iNews Briefs
Cayman Islands budget meeting due to be delivered on Monday (26)
The Cayman Islands Minister of Finance, Marco Archer, is expected to deliver his budget next Monday 26th if the United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s economic advisor, Richard Holmwood, says ‘yes’.
Holmwood is reported to be with Cayman’s Governor H.E Helen Kilpatrick in London to examine the Progressives (PPM) government’s second annual budget since they were elected.
If all goes well, and the PPM gets the nod, the budget could be debated in the Legislative Assembly from Monday 26th May.
Archer has intimated there will be no new major tax hikes.
Trinidad infant dies after being forgotten in grandfather’s car
From Caribbean360
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, Wednesday May 14, 2014, CMC – A 17-month-old baby died in the back seat of a car after his “excited” grandfather forgot to drop him off at the home of a relative before going to work on Tuesday, police have confirmed.
They said that the 56-year-old grandfather, an electrical foreman at a state agency, was anxious to report for duty after he had been informed of a promotion.
The man, who has not been identified, left his grandchild, Jadon Cudjoe, locked in the back seat of the car for more than eight hours while he was at work. He was due to have dropped off the child at the home of a relative, the regular baby-sitter.
Police said it is likely that the child died from hyperthermia due to the extreme heat, since Tuesday’s temperature reached 34 degrees Celsius. An autopsy is expected to be performed later on Wednesday.
The man said he had no knowledge the baby was in the car until he returned to the vehicle after work to find Jadon unresponsive. Baby Jadon could not be revived, despite attempts by paramedics.
Media reports Wednesday said that several police officers also broke down and cried on seeing the tortured look on the child’s face.
Cayman fraudster loses appeal
Michael Sean Levitt, a former Rotary Club President, who was sentenced to seven-and-a half years for the theft of US$846,260 from law firm Solomon Harris, lost his appeal to his sentence.
Leviitt’s fraud had involved around 80 transactions between December 2009 and December 2012, and had previous convictions for fraud in South Africa and Canada.
In turning down his appeal the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal said the substantial sums of money involved and the complete breach of trust was executed by “a perennial fraudster.”
Caribbean Ministers meet with ruler and President of Dubai
From the Bahamas Weekly
The Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan with the Crown Prince Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum stopped by to greet the visiting Caribbean officials and to exchange views on the development of relations in the region.
The Bahamas is exploring the placement of a consulate in Dubai to serve the financial services sector, the ship registry and to assist with the incorporation of Bahamian companies and the authentication of documents for those services. In addition, The Bahamas is in the early stages of the design of its pavilion for the 2020 expo which is to be held in Dubai in 2020 and will require the recruitment of Bahamian professionals to assist in its design and construction.
England’s Charlton wins Cayman Airways Youth Cup
The inaugural Cayman Airways Invitational Youth Cup with Under-14 teams came to a close on Sunday (11) when England’s Charlton Athletic beat Honduras’ Real Espana 3-0 to win the title.
With Trinidad and Tobago withdrawing at the last minute the Cayman Islands had to come up with two teams – Cayman A and Cayman B and also on Sunday they played each other. B beat A 1-0.
Near collision with airliner prompts US to crack down on drone use
By Jon Fingas from engadget
The FAA might not have full legal authority to regulate drones just yet, but it at least has some evidence to support its case for tighter restrictions. The administration’s Jim Williams has revealed that an unmanned vehicle nearly smacked into a US Airways jetliner in Florida this past March; it came so close that the pilot was initially convinced there would be damage. While the remote-controlled aircraft was already violating rules by flying at 2,300 feet (it had to stay below 400 feet), Williams used the incident to argue for a better-safe-than-sorry approach to drone rules. It could be “catastrophic” if one of these vehciles gets sucked through an engine, he said.
The FAA already has plans to clamp down; it’s proposing rules for commercial drones in November. However, it may be years before these policies take effect. That could be a problem not just for the government agency, but also those wanting to use unmanned craft for everything from ads to journalism. Without clear guidelines, some companies have been eager to test the FAA’s limits — there may well be more legal battles (and potentially, accidents) until there are official rules on the books.
For more: http://www.engadget.com/2014/05/12/drone-nearly-hits-jetliner/?ncid=rss_truncated
Cayman government considering placing cameras on school buses
Chief Education Officer Shirley Wahler has confirmed the Cayman Islands government is considering placing cameras on buses.
At present wardens are hired by government to oversee students traveling on buses, help students travel to and from school safely, notify school officials of misbehavior, and make sure drivers are not distracted.
The wardens are now concerned at losing their jobs but one bus driver is reported by the Caymanian Compass as saying he was looking forward to working with government and having cameras rather than wardens on the buses.
“Cameras will be more than efficient and will cost government less,” said Mr. Smith, adding that it would also give him a much better record of what actually goes on because cameras do not lie.
“I have less problems with children riding the buses and more problems with the wardens … half of them seldom turn up for work.
Tumblr has lost 7 million visitors since December
From BGR
Marissa Mayer has been Yahoo’s CEO for nearly two years and in that time she has revamped many of Yahoo’s websites and apps, and has made some major purchases. Most notably, Yahoo bought Tumblr a little over a year ago for $1.1 billion. Now, however, this purchase isn’t looking so good. According to a ComScore report in the Wall Street Journal, traffic to Tumblr has dropped from a peak of 49 million visitors in December to only 42 million in March. If these numbers are accurate, this loss of 7 million visitors would represent a 15% drop. There’s no obvious reason for this big decline, either: Since the acquisition, Yahoo hasn’t done much to change Tumblr, staying true to its promise to not ruin Tumblr. Yahoo has tried to monetize Tumblr and has been struggling to attract advertisers, and this decrease in traffic will not help their efforts.
