iNews Briefs
Cayman Islands Chief Immigration Officer on required leave
The Ministry of Home Affairs confirms that the Chief Immigration Officer (CIO) has been placed on required leave with immediate effect, as per the provisions of schedule 1 section 8(2) of the Personnel Regulations (2013 Revision).
The Ministry has received information related to a number of allegations of misconduct by the CIO, which require a full investigation.
As a result it determined that invoking the provision for required leave was appropriate in the circumstances, to allow the allegations to be investigated quickly and thoroughly.
END
The Cayman Islands Chief Immigration Officer is Linda Evans.
Caribbean Maritime Institute trains 250 fisherfolk
From Loop Jamaica
The Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) School of Advanced Skills trained and certified 250 fisherfolk.
The three-day customised training exercise covered navigation skills, the safe use of life jackets and other safety equipment, as well as basic seamanship
It was geared towards the implementation of measures to ensure the sustainability of the fisheries industry and is part of Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries’ $18.2 million Enhancement of the Cold Chain Supply and Safety Project.
Graduates were presented with their certificates in a ceremony held at the CMI on Wednesday, November 19.
Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Luther Buchanan, in his keynote address said the project was in response to the difficulties in the fishing industry, especially in regard to safety at sea.
Buchanan said that the Government is dedicated to ensuring the sustainability of the sector, which accounts for eight per cent of all agricultural exports and employs around 20,000 individuals.
Such initiatives help to improve the industry through modernisation of techniques, and training and education of the workforce, according to the state minnister.
Director of the CMI School of Advanced Skills, Osric Forrest, called the programme a success.
Cayman Islands announces Immigration holiday hours
The Department of Immigration has announced its holiday working hours, as well as dates for the remaining board meetings for this year.
The Immigration headquarters (including public counters, and the Passport and Visa offices) will close to the public at 11:00a.m. on Wednesday, 24 December, and reopen at 8:30a.m. on Monday, 29 December.
These offices again close to the public at 11:00a.m. on Wednesday, 31 December, and resume at 8:30a.m. on Friday, 2 January 2015.
The meeting dates for the Immigration Boards are as follows:
The Work Permit Board’s final meeting date will be 15 December, and resumes on 12 January, 2015.
The Business Staffing Plan Board’s final meeting date will be 17 December, and resumes 7 January, 2015.
The Cayman Status and Permanent Residents Board’s final meeting will be 11 December, and resumes on 8 January, 2015.
Caribbean Players for MLS combine in Puerto Rico In January
From IRIE FM
For the second year running young footballers in the Caribbean will be given the opportunity to impress scouts from the MLS.
Major League Soccer has announced it will again partner with the Caribbean Football Union to host the second Caribbean Player Combine January 2-5, 2015, in Bayamón, Puerto Rico.
The event will feature players age 18 to 21 from around the Caribbean who will compete in front of league scouts for the opportunity to earn an invitation to the 2015 Adidas MLS Player Combine in Fort Lauderdale Florida days later.
Harbour view and Jamaica International Kemar Lawrence was one of Twenty-four players from the region who took part in the inaugural Caribbean Player Combine in 2014 held in Antigua and two moved on to feature in the MLS Player Combine.
This year, the four-day event will take place at Bayamón Football Club facilities and will include training sessions and games against local clubs.
The annual Adidas MLS Player Combine gives professional soccer scouts the opportunity to see top players in action prior to the annual MLS SuperDraft presented by Adidas.
For more: http://www.iriefm.net/news/sports/caribbean-players-mls-combine-puerto-rico-january
Cayman Islands Seafarers seeks community help to raise funds
The Cayman Islands Seafarers Association (CISA) is selling tickets for its raffle to be drawn at its Christmas raffle next Saturday (6) at 7pm at the Lions Centre.
There will be a grand prize of $8,000!
The money raised will help its members cover medical costs and the association also donates to other charitable organisations on the Cayman Islands.
Tickets can be purchased from any CISA member or at the Seafarers Hall in Prospect between 8:30 a.m. and noon.
