iNews Briefs
Cayman Airways experiences long delays over last 2 weeks
The National Carrier of the Cayman Islands, Cayman Airways, has been very tight lipped over a plague of delays over the last two weeks.
According to data collected on FlightAware, an international flight tracking website, on the Miami to Grand Cayman route there were 11 flights delayed by three hours or more.
On April 27th the late flight from Miami that was scheduled for a 9:30pm departure did not leave until 3:30am!
The airline has now said the reason for the delays were due to aircraft repairs and this has now been resolved.
Caribbean Airlines gives spa treats to 100 mothers
From T&T Guardian Media
Last weekend, Caribbean Airlines delighted 100 moms with surprise gifts of spa treatments at Jencare Skin Farm. “We are in the business of travel, which also puts us in the business of reuniting families, so we get to see the joy of motherhood every day,” said Alicia Cabrera, senior marketing manager, Caribbean Airlines. “Our Wow Mom treat this weekend is a celebration of pampering; both the kind mothers give to their children and the kind we offer our guests.”
Jencare Skin Farm is a celebrated Jamaican beauty brand, which has grown from a single location in Kingston to outposts in Port-of-pain, Miami and New York. “It’s a delight for us to partner with Caribbean Airlines, especially for mothers,” said Jennifer Samuda, managing director of Jencare. “I have been a long-time frequent flyer with the airline, and I feel that both our brands are very much aligned in terms of how we indulge our guests.”
Caribbean Airlines tribute to mothers continued with the sponsorship of the Mother Daughter Pageant in Georgetown and the 25th annual Mother’s Day Family concert in New York.
Frenchman, 102, breaks cycling record for second time
From world observer online
A 102-year-old man has broken his own world record after cycling 16.7 miles in one hour.
Robert Marchand set a new record in the over-100s category on Friday, beating his previous best distance in the race against the clock by 1.5 miles.
The Frenchman set his previous record two years ago.
The current overall world record for one hour is 30.9 set by Czech Ondrej Sosenka in 2005.
Marchand, a retired firefighter and logger, received a standing ovation and was surrounded by dozens of photographers at the finish line in France’s new National Velodrome.
The 74m euro (£60m) complex officially opened its doors Thursday.
Supported by two assistants, he smiled and raised his arms and said: “It was very good, but at the end it started to become very hard.
“You have to know there are people who came from 600 kilometres away to see me today. It is incredible. That’s all I can say.”
For more: http://worldobserveronline.com/2014/02/01/man-102-breaks-cycling-record-second-time/
European Union allocating funds for OECS environment projects
From Caribbean360
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, Thursday May 8, 2014, CMC – The European Union is providing EC$39 million (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) for environment projects in the sub regional Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
Head of the European Union Delegation to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean States, Mikael Barfod, said the project is part of the EU’s Climate Change Alliance and would help small islands like Barbuda to mitigate against climate change.
“On your doorsteps scientists are warning that your 62 square mile sister isle of Barbuda is becoming one of the vulnerable spots on earth due to the consequences of climate change,” he told the signing ceremony on Wednesday night.
Barfod said already there is accelerated erosion taking place because of the rise in sea levels “and it is estimated that if this erosion continues a third of the island could be lost””.
Chief Environment Officer, Dianne Black-Layne said Antigua and Barbuda would need a significant injection of funds to deal with the effects of climate change.
She said the island has undertaken many initiatives to deal with climate change. She said by 2016 “just to get prepared to adapt to climate change we would need to spend 40 to 50 million EC dollars a year. That’s about 20 million US dollars that is additional money we would need to run the country to prepare for climate change,” she said.
The OECS groups the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominic, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Montserrat, St. Kitts-Nevis, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands.
Convicted driver bailed for appeal in dangerous driving death case in Cayman Islands
Dorlisa Piercy, who was convicted of causing the death of Karen Edwards (who was seven months pregnant at the time) after a major car crash in East End in 2011, has been granted bail until her appeal to be heard in November.