Cayman Distributors plan to make liquor
Cayman Distributors Ltd that is located in Eastern Avenue, George Town, Grand Cayman has filed a planning application for a change of use from storage to a distillery.
The plans can be examined by members of the public and stakeholders in the area at the planning department 28th May to object or offer support to the planning director. The application will also require re-zoning.
Cayman Distributors Ltd is part of the Dart group.
Usain Bolt set to make season debut next month
From Caribbean360
PARIS, France, Tuesday May 13, 2014, CMC – Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt is set to make his return to the track next month, around the middle of the International track and Field season.
Bolt is due to compete in Ostrava in the Czech Republic on June 17, a late start for the Jamaican sprinter recovering from a foot injury.
He is also set to compete at the Paris Diamond League meet on July 5, and at Malmo in Sweden in August.
The 27-year-old Jamaican, the world record holder for the 100m and 200m, will also compete at the season’s penultimate Diamond League meet in Zurich on August 28.
However he has not yet decided which distance he will run at the Swiss venue.
Bolt has sought to allay the concerns of fans who may be worried about his late seasonal debut.
“There is never anything to worry about,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
“For me, I take my time throughout my seasons and you know the season is never perfect — niggles here, niggles there”.
Cayman Islands Customs to conduct public training on tariffs
As a result of the commencement of The Customs Tariff Law 2012 on March 1st 2014, the introduction of an internationally recognized tariff classification system comprising approximately 5,000 codes for various goods was materialized. The harmonized commodity description and coding system is now used with the Department’s upgraded computer system TRIPS (Total Revenue Integrated Processing System) for capturing the detail and statistics of all imports.
The Customs Department will host a series of familiarization workshops called “Completing Customs Import Entry Forms Correctly”, at Customs Headquarters, from 20 -30 May 2014, 9.00am – 10.00am.
The sessions will outline the correct procedures for filling out the new forms, and at the same time update the public on the Department’s handling processes for imports. The public, including large importers, businesses and brokers are encouraged to take advantage of these informative sessions which will not only inform of the correct procedures of filling out forms, but will also update the public on the Departments handling processes of imports.
Individuals who wish to attend these workshops should confirm their attendance by calling Ardell Pearson or Sharla Barron at customs headquarters, at 949-4579 or email [email protected] or [email protected]
Former Trinidad and Tobago airport authority manager on fraud charge
From Caribbean 360
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, Tuesday May 13, 2014, CMC – Former manager of the Airport Authority of Trinidad and Tobago, Davanand Birju, has been granted TT$200,000 (One TT dollar=US$0.16 cents) bail after being charged with fraud relating to his academic qualifications.
Birju, who appeared before Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar in the Port of Spain Eighth Court, will return to court in Arima on May 28.
The state alleges that on August 8, 2012, he uttered a forged document stating he had a Bachelor of science degree (BSc) in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts, which he obtained on May 26, 1988 knowing it to be false and with the intent to defraud”.
As a condition of his bail, the former senior airport authority official has to surrender his travel documents as well as report to the San Fernando Police Station, south of here twice a week.
Spate of vehicular accidents on Cayman Roads last Tuesday
Three separate vehicular accidents were reported in George Town, Grand Cayman last Tuesday (13) that caused traffic backlogs for motorists.
#1 Vicinity of Clarence Drive, George Town. Involved a police car and a private vehice. See iNews Breaking News story “Police vehicle in accident” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/police-vehicle-in-accident/
#2 Vicinity of Crewe Road near Mango Tree Restaurant and Lounge.
#3 Vicinity off Bobby Thompson Way.
Team Paul Mitchell returns to the Cayman Islands
Team Paul Mitchell and the Cayman Islands gear up for the first reunion in nearly twenty years.
What was once the home of some many Team Paul Mitchell stories and bonding opportunities, will once again be at the forefront for Team Paul Mitchell to get some sun, train and inspire a whole new generation of martial artists. Coordinated by the efforts of Mr. Bob Daigle and Coach Don Rodrigues, the Caymans will be a unique event for Paul Mitchell members and local Caymanians alike.
Notice of Cayman Islands company transfer of office
AV CONCEPT HOLDINGS LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Cayman Islands with limited liability) (Stock Code: 595)
CHANGE OF PRINCIPAL SHARE REGISTRAR AND TRANSFER OFFICE IN THE CAYMAN ISLANDS
The board of directors (the “Board”) of AV Concept Holdings Limited (the “Company”) hereby announces that with effect from 13 May 2014, the Company’s principal share registrar and transfer office in the Cayman Islands has been changed to:
Maples Fund Services (Cayman) Limited PO Box 1093, Boundary Hall, Cricket Square, Grand Cayman, KY1-1102,
Cayman Islands
The Company’s branch share registrar and transfer office in Hong Kong is still maintained by Tricor Tengis Limited at Level 22, Hopewell Centre, 183 Queen’s Road East, Hong Kong.
Hong Kong, 14 May 2014
As at the date of this announcement, the Board comprises three executive Directors, Dr. Hon. So Yuk Kwan (Chairman), Mr. So Chi On and Mr. Ho Choi Yan Christopher and three independent non- executive Directors, Dr. Lui Ming Wah, SBS, JP, Mr. Charles E. Chapman and Mr. Wong Ka Kit.
Join Cayman animal care charity for their Garage Sale Fundraiser!
Please help spread the word for the Cayman Animal Rescue Enthusiasts (CARE) Garage Sale, taking place this Saturday, 17th May, Paddington Place Warehouse, North Sound Road, George Town by downloading the attached flyer to share in your office.
They have some great things on sale from Men’s and Ladies clothing – business and casual styles, lots of household items in fab condition as well as children’s toys and books.
See attachment