For more information on the Cayman Islands Seafarers association go to: http://www.caymanseafarers.ky/CaymanSeafarers/Welcome_Aboard.html
Linda Alcott: Presents on Haiti and the Caribbean
From UC Newsroom
Linda Alcott, PhD, assistant professor of French, clinical teaching track, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, presented papers at two conferences this fall.
As an invited teaching panel specialist on “Teaching the Caribbean,” Alcott’s first presentation, titled, “Voices of Haiti and the Caribbean,” was given at the 68th Annual Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association Convention held in Boise, Idaho, Oct 9-11.
Alcott’s paper titled, “Suitable for Sacrifice: The Portrait of Expendable Humanity in Marguerite Duras’s Un Barrage contre le Pacifique,” was presented at the Pacific Ancient Modern Language Association’s 112th Annual Conference in Riverside, Calif., Oct. 31-Nov. 2, for the Women in French special panel, “Marguerite Duras: 100 years later.”
Cayman Islands water company laying pipes on Cayman Brac
Three miles of pipes for the Cayman Islands government owned Water Authority-Cayman has commenced on Cayman Brac.
The project is scheduled to be completed in 8 months.
The work is part of the authority’s 10-year-plan to expand infrastructure and services in the Sister Islands (Cayman Brac and Little Cayman).
Motorists are asked to drive with caution and obey all traffic signals.
Caribbean box jellyfish found in Australia for first time, on Queensland’s Gold Coast
By Matt Watson From ABC Australia
A box jellyfish native to Jamaica in the Caribbean has been found for the first time in Australia in a canal 17 kilometres inland on Queensland’s Gold Coast.
Tripedalia cystophora, commonly known as the Caribbean box jellyfish, is a small box jellyfish from the family Tripedaliidae.
It has since been found in found in other parts of the world such as the Philippines, Ecuador, Japan, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Indonesia and Florida.
Australia is now the southerly-most locality for this species.
The single female Caribbean box jellyfish was found on January 27 in a canal on the Gold Coast – about 17km from the ocean and approximately 1.5km from the nearest mangroves.
The find was only recently published online in the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom.
The jellyfish was observed in a canal, where a member of the public, Ian Hulme, mistook it for floating plastic rubbish and only once he had scooped it into an empty glass did he realize it was a box jellyfish.
The Queensland Museum’s Dr Merrick Ekins said the jellyfish was much smaller than the Australian species and was not lethal, but does carry a sharp sting.
“We don’t know how it got here. I suspect it might’ve come in ship’s ballast water,” he said.
“It was just a matter of time before it turned up here but it, in a way it’s been surprising that it hasn’t been reported in northern Queensland before.”
Dr Ekins said the species was extinct in Jamaica because of over development but it has colonised parts of Indonesia.
He is asking people to contact the Queensland Museum if they find one.
PHOTO: This Caribbean box jellyfish was found in a canal on Queensland’s Gold Coast. (Supplied: Merrick Ekins/Queensland Museum)
For more: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-03/caribbean-box-jellyfish-found-off-the-gold-coast/5932256
New website for Cayman Islands government health provider
The Cayman Islands National Insurance Company (CINICO) launched its new website last Tuesday (2)
The government-owned insurance company, provides health insurance coverage to Civil Servants (employees and pensioners), Seafarers & Veterans and other residents of the Cayman Islands.
As a private corporation, a Board of Directors appointed by the Cayman Islands Government governs CINICO.
For more on CINICO go to: www.cinico.ky
JetBlue adds Curacao to America’s largest Caribbean network
The Airline Offers More Flights to, From and Within the Caribbean Than Any Other Airline
NEW YORK, NY, Dec 02, 2014 (Marketwired via COMTEX) — JetBlue Airways JBLU, -1.95% New York’s Hometown Airline(TM), today launched twice-weekly flights to its latest Caribbean destination, Curaçao. The airline now offers up to 121 daily flights from the U.S. to the Caribbean, of which up to 56 daily flights are nonstop from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), with 26 routes from the two airports to the region. JetBlue offers more routes than any other airline from the U.S. to the Caribbean.