Piercy was sentenced to five years imprisonment but has denied she was the driver.
Chief Justice Anthony Smellie found that the appeal did have a legitimate chance of success and met the requirements to allow bail. He did make it clear that his opinion had no bearing on the success or failure of Piercy’s appeal, merely that there was a prima facie case – or sufficient grounds for an appeal to be heard.
Caribbean Ombudsman Association on assassination of Dana Seetahal
The President of the Caribbean Ombudsman Association (CAROA), Ms. Alba Martijn, Ombudsman of Curaçao, has on behalf of the Association strongly deplored the recent brutal assassination of Miss Dana Seetahal of Trinidad and Tobago in that nation’s capital.
“We are shocked beyond words”, Ms. Martijn said in a statement released today, “that anyone could take the life of such a young, fearless champion of good governance, human rights and justice, values that all ombudsmen hold dear and promote. We recall that Miss Seetahal took part in the sixth biennial conference of the CAROA in Curaçao in 2010 and presented a paper on the topic ‘Recognising instances of Integrity Violations’, which helped to set the tone for the rest of the conference whose theme was ‘Integrity: the foundation of good governance’.
“The CAROA Council and its members join the rest of the region in expressing great sadness as well as outrage over the loss of Miss Seetahal in this manner, and praying that the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Our thoughts are also with her co-workers, family and friends”, the statement concluded.
CAROA Secretariat
Office of the Ombudsman of Curaçao
See also “Multi-million dollar reward offered for information on attorney’s murder” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/multi-million-dollar-reward-offered-for-information-on-attorneys-murder/
Cayman Islands television provider WestStar’s CEO calls it a day
In a surprise announcement on CITN/Cayman27 last week the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bob Taylor, has left his position and the company is seeking a new chief.
No reason was given for his departure. Taylor has only been CEO for 18 months and his sudden departure in the middle of the company’s expansion into high speed Internet and fibre optics television that includes video on demand and home DVR is bewildering.
The company is also facing new competition from LIME and Logic with another provider, Infinity (C3) also due to come on air very soon.
Even WestStar’s own free over the air CITN/Cayman27 is in doubt with competition from the Cayman Government’s own CIGTV that could be the one chosen by the other companies as their requirement under the ICTA rules that all TV companies must provide some local content. WestStar has said that if this is the case they could close CITN/Cayman27 down because of the cost.
The ICTA sent out a questionnaire asking for the public’s input as to what they felt local television should be that was worded very much in favour of the government channel.
Honduras extradites drug suspect to US, a First
From ABC News
MEXICO CITY May 9, 2014 (AP) Honduras has extradited a suspected drug trafficker to the United States for the first time, the U.S. State Department said Friday.
Carlos Arnoldo Lobo, 40, was extradited on Thursday, spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a statement.
Lobo, who is indicted on U.S. drug trafficking charges in the Southern District of Florida, was arrested March 27 when Honduran security forces surprised him in a bakery in San Pedro Sula near the Caribbean coast. His extradition was approved in April, and the Supreme Court upheld it last week.
Also in April, the U.S. Treasury Department levied sanctions against Lobo under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act for allegedly moving multi-ton loads of cocaine for Mexican, Guatemalan and Honduran drug kingpins and their organizations.
The action seized his property and interests in property in the United States and prohibits U.S. citizens from engaging in transactions with him.
The Treasury Department alleges that Lobo moved drugs for Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin “Chapo” Guzman, who was arrested in Mexico in February, and other members of that cartel, as well as the Honduran drug-trafficking organization Los Cachiros. Lobo also is suspected of laundering illicit drug proceeds into real estate, maritime vessels, and seafood shipping businesses.
The U.S. first sought Lobo in 2012, after Honduras passed a constitutional amendment allowing its nationals to be extradited to the U.S.
Psaki said Honduras’ historic extradition is a “blow against impunity for organized crime” and a sign that new President Juan Orlando Hernandez intends to crack down on drug trafficking in the violence-plagued Central American country.
