iNews Brief, More & Community Events
Community Events
RENT: The Musical
Opens Thursday September 10th, 2015
Runs to October 3rd, 2015
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays
Doors open at 6:30 PM for Happy Hour
try our special Tom Collins cocktail!
at The Prospect Playhouse
Do not miss out on the musical event of the year!
No Day but Today!
Click here for tickets: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/rent-the-musical-all-ticket-prices-in-us-tickets-17993960420?aff=ehomecard
Dr. Moody September 2015
Gordon Solomon Art
You are invited you to attend the opening evening of
Doctor Moody: Frames of Mind
A new series of work by Gordon Solomon
Cayman islands national Gallery DART Auditorium
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oknWyXVUGc&feature=youtu.be
Please join the Cayman Jewish Community for the following programmes:
Sunday September 27th
6:30 pm Sukkot Under the Stars
Tuesday, September 29th
4:00pm Sukkot Children’s Party
Monday, October 26th
Mark Halawa: From Kuwait to Jerusalem
Wednesday, December 9th
4:00 pm Pardes Rock Chanukah Concert
Wednesday, January 6th 2016
Jerusalem Uncovered: Rabbi Avraham Stolik
8th Annual CISPA Gala “Back to the Future-Celebrating 45 years of excellence”
Date: 10/10/2015
Time: 6:30 PM
Ritz Carlton Seven Mile Beach
Phone: 749 3360
Register
Event Description: The 8th Annual CISPA Gala “Back to the Future-Celebrating 45 years of excellence” is a time to celebrate Caymanians who recently attained their professional accounting designations as well as a chance to celebrate the past and look to the future
Directions: The Ritz Carlton, Grand Cayman
Annual Meals on Wheels Dress Down Day
SAVE THE DATE
Dress Down Day Friday, 20th November, 2015
Help feed our Seniors we believe no-one in Cayman should go hungry.
Individuals can help by purchasing an orange ribbon for $5.00 or a tee shirt for $15.00 and wearing them on Dress Down Day, we are encouraging companies to match employee donations.
For more information or to sign up to participate please feel free to contact us via email at [email protected] or via telephone at 949-3905.
CARE announces Cayman Islands 5th Annual Paws for wine
Sat Sept 26th Ristorante Pappagallo
Lions Club of Tropical Gardens Brenda Tibbetts-Lund Memorial 5K Walk/Run5K
Sunday October 3, 2015 in North Side at 6am
MON SEP 7
Red Bay Church of God Holiness Youth Revival
Red Bay Church of God Holiness will be holding its Youth Revival Monday — Sunday (7 — 13 Sept) at 7:30 PM and 6 PM on Sunday.
NWDA in East End
The National Workforce Development Agency is hosting a meeting at East End Library on Monday (7 Sept) at 10am.
Cayman Islands Girls Brigade Meeting
The Cayman Islands Girls Brigade is hosting a series of information meetings for girls between the ages of 5 and 19. The next one is Monday (7 Sept) at John Gray Memorial Church Hall at 5:30pm.
National Drug Council Drug Survey Volunteers
The National Drug Council is preparing to conduct the 4th cycle of Her Majesty’s Prison Survey on September 7 to 11. Volunteers will be needed. If you are interested, call 949.9000.
TUE SEP 8
Meeting to establish a CERT team in the Prospect community
The meeting to establish a CERT team in the Prospect community will now take place at the Prospect Primary School Hall on Tuesday September 8th at 6.30 p.m.
Cayman Islands Folk Singers Auditions
The Cayman National Cultural Foundation is auditing singers and musicians for the Cayman Islands Folk Singers at the Harquail Theater on Tuesday (8 Sept) at 6pm. For more information or to schedule an audition slot, call 949-5477.
WED SEP 9
NWDA in Bodden Town
The National Workforce Development Agency is hosting a meeting at Bodden Town Library on Wednesday (9 Sept) at 10am.
