iNews Briefs
Robin Williams dies of suspected suicide
From The Hollywood Reporter
Oscar-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams has died at age 63.
According to police in Marin County, Calif., Williams was found “unconscious and not breathing” just before noon Monday inside his home in Tiburon, Calif., following a 911 phone call. He was pronounced dead at 12:02 p.m. after emergency personnel arrived. They added that the actor was last seen alive at 10 p.m. Sunday.
An investigation into the cause of the death is under way, but “the Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division suspects the death to be a suicide due to asphyxia.” A forensic examination is scheduled for Tuesday, along with a press conference that will be held at 11 a.m. in San Rafael, Calif.
Williams’ publicist Mara Buxbaum told The Hollywood Reporter: “Robin Williams passed away this morning. He has been battling severe depression of late. This is a tragic and sudden loss. The family respectfully asks for their privacy as they grieve during this very difficult time.”
His wife, Susan Schneider, said: “This morning, I lost my husband and my best friend, while the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings. I am utterly heartbroken. On behalf of Robin’s family, we are asking for privacy during our time of profound grief. As he is remembered, it is our hope the focus will not be on Robin’s death, but on the countless moments of joy and laughter he gave to millions.”
Added David Steinberg, his manager of 35 years: “Nobody made the world laugh like Robin Williams. My brother, my friend, my soulmate, I will miss you.”
For more: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/robin-williams-dies-suspected-suicide-724724
4.3 Earthquake recorded near Cayman Islands
A 4.3 magnitude earthquake occurred at 7:45 am occurred near the Cayman Islands on Monday (11) morning). The earthquake was130 miles south-southwest of George Town, Grand Cayman at a depth of 1 km (0.6214 miles).
160 km (99 mi) E of Great Swan Island, Honduras
211 km (130 mi) SSW of George Town, Cayman Islands
216 km (133 mi) SSW of West Bay, Cayman Islands
414 km (256 mi) NNE of Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua
438 km (271 mi) ENE of Tocoa, Honduras
The last earthquake recorded near the Cayman Islands occurred on 21st June. 2014.
Cayman Islands hospital has “incidents” involving dialysis
The Cayman Islands Hospital in George Town, Grand Cayman has had a number of “incidents” involving its dialysis unit.
According to a report in the “Cayman Compass” three patients suffered medical issues during or immediately after dialysis treatment between Wednesday and Friday last week and a man died after suffering a “cardiac event” while on dialysis.
The report quotes Dr. Delroy Jefferson, the HSA’s medical director, as saying safety checks had already been conducted on all dialysis machines as a precautionary measure. He said the proximity of the incidents was likely coincidental and statistics showed that Cayman’s dialysis unit was among the safest in the world.
However, Professor Everard Barton, an expert in kidney disease and dialysis from the University of the West Indies, is flying into Grand Cayman to conduct a review.
To read the article go to: http://www.compasscayman.com/caycompass/2014/08/11/Health-scare-in-dialysis-unit/
Cayman Islands School entry screening continues
The Cayman Islands Public Health Department reminds parents that all students entering government or private schools for the first time are required to have health screenings before the new school year begins in September.
Health screenings continue to take place at the Cayman Islands Further Education Centre (CIFEC) campus, from now until 20 August, and at the Cayman Islands Hospital from 21 – 29 August 2014.
Completed forms from private physicians should be submitted to the Public Health Department, Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
School entry screening will commence in Cayman Brac on 15 August 2014. Parents/Guardians will be contacted by the Public Health Department to arrange appointments.
For further information call: 326-4890, 326-3882, 925-5401.
Royal Caribbean appeals rejection of trademark “Broadway At Sea”
From Royal Caribbean Blog
Royal Caribbean tried to trademark the name “Broadway At Sea” for its onboard musical theater that it offers but its trademark registration was denied by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
This week, Royal Caribbean filed an appeal with the TTAB.
Royal Caribbean believes that “Broadway” is traditionally used as a noun to refer to the street in New York City, whereas Royal Caribbean’s name differs.
The trademark office attorney argued why Royal Caribbean’s trademark request was descriptive, “Applicant is reminded that the question is not whether someone presented only with the mark could guess what the services are. In context with the identified services offered by applicant, potential consumers will immediately understand that the term ‘Broadway’ refers to Broadway-style shows.”