For more: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/honduras-extradites-drug-suspect-us-23653177
New report on prisons shows Cayman’s inmate population per capita is more than Jamaica
In the latest study executed by the International Centre for Prison Studies from data collected between 2011 and 2013 it shows the Cayman Islands inmate population per capita has a country placing of #27 whilst Jamaica is at #97.
At #1 is Seychelles, #2 is USA and #3 is St Kitts and Nevis.
To view the complete list go to: http://www.prisonstudies.org/
US condemns North Korea’s ‘ugly and disrespectful’ racist diatribe against Obama
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE From Business Insider
The United States on Thursday [8] condemned “ugly and disrespectful” racist comments directed towards President Barack Obama by North Korea’s official KCNA news agency.
“While the North Korean Government-controlled media are distinguished by their histrionics, these comments are particularly ugly and disrespectful,” National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden told AFP.
Hayden was referring to a diatribe attacking Obama, published in Korean by KCNA last week, extracts of which were reported by the Washington Post on Thursday.
According to the Post’s translation, KCNA unleashed a barrage of racist insults at Obama, describing him as a “crossbreed with unclear blood” who had “the figure of a monkey.”
“It would be perfect for Obama to live with a group of monkeys in the world’s largest African natural zoo and lick the bread crumbs thrown by spectators,” the Post cited the commentary as saying.
KCNA has taken its often bombastic rhetoric to new levels in recent weeks, last month decrying South Korean President Park Geun-Hye as a “prostitute” in thrall to her “pimp” Obama, while declaring it was ready for “full-scale nuclear war.”
For more: http://www.businessinsider.com/us-condemns-north-korea-racism-2014-5#ixzz31Ea7wawa
Cayman Crosstalk: Harris returns and McLean departs
Hurley’s Entertainment has announced that Austin Harris will return as host of its weekday call-in Rooster 101 radio show, Crosstalk, on Monday (12). However, his co-host of 4 ½ years, Gilbert McLean, left last Friday (9). McLean is to be replaced by two time UDP political candidate Jonathan Piercy.
Harris was suspended because of his arrest for assault following an incident at a house party, where he was alleged to have hit a female friend. Although Harris remains on police bail, Randy Merren, owner of Hurley’s Entertainment, said Harris deserves a second chance.
Former UDP MLA, Ellio Solomon, who was a former host of the radio show, has been covering for Harris but is returning to his job at WestStar TV.
The UDP, who previously controlled the Cayman Islands Government, are still well represented on the show with Piercy.
United States credit card system begins complete overhaul in the next 18 months
By Sarah Silber From endgadget
The United States is lagging behind most of the world when it comes to credit card technology, but luckily it’s about to catch up. In the next 18 months, the US is gearing up to transition debit and credit cards away from the magnetic stripe to embedded chip technology, which is already widely used in Europe, Asia and beyond. Who can you thank for the long-overdue upgrade? Target, whose data security breach earlier this year highlighted the security flaws in the magnetic stripe system. It’s a 50-year-old technology, after all, and it’s much easier to counterfeit than the computer chip in your next Visa card.
In addition to adding a chip to each of the 1.2 billion credit and debit cards circulating in the US, the rehaul requires upgrading card readers at retail locations, and there’s plenty of incentive for businesses to hop on board with the change. If your local WalMart doesn’t adopt new compatible card readers, it will be held accountable for any fraudulent face-to-face transactions. Point-of-sale systems used by smaller businesses, such as Square and PayPal here, will need to reissue card scanners as well.
According to research firm Javelin, the upgrade could take about three years, with international and premium cards getting the switch to the new system. For the record, there are already several cards with chip technology available to Americans, from American Express and JPMorgan Chase among other institutions.
Update: The article originally stated that the US will update to the chip and PIN system (as opposed to chip and signature), though that wasn’t specified in the report.
For more: http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/08/us-credit-cards-chip/
Cayman Islands dance team celebrates 26 years
The Cayman Islands National Dance Company – Dance Unlimited – is celebrating 26 years of dance.