Cayman Islands Girls Brigade Meeting
The Cayman Islands Girls Brigade is hosting a series of information meetings for girls between the ages of 5 and 19. The next one is Wednesday (9 Sept) at Elmslie Memorial Church Hall at 5:15pm. There is also a meeting at Savannah United Church Hall at 6pm and at Webster Memorial Church Hall at 6pm.
TUE SEP 15
Seafarers Social
Date: Tuesday, September 15th 2015 Time: 7:00 pm Place: Cayman Islands Seafarers Association Hall, 11 Victory Ave, Prospect Dress: Semi Casual A night of great food and entertainment
Mark your calendars Cayman Islands triathlon training series is back!
The Cayman Islands Triathlon Association (CITA) training series
The CITA is pleased to announce the new dates of the Triathlon Training Series, on Saturdays:
* September 20th 2015
* October 11th 2015
More information about the training series can be found at http://www.triathlon.ky/events/ci-triathlon-training-series.
Cayman Islands lose their first cricket match in Division 6
Vanuatu beat Cayman Islands by 4 wickets with 60 balls remaining.
See details below:
Cayman Islands police recover another Honda CRV
From RCIPS
As a result of a police patrol, the 2000 silver Honda CRV described below was discovered at about 6pm on Saturday, 5 September, in the vicinity of George Town Primary School. The 1999 white Honda CRV, Registration #147 807, has still not been located.
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of this vehicle is asked to call George Town Police Station at 949-4222 or Crime Stoppers at 800-8477(TIPS).
- A 1999 White Honda CRV, Registration# 147 807, stolen on 26th August 2015 from West Bay Road, George Town;
Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of these vehicles is encouraged to call George Town Police Station at 949-4222 or to report the information to any district police station. They can also call Crime Stoppers at 800-8477(TIPS).
Eight found dead after South Korean fishing boat capsizes
From Caribbean Digital Network
SEOUL, September 5 (Reuters) – At least eight people died and about 10 were missing after a South Korean fishing boat capsized, a coast guard official and media reports said on Sunday.
The boat was found capsized earlier this morning, after it lost radio contact late on Saturday, a coast guard official in the southern island of Jeju said by telephone.
The bodies of eight people were recovered in the waters near the island of Chuja, which lies between the mainland south coast and Jeju, the official said.
Three people were pulled from the water and airlifted to hospitals, the coast guard official said, adding they were expected to survive.
Another coast guard official said the boat was initially reported to have taken 18 to 19 people, but an unknown number of others were also believed to be on board.
Most of them were on a fishing expedition on Saturday to Chuja, a popular fishing area, the official said.
President Park Geun-hye has called on the rescue and recovery services to do their utmost in the search for the missing, her office said in a statement.
In April 2014, a passenger ferry, Sewol, sank off the southwest coast killing about 300 people, most of them children on a school outing, triggering a national outrage over what was seen as an ineffective rescue operation.
(Reporting by Hooyeon Kim; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
For more: http://www.caribbeandigitalnetwork.com/eight-found-dead-after-south-korean-fishing-boat-capsizes/
T&T Football: FIFA presidential hopeful wants Caribbean Gold Cup
From Digicel Sportsmax
Former Trinidad and Tobago footballer David Nakhid, as part of his bid to become FIFA president, wants to host the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the Caribbean.
The former T&T captain indicated the wish during the unveiling of his manifesto on Thursday at the Hasley Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo.
Nakhid’s manifesto has much to do with inclusion, as it cites the gap between the way the sport is organised among the football powers like Europe and the way it is done in places like the Caribbean, Africa and Asia.
According to Nakhid, the pushing of the sport at the grassroots level in a bid to elevate the national output, is something Europe does well and he wants the Caribbean, in particular, to emulate.
The game of football, Nakhid explained, can only stand to benefit when more nations join the ranks of the powerhouses.
One of the reasons for the disparity, Nakhid believes, is the lack of understanding that smaller nations have regarding their power.