Truman Bodden presented with doctorate
Truman Bodden, who founded the law firm Truman Bodden and Company in 1974 and had The Truman Bodden Law School in 1982 named after him, was presented with his own honorary doctorate from the Law School.
Pro Vice-Chancellor and Public Orator of the University of Liverpool, Professor Kelvin Everest, presented the doctorate to him at this month’s university graduation at the Marriott Resort’s Orchid Ballroom.
Graduating alongside Dr. Bodden were 19 students rom the University of Liverpool with honors degrees in bachelor of law, while seven post-graduate students completed the Professional Practice Course.
Dr Bodden also established the Lighthouse School for disabled children and was appointed an Officer of the British Empire.
Caribbean Export sponsors reps at China summit
By Aleem Khan
The Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) will sponsor one representative from each of five Cariforum business support organisations (BSOs) to participate in the 8th China-Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) Business Summit to be held September 12 and 13 in Changsha City, Hunan Province, China, the agency said in an e-mail to its stakeholders. Cariforum is made up of the 15 countries of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) plus the Dominican Republic.
“Caribbean Export will sponsor a representative from five Cariforum BSOs to participate in this event. “The aim of this initiative is to build the capacity of five Cariforum BSOs to strategically target and penetrate new markets, like China, for exports, investments and to find partners in China in areas such as suppliers of raw materials,” the e-mail said. The theme of the summit is: “From Quantity to Quality, Greater Cooperative Potential, Greater Interest Convergence.”
The focus for investments and exports include: priority niche goods exports, including coffee (both regular and luxury branded); packaged fruits and vegetables; flowers (ornamental and exotic); spices; luxury branded rum; renewable energy (such as solar and wind power); financial services (in particular offshore financial services); tourism; maritime construction (including ports); and communications.
To be selected as one of the five BSOs to be sponsored, the organisation must demonstrate that it has strategic opportunities in, and/or is currently developing projects in the sectors identified.
For Cayman Islands, a big boost in tourism arrivals
From Caribbean Journal
The Cayman Islands is reporting a significant increase in tourism numbers.
The British Overseas Territory received 210,491 tourist stopover arrivals in the first half of 2014, a 9.4 percent improvement over the first six months of 2013, according to Caribbean Tourism Organization data.
The territory reported a 9 percent improvement in the winter tourist season, along with a 10.2 percent improvement so far in the summer of 2014.
That represented one of the highest first-half improvements of any Caribbean destination, with only Belize and Grenada reporting larger increases in arrivals.
On the cruise side, the Cayman Islands received 861,517 cruise passenger arrivals, an 8.6 percent improvement over the first half of 2013.
In 2013, the Cayman Islands received a total of 345,387 visitors for the calendar year, a 7.4 percent increase over 2012.
For more: http://www.caribjournal.com/2014/08/09/for-cayman-islands-a-big-boost-in-tourism-arrivals/
Picard loses bid to upset feeder fund settlements
By Joel Stashenko, New York Law Journal
Investors in “feeder funds” whose money was funneled into Bernard Madoff’s fraudulent securities firm may receive nearly $500 million to recoup part of their lost investments, a panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled Friday.
The judges unanimously rejected an attempt by Irving Picard, trustee for the Liquidation of Bernard Madoff Investment Securities (BLMIS), to void settlements designed to return money to investors in Fairfield Greenwich Ltd. and in two funds operated by hedge fund manager J. Ezra Merkin, Ariel Fund Ltd., Ascot Fund Ltd. and Gabriel Capital LP.
The ruling affirmed judgments upholding the settlements by Southern District Judges Jed Rakoff (See Profile) and Victor Marrero (See Profile) in, respectively, Picard v. Schneiderman, 13-1785, and Picard v. Fairfield Greenwich, 13-1289.
Picard argued that the settlement funds are assets that should benefit the creditors and customers of the Madoff investment firm, not the “feeder funds.”
But the three-member panel—Judges Robert Sack (See Profile), Denny Chin (See Profile) and Christopher Droney (See Profile)—concluded that Picard failed to make valid arguments against the settlements on several grounds, including that they represent a fraudulent conveyance or fraudulent transfer whose purpose is to wrongfully reduce the pool or assets due creditors in a liquidation action.