To honour the occasion the dance company is putting on a celebratory show at the Harquail Theatre on:
Friday, May 16 @ 7:30pm
Saturday, May 17 @ 10:00am & 7:30pm
Sunday, May 18 @ 5:00pm
Admission:
$25 Adults * $15 Children Under 15
Windies selectors axe Sammy, Ramdin now Test captain
From Caribbean360
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, May 9, 2014, CMC – West Indies selectors have dumped Darren Sammy as captain and appointed wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin in his place for the upcoming New Zealand series.
The announcement was made by the West Indies Cricket Board via the online social network, Twitter.
“Denesh Ramdin, the Wicket-keeper/Batsman, has been named new Test Match Captain of the West Indies Team. Congrats to him on the appointment,” the tweet read.
“The WICB also thanks Darren Sammy for his time at the helm as Test Match Captain from November 2010. He will remain as T20 Captain,” the WICB added in another tweet.
22nd Year for the Cayman Islands Flowers Sea Swim
The Cayman Islands flagship sporting event, the Flowers Sea Swim, enters its 22nd year and will take place on Saturday 14th June.
The swim benefits Feed Our Future, a charity that provides daily meals for students.
The Flowers International 5K and 10K Swims is on June 16th.
Last event’s race boasted over 900 registrants. Participants vary in age from 8 to 80 years old and in skill from novices and first-timers to gold medal Olympians and world championship open water specialists from around the globe. The Flowers Sea Swim welcomes Swimmers from all strokes of life!
The unique draw of the Flowers Sea Swim is not only its flawless course conditions along Cayman’s beautiful Seven Mile Beach, but the numerous random prizes. The race is the world’s richest open water event with over $100,000 in cash and random prizes.
The Walk & Watch program will also be offered again. Ideal for the non-swimmer who wants to be able to take part in the excitement of the Flowers Mile and contribute to a worthy cause at the same time.
To register go to: http://www.flowersseaswim.com/
Scientists create ‘semi-synthetic’ living cells with extra DNA letters
By Jon Fingas From Engadget
It turns out that your biology teacher (and a certain 1997 sci-fi flick) got something wrong — DNA isn’t necessarily limited to four letters. Scripps Research Institute scientists tell Wired that they’ve created living cells which include two artificial letters (that is, nucleotides) in their genetic code in addition to the naturally occurring A, C, G and T. The researchers’ primary obstacle was making sure these nucleotides cooperated with the enzymes that copy and transcribe DNA; after that, it was just a matter of getting some E. coli bacteria to accept and propagate the newly augmented sequences.
It could be a long while before we see any practical uses of the breakthrough. It’s expensive to create the necessary precursor molecules, and it’s not yet possible to get cells making those precursors all on their own. Should the processes become cheaper and easier, though, extending DNA could be helpful for testing the effects of medicine on certain gene combinations. It could also be used to deliver gene therapy; you could have tailor-made DNA that combats specific problems. Whatever comes next, it’s now obvious that nature has a pretty limited vocabulary.
For more: http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/08/cells-with-artificial-dna-letters/?ncid=rss_truncated
Walton Wins Again In Islands: Claims Cayman 400m Crown
From flrunners.com
Jamal Walton represented the Cayman Islands in the 2014 CARIFTA Games where he broke Usain Bolt’s U17 400m Record. Two weeks later, the South Florida freshman headed to the Cayman Islands to run in the Cayman Island Invitational; a meet loaded with youth talent as well as some of the top professional athletes in the world! Walton cruised to a third place finish Wednesday night winning the national men’s age group 400 meters in a time of 47.73. The youngster who was born in the states, says it was neat to compete where his father was born and many family members still call home.
“It was great cause I met a lot of my family and there were a lot of people watching me. I heard people whispering asking if that was me. Others were shaking my hand, taking pics, and telling me they thought I was a great runner.