The Gold Cup, he said, for instance, has never been played in the Caribbean, even though the region has 75 per cent of the votes in CONCACAF.
“The time is now for countries like us in the Caribbean to sit at the head table and make decisions instead of having decisions made for us,” said Nakhid.
Nakhid is hoping for the support of the Caribbean in his bid for the FIFA presidency, he is also hoping that the backing of the region will give him momentum and legitimacy going into the election.
Nakhid will be up against Korean billionaire Chung Mong-Joon, Brazillian footballing legend, Zico, Nigeria’s Segun Odegbami and UEFA boss, Michel Platini.
Some 2,000 refugees arrive at Austria’s border from Hungary: Austrian police
From Caribbean Digital Network
VIENNA, September 5 (Reuters) – Around 2,000 refugees have arrived at Austria’s border from Hungary, and the numbers could more than double through the day, Austrian police said on Saturday.
“Our biggest problem is that the Hungarians – after checking back with Budapest – are refusing to let our buses enter their territory and pick up the refugees,” said Hans Peter Doskozil, chief of the police in the Austrian province of Burgenland.
“We offered them that they can bring the refugees directly to the trains, or to the shelter (on the Austrian side), but they just stop the buses on the Hungarian side, everyone has to get off in the rain.”
Two special trains taking migrants from the Austrian border town of Nickelsdorf to Vienna were about to depart, he added.
The highway was blocked for all traffic into Austria.
(Reporting by Karin Strohecker; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
Poland may buy submarines with other NATO members: minister
From Caribbean Digital Network
WARSAW, September 6 (Reuters) – Poland may join forces with other NATO members such as Norway or the Netherlands to buy submarines in a bid to cut costs, instead of buying them alone, deputy defense minister Czeslaw Mroczek said on Sunday.
The ministry had been planning to buy three submarines with delivery set for 2020-25. But the purchase, which was set to be launched at the beginning of this year, got stalled as Poland decided to arm the fleet with maneuvering missiles, a change in contract specification that increased the costs.
“We are considering obtaining submarines, for instance together with Norway or the Netherlands,” Mroczek told state news agency PAP.
“We are finishing works on initial settings – tactical and technical,” he added. “From the point of view of the procedure and how we do it – whether in one or two proceedings – will depend on if we buy the submarines alone or as a joint project of two or more NATO members.”
According to PAP, French industrial group DCNS, Swedish Saab Kockums and German ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems are interested in the tender.
Poland’s defense ministry was not immediately available for comment.
(Reporting by Adrian Krajewski; editing by Clelia Oziel)
For more: http://www.caribbeandigitalnetwork.com/poland-may-buy-submarines-with-other-nato-members-minister/
Concussion’ director says no compromises were made for NFL
By Jake Coyle, Associated Press From Business Insider
NEW YORK (AP) — A day after its trailer debuted online, the Will Smith football head-trauma film “Concussion” is already sparking controversy.
Citing studio emails leaked in the hack of Sony Pictures, The New York Times reported Tuesday that the movie “Concussion” was altered to avoid antagonizing the NFL. The Times quoted one email that discusses a top Sony lawyer taking “most of the bite” out of the film “for legal reasons with the NFL.”
In a statement to The Associated Press, “Concussion” director Peter Landesman disputed that report. He called his film “a David and Goliath story” in which Smith plays the forensic pathologist who discovered that chronic brain damage factored in the deaths of NFL players.
The NFL and Sony Pictures had no immediate comment.
PM Harris and Minister Liburd join other Caribbean leaders in examining activities of Petro Caribe and make Decisions moving forward at Jamaican summit
From Times Caribbean Online
The 10th Anniversary Commemorative Summit of the PetroCaribe Agreement commenced on Saturday afternoon in Montego Bay, St James President Nicholas Maduro of Venezuela among the dignitaries in attendance.