A Florida church canceled a man’s funeral after finding out he was gay
By Paul Szoldra From Business Insider
A church in Tampa, Florida canceled a man’s memorial service earlier this month after it had found out he was gay, The Tampa Bay Times reports.
New Hope Missionary Church had agreed to host the service for Julion Evans, who had died after battling amyloidosis for four years, but some church members complained after seeing his obituary, which mentioned that he was married to his long-time partner Kendall Capers.
“It was devastating,” Evans’ mother Julie Atwood, who was notified during his wake, told WFLA. “I did feel like he was being denied the dignity of death.”
Capers — who had been in a relationship with Evans for 17 years — married him in Maryland last year as his incurable disease continued to get worse, according to Slate. Capers told the Tampa Bay Times the pastor told the family he could not do a memorial service for a gay man because it would be “blasphemous.”
“Based on our preaching of the scripture, we would have been in error to allow the service in our church,” Pastor T.W. Jenkins told WFLA. “I’m not trying to condemn anyone’s lifestyle, but at the same time, I am a man of God, and I have to stand up for my principles.”
Since the church canceled less than 24 hours prior to the service, the family had to scramble to find another venue. Luckily, they found a funeral home in Oldsmar that accepted them, according to The Times.
The family wasn’t able to notify everyone however, and some people showed up to the church and missed the funeral, according to WFLA.
For more: http://www.businessinsider.com/tampa-church-funeral-gay-man-2014-8#ixzz3A2UBaB1E
ALBA rejects subversive US programs against Cuba
HAVANA, Cuba (ACN) — The member countries of the a regional integration bloc, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of our Americas (ALBA), has rejected the most recently exposed subversive US program against Cuba, calling it an immoral project.
In a communiqué released on Thursday, the ALBA nations say they learned with indignation about the most recent exposure by the Associated Press of another subversive anti-Cuba plan financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) aimed at recruiting Cuban young people for subversion.
“This immoral project of the US administration ratifies the hostile nature of US policy towards Cuba aimed at generating destabilization of the political, economic and social order on the island,” the communiqué said.
The ALBA nations reject the new plan and strongly demand the cease of US covert, subversive and illegal actions that violate the sovereignty and the right of Cuba to self-determination, the communiqué concluded.
Member states of ALBA comprise: Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Venezuela.
27 Jamaicans awarded Sandals Scholarships
Twenty-seven Jamaicans are among 41 secondary-school students, from across the Caribbean, who are recipients of Sandals Foundation five-year scholarships valued at US$30,000 annually.
Through the Care for Kids Scholarship Programme, hundreds of outstanding secondary- and tertiary-level students in Jamaica, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Antigua, The Bahamas, and Saint Lucia have received funding for tuition, books, uniforms, annual medicals and tutoring. The programme also encourages mentorship, community outreach and sports development.
In celebration of the Sandals Foundation five-year anniversary in 2014, an incentive programme was introduced for beneficiaries, who maintain ‘B’ to ‘A’ averages and show marked improvement in core subject areas, to receive additional funding valued up to US$200 each in the areas of education, health, music, extra-curricular activities and sports.
Human Rights Watch director barred from Egypt
From BBC
The executive director of Human Rights Watch and another senior staff member have been denied entry to Egypt.
Kenneth Roth and Sarah Leah Whitson were in Cairo to launch a report by the group on mass killings last year.
Hundreds of people were killed on 14 August 2013 after security forces broke up protests against the ousting of President Mohammed Morsi.
President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, who was elected head of state in May, was the army chief at the time of the killings.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is one of a number of rights groups that have expressed alarm at a broad crackdown on dissent by authorities since the army’s overthrow of Mr Morsi in July 2013.
‘Security reasons’
After arriving at Cairo International Airport, the pair were detained by officials for 12 hours before being put on planes out of the country.
Ms Whitson, the head of HRW’s Middle East and North Africa division, said Egyptian officials told her they were being deported for “security reasons”.
In a statement, HRW said it was the first time that Egyptian authorities had denied its staff members entry to the country, including during the rule of ex-President Hosni Mubarak.
The group said its report, due to be released on Tuesday, “documents how Egyptian police and army methodically opened fire with live ammunition on crowds of demonstrators” after Mr Morsi’s removal from power.