Last year, Walton and his coach met several of the pros including Tiffany Williams. This year, it was one of the United State’s top sprinters, Olympian Allyson Felix, who he was able to snap a photo with. He decided to call it an event after his win in the quarter mile and head back to Florida. What was the reason? He wanted to watch his Miami Gardens XPress teammates compete at the FLYRA Middle School State Championship this weekend in Bradenton. Last year’s meet MVP who swept the 100,200 and 400 meter dashes has this advice to the athletes who hope to follow in his footsteps at this year’s meet.
“‘l’d tell them to give it there best out there. The reason we go to this meet is to break middle school records.”
Caribbean to woo Canadian investors
From Caribbean360
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – The Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) says an investment symposium connecting Caribbean business leaders with Canadian investors and lenders has been added to the programme of activities for Caribbean Week Toronto to be held in June.
It said the Caribbean Investment Symposium is the first of its kind to be organized by the CTO as part of the June 23-27 week celebrating the region’s vibrancy and diversity.
“The symposium is aimed at promoting understanding of the Caribbean investment environment and strengthening corporate relationships and identity within the region by building trust and gaining the confidence of Canadian investors.
“It will also showcase investment opportunities in the Caribbean and provide a business-to-business environment with open dialogue and networking between participating representatives of Caribbean governments and potential investors,” the CTO said.
Head of CTO’s New York Office, Sylma Brown, said the “Caribbean’s stable political climate and its premier location, along with attractive initiatives that include tax incentives, means there’s great potential for successful foreign investment.”
“This investment symposium is a demonstration of the leadership role that the CTO is taking to help harness this potential while fulfilling its mandate to bring industry leaders together to work towards the betterment of the region,” she added.
The Caribbean Investment Symposium takes place on Thursday 26 June and will bring together private sector investors from investment firms; executives of growth corporations; developers, venture capitalists, top officials from financial institutions and insurance companies; as well as Canadian government officials in tourism, transportation, trade, finance and economic and foreign commercial affairs.
Tough Losses for Cayman teams on CAL Cup Day 2
(CIFA) Two losses for Cayman Islands national teams didn’t damper the spirit of an enthusiastic crowd on day two of the Cayman Islands Invitational Youth Cup.
In the opening fixture IMG Academy got past the Cayman Select B Team 4 -0. Roalex Molina scored two goals and was supported by Faris Abdi and Phillian Bedard to register their first victory of the tournament.
In a keenly contested second match, Lloyd Reynolds of Harbour View scored a penalty in the 1-0 victory. Reynolds slotted home the penalty after a handball by Cayman captain Javid Piercy. The rest of the match was evenly contested but both teams failed to convert their chances.
The competition continues tonight with IMG tackling Charlton Athletic before the Cayman Islands national side faces Real Espana of Honduras
Montserrat inspection ahead of Caribbean Cup
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Within the next week, a Caribbean Football Union (CFU) representative will travel to Montserrat for a final facility inspection before the nation hosts a Caribbean Cup preliminary-round group later this month.
It will be the first time that the country will host a CFU competition.
Three national teams – the host, Bonaire and the US Virgin Islands — will vie for Group 1 supremacy at the Blakes Estate Stadium, located near the village of Lookout, May 28 – June 4.
CFU President Gordon Derrick said the pending inspection is simply to confirm that everything is primed and ready to go.
“It’s just to take a look at the hotels, field and everything, so we can be sure than everything is in place ahead of the competition,” he said. “It is really great because it is the first time they will be hosting such a competition and it puts the smaller countries in line with being part of the program. It gives the football lovers there an opportunity to see other teams from across the region as well.”
On July 18, 1995, the previously dormant Soufrière Hills volcano, in the southern part of the island, became active. Eruptions devastated Montserrat’s Georgian era capital city of Plymouth and two-thirds of the island’s population was forced to evacuate.
The volcanic activity continues and mostly affects the areas surrounding Plymouth, including its docking facilities and the eastern side of the island around the former W. H. Bramble Airport.
The 2014 Caribbean Cup is the region’s biennial championship for men’s national teams and doubles as a qualifying competition for the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Vodafone seeks arbitration in India tax dispute
From BBC
Vodafone has sought international arbitration to resolve its tax dispute with the Indian government.