The Summit marks the anniversary of the signing of the PetroCaribe agreement which has benefited countries in the Caribbean and Latin America. IMG-20150906-
The Venezuelan government, through the Petrocaribe subsidiary, granted the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis $16 million to compensate former sugar workers. The Venezuelan government has laso within the last week announced the pvision of a US$5Million for the FRESH START Programme on St.Kitts-Nevis. The FRESH START Programme will give young entrepeneurs and innovators the opportunity to capitalise on their business ideas through a special fund that has been set up at the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis, courtesy of the partnership between the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Other leaders at the Summit include President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega, Prime Minister of St. Lucia Dr. Kenny Anthony, Haitian President Machel Martelly, Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris of St. Kitts and Nevis, and Prime Minister of St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Dr Ralph Gonsalves.
Over the next two days the leaders will examine the activities and achievements of the PetroCaribe Agreement and make decisions going forward.
Under the Agreement, Jamaica and other members of the Accord are allowed to purchase oil at market value, but on preferential conditions, which eases the pressure on their oil bill.
Caribbean Leaders including SKN PM Dr. Timothy Harris and Venezuelan Leader Moduro along with other heads attending the Plenary Session of the 10th Summit of Heads of State of Petro Caribe Nations
IMF Forum: Caribbean economic growth brings limited comfort
By Clive Bacchus From West Indies News Network
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): The two-day High level Forum on Financing Growth in the Caribbean wrapped up Friday at the Marriott Resort with officials acknowledging that recorded growth in the region brings limited comfort in the face of high energy costs, access to credit challenges, and the need for structural reforms and improved fiscal policies. Director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department, Alejandro Werner said options for reducing the cost of energy were on the table but a decision on the issues was left up to individual governments.
Caribbean countries are still burdened by huge public debt, high and unemployment, high cost of doing business. Substantive reform of the banking sector is underway but credit to the productive sector was still described by the IMF as muted and global banks policies on de-risking are affecting the region.
Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings Company Limited
NOTICE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN THAT an extraordinary general meeting (the “EGM”) of
Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings Company Limited (the “Company”) will be held at 2901,
Building C, Xinjing Commerce Center, No. 25 Jiahe Road, Xiamen, the PRC, on Friday,
9 October 2015 at 10 a.m., to consider and, if thought fit, pass with or without amendments, the following resolution as an ordinary resolution:
- “THAT:
(a) the supplemental agreement entered into between Tenfu (Cayman) Holdings
Company Limited and Tenfu Group (Samoa) Holdings Company Limited dated
20 August 2015 (the “Supplemental Agreement”) (a copy of which is tabled at
the EGM marked “A” and signed by the chairman of the meeting for
identification purpose) and the continuing connected transactions
contemplated thereunder (including the Revised Annual Caps) (as defined in
the circular of the Company dated 7 September 2015, a copy of which is tabled
at the EGM marked “B” and signed by the chairman of the meeting for
identification purpose) (the “Circular”)) as set out in the Circular be and are
hereby approved and confirmed; and
(b) any director of the Company be and is hereby authorised to take any step and
execute such other documents as they consider necessary, desirable or
expedient to carry out or give effect to or otherwise in connection with the
Supplemental Agreement and the continuing connected transactions
contemplated thereunder (including the Revised Annual Caps) and
contemplated thereby.”
Source: Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing
Following is the related link:
http://www.hkexnews.hk/listedco/listconews/sehk/2015/0907/LTN20150907412.pdf
Sisters work to give Dominica relief after Tropical Storm Erika
By Irisha Jones From WTVM ABC
COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) –
Tropical Storm Erika nearly destroyed the island country of Dominica two weeks ago. Now, two natives of the commonwealth now residing in Columbus plan to give their country some relief.
The island nation suffered significant flooding and destruction as Tropical Storm Erika passed through on Aug. 27.
Sisters Caryl Martin and Lynne Jack immediately started working with an organization in Atlanta to send supplies back to Dominica after the natural disaster.
