/
As featured in IndieWire!
Tell us about yourself! Along with your short screenplay, please upload a letter that expresses your vision for your project. This letter is meant to help the judges get a sense of your creative vision and professional experience. If you’ve made a short film before, feel free to include a link. Make your cover letter as fun or formal as you like. We recommend 1-2 pages in length.
Michael Savage: Fox working for Hillary, Megyn ‘Picture of Dorian Gray’
By Sandy Fitzgerald From Newsmax
Talk Show host Michael Savage lambasted Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly Friday for her question to Donald Trump about his documented quotes about women, saying that it’s now clear that she’s “gone over to the dark side,” and saying her new stance is even changing her looks.
“It’s clear that Martha Washington (one of Savage’s nick names for her), Roger Ailes, and Rupert Murdoch are working for Hillary Clinton,” the pundit said on The Savage Report on Friday. “It’s as clear as a bell that ‘Mayhem Kelly’ has gone over to the dark side, and frankly her looks are changing.”
But it wasn’t just Kelly he railed against, but Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook was the main sponsor of the debate, hosted by Fox News, and Savage said that was because Zuckerberg wants to open the nation’s borders so he can get cheap labor for his website.
Savage complained that Kelly’s looks and life are becoming like the classic story, “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” in which the young man in the story had his picture painted as a handsome man, but that the portrait started changing he treats a young woman cruelly.
“Megyn Kelly’s looks may have not changed to herself in her Cinderella mirror backstage,” said Savage. “The cameras that we all watch is the portrait that I’m referring to. The portrait of Dorian Kelly is quite revealing. You watch her face change. You’ll see it change over the coming months now that she is drunk on her own power. You’ll see what I see, because I see things before anyone else.”
M&A Africa: Mauritius Fund Manager offers largest buy price for Kenyan
By Kevin Mwanza From AFK Insider
A Mauritian fund management firm Axis has offered to buy a majority stake in a Kenyan stockbroker Apex Africa Capital for about $4.7 million, the largest amount ever paid for any market intermediary in the East African nation.
According to a Business Daily report, detailed of the yet to be concluded deal were seen in an application to Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) seeking for approval to conclude the transaction in a few weeks time.
CAK allowed the deal to go ahead on ground that it was unlikely to affect competition. The deal is yet to receive a stamp of approval from the capital markets authority.
According to undisclosed sources familiar with the deal, Axis, which offer fund management, investment advisory and tax shelters in the Seychelles, Mauritius and Kenya, was attracted to Apex Africa due to its “strong corporate and high-net-worth individual clients.”
Axis will take over Apex Africa through its local unit Mauritius Kenya Investment Holding.
Before this investment the largest ever investment in any Kenyan stockbroker was in 2008 when Renaissance Capital paid about $2.5 million for a license to become a stockbroker at the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
VLCC freight rates in Caribbean at 11-week low
From Hellenic Shipping News
Worldwide trends and an extended position list have pushed VLCC freight rates in the Americas to an 11-week low.
The Caribbean-Singapore route basis 270,000 mt was assessed at a lump sum of $6.7 million Thursday, down $550,000 day on day.
It is the lowest freight rate seen for that route since May 18, when it was assessed at a lump sum of $6.6 million.
While VLCCs in other regions had seen substantial drops in rates over the last few weeks, the Caribbean market had remained healthy.
“The Arab Gulf has come off dramatically and West Africa has come off dramatically, too,” a shipbroker said. “The Caribbean was due to come off.”
The Arab Gulf-Singapore route was assessed at Worldscale 90 on July 21 and came in at w51.5 Thursday. The rate for a West Africa-Far East journey has not seen as dramatic a fall, but on July 10, it was assessed at w97.50, and Thursday it sat at w72.25.
One of the reasons the Caribbean had kept elevated rates was a fairly tight position list, but another shipbroker said there were more ships than it seemed.
“There are five ships available in the Caribbean, but there are another five relets available off the Continent,” he said.
One complete VLCC fixture was reported. Litasco put the Andromeda on subjects at $6.5 million for a US Gulf Coast-Singapore journey with a September 10 loading.