It relates to Vodafone’s 2007 takeover of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa’s Indian mobile unit for $11bn (£6.5bn).
Indian authorities have said the firm owes nearly $2.2bn in taxes over the deal, a claim the firm has disputed.
India’s top court ruled in favour of Vodafone in 2012, but the government changed laws later that year to allow firms to be taxed retrospectively.
That development was criticised by investors and also triggered concerns among many foreign firms looking to enter India.
Vodafone’s Dutch subsidiary acquired a 67% stake in CGP Investments Ltd, a Cayman Islands registered company which held the Indian telecom assets of Hutchison in May 2007.
Vodafone has long claimed that the deal was not subject to any taxes in India as the assets were held by a firm based in the Cayman Islands.
However, the Indian authorities presented it with a tax demand of 112bn rupees – equivalent $2.2bn at the time.
The Indian government subsequently also sought penalties of up to 100% of the original bill.
For more: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-27321208
3D printers find a home fighting disease in Syrian refugee camps
By Mariella Moon From engadget
Sure, 3D printers can make guns, but it can also be used for good: for instance, its capability to create whatever you want gives it a bright future in humanitarian efforts around the globe. Oxfam (an organization that seeks to eradicate poverty) agrees, that’s why it has partnered with online 3D printables platform MyMiniFactory for a mission in Lebanon.
Their first collaboration? To find a printable water-efficient hand wash system for Syrian refugees who fled to the country in order to lower instances of diarrhea and other diseases.
Here’s how the partnership works: MyMiniFactory will accept design submissions from anyone, and then select a few to email the Oxfam team. The org will then print and test these designs onsite, and then email MyMiniFactory on how to tweak them and make them better.
Sadly, not every org out there comes with a 3D printer in tow, but a lot of humanitarians recognize the technology’s benefits and hope to take advantage of it soon. With the advent of more affordable 3D printers, that’s looking more and more possible. So, we wouldn’t be surprised if organizations start lugging around printers instead of actual equipment to produce everything from housing to medical supplies in the future.
For more: http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/08/3d-printing-humanitarian/?ncid=rss_truncated
A British airline wants to use drones to repair its airplanes
By Benjamin Zhang From Business Insider
Best known for cheap fares and an overwhelming amount of day-glow orange decor, English budget airline easyJet announced its plans to integrate drone and augmented reality technology to inspect and troubleshoot its fleet of Airbus jets.
According to the airline, the integration of these advanced technologies will cut costs and delays by reducing aircraft repairs times.
“Drone technology could be used extremely effectively to help us perform aircraft checks. Checks that would usually take more than a day could be performed in a couple of hours and potentially with greater accuracy,” said easyJet’s engineering chief Ian Davies.
Instead of having engineers inspect aircraft visually, the automated drone will scan, take 3D images of potential damage areas, and then report back to the engineers. Drone scans will allow for more effective inspection of hard-to-reach areas on the aircraft and will also allow engineers to focus their attention on urgent issues, the company said.
According to the Telegraph, each Bristol Robotics Laboratory designed drone is expected to cost around $25,000, but that figure may be nominal in comparison to the cost of delayed and cancelled flights.
Along with drone technology, easyJet also plan to introduce augmented reality devices to help pilots and engineers troubleshoot mechanical issues remotely. The budget airline plans to equip pilots with “Google Glass-like” mini computers that can stream high-definition video from even the most remote locations back to headquarters in the UK.
The mini-computer will further assist mechanics by superimposing damage areas over the live image. According to the BBC, initial plans call for the use of 4G technology to transmit video. However, easyJet is said to be in talks to switch over to a satellite-based system.
Since cost and safety are both of paramount importance in the airline business, these new technological innovations seem to meld the best of both worlds for easyJet.
For more: http://www.businessinsider.com/easyjet-drones-augmented-reality-airplanes-2014-5#ixzz31GYMxjgU