“This just devastated the entire country. Some villages were totally washed out by water, and my village especially, we lost one life that was washed out into the sea,” Martin said.
The sisters have a number of supplies collected from various agencies, churches and friends in one week. They say the basics – food and water – are just some of the most needed items for survivors of the storm.
“Every little bit counts. From a tin of oil to a pamper to a baby juice,” Martin said.
Military troops from a handful of countries are also helping.
“We have the U.S. troops that are in Dominica and British troops on the ground helping to restore water, clean-up, restore compounds and help fix up the roads,” Martin said.
Martin says their parents in Dominica were also affected by Erika.
“They lost everything in their home, but the structure of the house is still standing. So I thank God for [their] life. But [for] others, whole structure is gone, so they have nothing,” Martin said. “We have villages that are covered in landslides and there are bodies that are yet to be discovered.”
The storm killed 31 people and even more are missing.
“Emotional assistance and counselors [are also needed] because of the amount of lives lost,” Jack said.
The sisters say anyone can help provide basic food and water to help the country during this critical time. To help donate items, click this link to see the particular needed items at this time.
To access a direct link to the GoFundMe account for financial donations and contributions towards the Dominica Relief, you can click: http://dominicarelief.com/what-should-i-send/. People in Columbus and the surrounding areas can also contact Martin at (706)-221-2701 or (706)-615-8890 to learn more about the relief effort and donate items.
Brazil’s prosecutor seeks to probe into Rousseff’s campaign funds
From Caribbean Digital Network
IMAGE: Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff looks on during news conference after an event at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil September 2, 2015. REUTERS/UESLEI MARCELINO
BRASILIA, September 5 (Reuters) – Brazil’s chief prosecutor requested the Supreme Court authorization to probe President Dilma Rousseff’s 2010 and 2014 campaign financing, newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo reported on Saturday citing unnamed sources.
The probe would also include former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s 2006 campaign financing.
The prosecutor’ office declined to comment on the report.
According to Estado, the request by prosecutor general Rodrigo Janot was based on the plea bargain testimony from Ricardo Pessoa, head of UTC Engenharia.
Pessoa is one of the many executives investigated in the corruption scandal at state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil’s largest ever.
Pessoa said Rousseff’s and Lula’s campaigns received illegal donations originating from the scheme, which involved kickbacks allegedly paid by construction companies to politicians and former executives at Petrobras, as the oil company is commonly known.
Rousseff and her Workers’ Party have repeatedly denied any wrongdoings.
(Reporting by Silvio Cascione; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
LS telcom completes digital switchover study for Caribbean
From telecompaper
LS telcom has completed a study on harmonized technical and policy approaches for the digital broadcast switchover in the Caribbean and developed recommendations for harmonized white space management in the region. According to the study, in many countries, the level of cable and fibre roll-out means that broadcasting could leap-frog digital terrestrial and use other digital methods for distribution. This would then open up the UHF TV band for alternative services including mobile broadband and white-space. The study is part of the Harmonized Caribbean Spectrum Planning and Management Project commissioned by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) financed both projects, which include the participation of 14 Caribbean countries.
For more: http://www.telecompaper.com/news/ls-telcom-completes-digital-switchover-study-for-caribbean–1100910
Coral reef flattening leads to drastic decline in species
From PHYS.ORG
Species risk being lost if the ongoing degradation of coral reefs in the Caribbean goes beyond a certain critical point, scientists say.
In a study published today in the Journal of Animal Ecology, an international team of marine scientists led by Newcastle University has for the first time identified a threshold for the complexity of coral reef systems in the Caribbean below which the number of species declines.
A more complex reef structure should be able to sustain a more diverse community of species and bigger populations. However, bleaching, damage from hurricanes, changes in nutrients and the effects of fishing and other human activity have led to a degradation, or flattening, of coral structures.
Using a variety of habitat measures and looking at the full range of reef species, the research team showed similar trends in three widely-separated areas in the Caribbean: Bonaire, Puerto Rico and St Vincent & the Grenadines. They discovered that total species richness was greatest in areas where reef complexity was high, and declined considerably in reefs where structures had been degraded.