Generally, the Caribbean-Singapore route trades at a $200,000 premium to that of ships out of the US Gulf Coast due to lower port fees in the US.
For more: http://www.hellenicshippingnews.com/vlcc-freight-rates-in-caribbean-at-11-week-low/
Bahamas ‘hits rock bottom’ in FIFA world rankings
By Renaldo Dorsett From Caribbean Digital Network Source: Tribune 242
The Bahamas Football Association’s senior men’s national programme has hit rock bottom with its worst ranking ever.
In the latest update of the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings released yesterday, the Bahamas is ranked as the worst country in the world, tied at 208 with Anguilla.
They were the only two countries to earn zero points in the ranking system and the Bahamas has dropped eight spots since the last update.
Their last appearance on the international stage was an 8-0 aggregate loss to Bermuda in April in the first leg of FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 Qualifiers.
The first leg at home was a 5-0 loss followed by a 3-0 loss on the road in Bermuda.
In 2011, the Bahamas withdrew from the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification after defeating the Turks and Caicos by an aggregate score of 10-0 in the first round.
The 6-0 win over Turks and Caicos was the biggest win for Team Bahamas on the international stage.
Their biggest defeat was a 13-0 loss on the road to Mexico in 1987.
In 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification, they tied with the British Virgin Islands with a 3-3 aggregate score, but followed with a pair of lopsided losses to Jamaica 7-0 and 6-0.
The Bahamas’ highest ranking was 146 which came in 2006 during their run in 2007 Caribbean Cup qualification. They went 2-4 in the qualifiers, including wins over Turks and Caicos and the Cayman Islands.
According to FIFA: “The basic logic of these calculations is simple: any team that does well in world football wins points which enable it to climb the world ranking. A team’s total number of points over a four-year period is determined by adding the average number of points gained from matches during the past 12 months and the average number of points gained from matches older than 12 months (depreciates yearly).”
The senior men’s national team programme was founded in 1969 and the BFA joined FIFA in 1968.
Since 1993, the Bahamas has had an average world ranking of 180 debuting at 167 in 1993.
Additionally, as a member of the Bahamas Olympic Association, the BFA has provided national soccer teams to participate in regional games, Pan Am Games, CAC Games and pre-Olympic competition.
Teams attended the CAC Games in Panama in 1970, Dominican Republic in 1974 and 1986, Cuba in 1982 and the Pan Am Games in Cali, Colombia in 1971.
For more: http://www.caribbeandigitalnetwork.com/bahamas-hits-rock-bottom-in-fifa-world-rankings/
Stabbing at Ikea in Sweden leaves 2 dead, 1 in critical condition
By Jessica Eggert From Mashable
Two people were killed and one critically injured in a stabbing that occurred while they browsed a Swedish Ikea store’s kitchen accessories department, according to witnesses and local Swedish media.
A man was arrested under suspicion of murder, police in Västerås, a city in central Sweden, said in a statement.
Police responded to a call around 1 p.m. local time on Monday from the Ikea about an hour west of Stockholm and “found a man and a woman who had knife injuries and who later died of their wounds.”
A third victim, a 35-year-old man, was found in critical condition. He is undergoing emergency surgery, Lena Moren, a nurse at a local hospital, told SVT.
One customer was eating lunch with her mother-in-law when staff shut off the staircase down to the lower floor.
“We were really shocked,” 25 year-old Therese Dahlberg told the Daily Telegraph. “It’s a little creepy to go and buy lunch, and then, only a few hundred metres away, someone murders someone with a knife.”
She said the attack happened in the kitchen utensils section.
“I have no idea if it was an Ikea knife which was used, but that’s where they keep them,” she said.
The store, and the plaza in which it is located, were evacuated shortly after.
“We are in the midst of it all, have a lot to do and will come with more information soon,” Per Agren, a commanding officer at the scene, told local media.
“It is the worst working day of my life,” Ikea store manager Mattias Johansson said to SVT. “Horrible day and my thoughts go to the families.” He added that the victims seemed to be “ordinary visitors” in an interview with the Swedish newspaper VLT.