For more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28738953
ESPN suspends Max Kellerman over domestic violence commentary
From All Access Music Group
Another ESPN host has been suspended for comments arising from the RAY RICE domestic violence suspension incident, this time ESPN Sports KSPN-A (ESPN L.A. 710 AM)/LOS ANGELES afternoon “MAX AND MARCELLUS” co-host and ESPN2 “SPORTSNATION” co-host MAX KELLERMAN, who was suspended for a week for saying that he had hit his wife when they were still dating and drunk at a college party.
The NEW YORK DAILY NEWS reports that KELLERMAN, appearing in a crossover on STEVE MASON and JOHN IRELAND’s show last MONDAY, said that he and then-girlfriend, now-wife ERIN were at a college party and had too much to drink, and when she slapped him, he slapped her back. The couple has been married for 20 years.
The remarks ran afoul of a network-wide edict to “measure and consider” commentary about the RICE case, sources told the DAILY NEWS’ BOB RAISSMAN. Before the latest incident, STEPHEN A. SMITH was suspended for his remarks about domestic violence, which drew sharp words from MICHELLE BEADLE, KELLERMAN’s co-host on “SPORTSNATION.”
For more on this story go to: http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/132227/espn-suspends-max-kellerman-over-domestic-violence?ref=mail_recap#sthash.nCutGkJM.dpuf
World Bank planning to gut environmental protections
From Care2 Petitonsite
A leaked report shows that the World Bank is planning to allow countries to opt out of environmental and human rights protections when taking loan money. This could destroy the rainforest and lead to hundreds of deaths.
Please sign the petition today! Tell the World Bank: Don’t Scrap Environmental Regulations!
Take Action
The World Bank is one of the most powerful and influential institutions on the planet. Every year, the organization lends out billions of dollars to developing countries to fund projects that can help their people. But leaked documents reveal the Bank is relaxing its requirements for lending out money — meaning that countries can use huge amounts of cash to finance projects that are devastating for the environment.
In the 1980s and ’90s, countries used the World Bank’s loan to pay for horribly destructive projects, including the Narmada Dam in India and palm oil plantations that drove hundreds of thousands of people and animals from their homes. To keep that from happening again, the Bank enacted rules about just what their money can be used for. Now, it appears, those rules could be thrown out the window.
The bank also plans to weaken existing environmental protections to allow mining and logging projects in sensitive areas where local people live. Indigenous people would no longer need to be consulted before these projects begin — meaning jungles will be mowed down and native people will be left homeless, thanks to the greed of corporations.
These laws are necessary to keep the world’s few remaining resources safe while helping the people who live within them thrive. Tell the World Bank not to scrap environmental protections!
Sign the Petition at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/986/515/257/tell-world-bank-dont-scrap-environmental-protections/?z00m=21376369&redirectID=1431454396
Katt Williams returns to HBO for his second stand-up comedy special, “Katt Williams: Priceless”
Directed by Spike Lee, the new special airs on August 16th in the Caribbean,
simultaneously with the United States
HBO has confirmed the return of the often controversial but always funny Katt Williams for his second stand-up comedy special on the network, “Katt Williams: Priceless.” Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Spike Lee, the hour-long event was filmed live at the Citizens Bank Arena in Ontario, California, on May 17. Featuring the entertainer and his unique, uproarious take on a number of mainstream and taboo topics, the comedy special premieres on Saturday, August 16th in the Caribbean, simultaneously with the United States.
Katt Williams previously appeared on HBO in the 2006 solo special “The Pimp Chronicles Pt. 1” and declared his retirement from stand-up shortly after. His feature-film credits include “Scary Movie 5,” “The Obama Effect,” “Lonely Street,” “Norbit,” “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore” and “Friday After Next,” and has additionally been seen on such TV series as “NYPD Blue,” “My Wife and Kids,” “Girlfriends” and “The Boondocks.” Williams has also appeared in music videos with such stars as Ludacris, OutKast and Lil’ Kim.
“Katt Williams: Priceless” was produced for HBO by New Wave Entertainment, executive produced by Brian Volk-Weiss and Katt Williams, and directed by Spike Lee.
For local transmission times, consult your cable provider or visit http://www.hbomax.tv/.