Although the importance of reef complexity for fishes is known, until now the extent to which flattening affects the total reef ecosystem at large scale has been scarcely known.
Nick Polunin, Professor of Marine Environmental Science at Newcastle University, said: “Complex coral reefs such as those in the Caribbean are among the most species-diverse habitats on the planet, and this research shows that the architecture of these systems plays a crucial role in maintaining all those species.
“These findings help us better understand the effect that changes in reef shape, height and complexity have had and are having on total species richness, when corals are not replaced naturally and the reef gets broken down by erosion.
“If reefs are degraded to the point where their complexity falls below a certain critical level, this could mean some species disappearing entirely from the Caribbean reef system, and substantial declines in all reef species, in particular corals and fishes. This will have a profound impact on the variety of species present and undermine the resilience of the entire Caribbean reef ecosystem, as well as threatening reef-based fisheries.”
Explore further: A fish too deep for science
More information: “Reef flattening effects on total richness and species responses in the Caribbean.” Journal of Animal Ecology. doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.12429
Journal reference: Journal of Animal Ecology
Provided by: Newcastle University
IMAGE: Close up of polyps are arrayed on a coral, waving their tentacles. There can be thousands of polyps on a single coral branch. Credit: Wikipedia
For more: http://phys.org/news/2015-09-coral-reef-flattening-drastic-decline.html
Bohai terminates tender offer for Avolon
BEIJING–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Global Aviation Leasing Co., Ltd., a Cayman Islands exempted company (“Offeror”) and an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Bohai Leasing Co., Ltd., a limited company existing under the laws of the People’s Republic of China (“Parent”), today announced that it has terminated its tender offer to purchase 20% of the outstanding common shares of Avolon Holdings Limited (NYSE:AVOL), at a price of $26.00 per share in cash. The tender offer was previously scheduled to expire at midnight, New York City time, at the end of the day on September 18, 2015.
Offeror has instructed the depositary for the offer, American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, to return promptly all common shares tendered in the offer prior to termination.
Important Information
This communication concerns the termination of Offeror’s tender offer to purchase 20% of the outstanding common shares of Avolon Holdings Limited (“Avolon”) and is not an offer to purchase or a solicitation of an offer to sell common shares of Avolon.
Contacts
Bohai Contact:
Bohai Leasing Co., Ltd
Jiawei Wang, T: +86 10 5758 3682
Board Secretary’s Office
2 men claiming to have found Nazi gold train go on Polish TV
By Monika Scislowska From Daily Democrat
WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Two men appeared on Polish TV Friday saying they are the finders of a Nazi train said to be laden with gold – a claim that came as the Polish military inspected the alleged site in southwestern Poland.
Identifying themselves as Andreas Richter and Piotr Koper, the men appeared on TVP.INFO. Contacted by The Associated Press by phone, Richter confirmed he had found the train.
Authorities in the southwestern city of Walbrzych said last month that two men had contacted them through lawyers claiming they had found an armored train that possibly contains valuables and weapons. The report sparked a gold rush around Walbrzych, where tales have circulated since World War II that the Nazis hid a train full of gold from the Soviet Army in early 1945.
“As the finders of a World War II armored train, we, Andreas Richter and Piotr Koper, declare that we have legally informed state authorities about the find and have precisely indicated the location in the presence of Walbrzych authorities and the police,” Koper said, reading a statement on TV with Richter sitting at his side. “We have irrefutable proof of its existence.”
Their knowledge is based on information from witnesses and on their own research, carried out with their own equipment, Koper said in his statement.
They claimed that a leak to the media was behind the public knowledge of their find.
Retired miner Tadeusz Slowikowski, the only living source of the train legend, confirmed to the AP on Friday that Koper and Richter had visited him saying they had located it and were going to report the find to the authorities. He had previously refused to identify them.
He said the site was near the 65th kilometer of railway tracks from Wroclaw to Walbrzych, near where he believes the train went missing and where he was searching in 2001 but only came across what he believed was the supporting wall of a tunnel.
TVP.INFO said the train is not in a tunnel, as previously believed, but buried in the ground. Koper said the two men are ready to cover the costs of the train’s retrieval and want it to become a local tourist attraction. Any find in the ground is state property, but the finders are entitled to a 10 percent reward, by law.
Defense Minister Tomasz Siemoniak, a native of Walbrzych, said that military experts in chemical weapons and in explosives made a first inspection of the site to determine if a search should be undertaken.
But he said that it was “hugely exaggerated” to say that the military “are looking for the gold train.”
The police are patrolling the wooded, shrub-covered site to keep swarms of treasure hunters from digging.
A battle between two supermarket chains just turned into a billion-dollar lawsuit
By Matthew Speiser From Business Insider
Haggen — a supermarket chain based in the Pacific Northwest — is suing Albertsons for $1 billion.
The chain is alleging Albertsons tricked them into buying 146 stores to facilitate Albertsons’ merger with grocery chain, Safeway and then proceeded to sabotage Haggen’s entry into the new markets.
Haggen claims Albertsons engaged in “systematic efforts” to eliminate it as a competitor in five states after the Federal Trade Commission forced Albertsons to sell 146 of its stores to Haggen as part of its merger with Safeway earlier this year, the LA Times reports.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court in Delaware, Haggen says it has since been forced to lay off hundreds of workers and close about a fifth of the stores it had acquired from Albertsons.
“Albertsons’ illegal campaign includes premeditated acts of unfair and anti-competitive conduct that were calculated to circumvent Albertsons’ obligations under federal antitrust laws, Federal Trade Commission orders and contractual commitments to Haggen,” the lawsuit said, according to the LA Times.
The Seattle Times reports Haggen claims Albertsons provided them with misleading price information about products, muddled inventory data, understocked certain stores and overstocked others with perishable products, and ran ad campaigns and discounts to steal customers away from the converted stores, all of which allegedly doomed Haggen’s acquisition of the stores from the start.
“Had Haggen known Albertsons’ true intentions, Haggen would never have purchased the stores, nor would the FTC have permitted such a purchase,” the lawsuit claims.
Albertsons said the lawsuit’s allegations “are completely without merit,” the LA Times added.
For more: http://www.businessinsider.com/supermarket-chain-billion-dollar-lawsuit-2015-9#ixzz3l4NVn4xQ
Guatemala’s President Perez barred from leaving the country
AFP From Business Insider
Guatemala City (AFP) – A Guatemalan judge barred President Otto Perez from leaving the country, hours after he was stripped of his immunity due to his alleged role in a customs fraud, the prosecutor’s office said.
“The prosecutors’ office sought a ban on leaving the country for President Otto Perez, and Judge Miguel Angel Galvez ordered it”, prosecutors said on Twitter.
Congress voted to strip Perez’s immunity, which clears the way for him to be prosecuted over allegations he masterminded a multi-million-dollar corruption scheme.
The resolution was passed unanimously by the 132 lawmakers present, making the conservative leader the first president to have his immunity revoked in the Central American country’s history.
After months of unprecedented protests that have swept Guatemala, hundreds of demonstrators outside Congress erupted into jubilant cheers at the news, as passing drivers honked their horns in celebration.
The vote clears the way for prosecutors to charge Perez, a 64-year-old retired general, with running a scheme that allowed businesses to reduce their customs duty by paying bribes to corrupt officials.
Under Guatemalan law, he will be automatically removed from office if remanded in custody by a judge.
Perez’s lawyers filed a motion Monday challenging the immunity vote before the Constitutional Court, which is expected to rule by Thursday.
The scandal, which has already felled his former vice president and a string of top officials, comes as Guatemala prepares for elections Sunday to choose Perez’s successor.