“We are pleased to add another dot on our Caribbean route map with the only nonstop service to Curaçao from New York. This island is a hidden gem that we hope more Americans travelers will discover. With one third of our network in the Caribbean and Latin America, we will continuously expand to offer our customers the most choices of Caribbean destinations where they can go to relax and enjoy some of the world’s best beaches, or go home to visit friends and families,” said Robin Hayes, JetBlue’s President.
The twice-weekly service from JFK to Curaçao International Airport (CUR) operates on Tuesdays and Saturdays with an Airbus A320, offering customers award-winning service, unlimited brand-name snacks, non-alcoholic drinks and free movies (a), along with the most legroom in coach (b).
Customers arriving into JetBlue’s Terminal 5 at JFK from Curaçao and all other non-U.S. destinations will now experience the airline’s new state-of-the-art international arrival area that opened last month. It can accommodate up to 1,400 customers per hour and features automated passport control (APC) machines and 10 Global Entry kiosks designed to expedite travelers through the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) process more timely and efficiently.
“This is an exciting day for our island, and we are thrilled to welcome JetBlue’s new nonstop service today,” said Curaçao’s Minister of Economic Development, Stanley Palm. “Curaçao has flourished as one of the Caribbean’s most diverse and authentic islands within the region. As an island, we understand the importance of offering our visitors efficient and accessible flight options, and we are confident that the added service will meet the demand we’ve seen from the tri-state area.”
Curaçao Airport Partners is very pleased to welcome JetBlue to the network of international airlines serving the Curaçao International Airport. JetBlue is an excellent airline, and combined with the exceptional potential of the Northeastern U.S. market, this new service is a powerful combination of forces that can significantly, and positively, benefit Curaçao and the Curaçao tourism product. We will do our part to help JetBlue in making certain that this new service is as successful as possible,” said Ralph J. Blanchard, CEO, Curaçao Airport Partners.
JetBlue’s Schedule between John F. Kennedy International Airport and Curaçao:
JFK – CUR CUR – JFK
09:00 a.m. – 2:34 p.m. 3:45 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Cayman Islands Marathon voted among the world’s best
From Sportsmax Digicel
The Intertrust Cayman Islands Marathon coming up this weekend has been named one of the world’s best road-running events. Running USA’s Annual Marathon Report has voted the Cayman event the 14th best globally.
There are an estimated 1,100 marathons in the United States and thousands more worldwide.
According to the report, the world’s best is Switzerland’s Jungfrau, which runs to the top of the Alps. Marathon du Medoc in France is second and the Patagonian International Marathon in Chile third, with Berlin, Germany, fourth.
The report’s top North American marathon is the Niagara Falls International in eighth place.
Cayman rates better than Tokyo (16th), Boston (19th), London (21st) and China’s Great Wall Marathon (22nd).
Cayman is rated highly because of its natural beauty, friendly atmosphere and the exceptional attention to detail that organiser Kelly Holding puts into it, to the point of even greeting participants at the airport. Its success always depends on public support and cooperation, which in its previous 11 stagings, has been good.
Besides the full marathon on Sunday, there is the half-marathon, four-person relay and kids’ fun run.
The race starts at 5 a.m. at Breezes By The Bay restaurant on the waterfront and takes runners along South Church Street into South Sound, onto Old Prospect Road, where the runners turn around and go back on to South Sound and then up Walkers Road and Hospital Road into central George Town, before crossing the finish line back at Breezes.
For more: http://www.sportsmax.tv/?q=articles/2014/12/02/cayman-marathon-voted-among-worlds-best
Man Up, Cayman!
“Domestic and sexual violence are serious problems not because so many women experience them but because so many men perpetrate or tolerate them.” Jackson Katz author of; The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and and How All Men Can Help
Men, we can no longer afford to remain part of the Passive Majority. It is time that we
Standing silently by is no longer an option!
How men have been let off the hook when it comes to abuse:
The focus in abusive situations is on the victim, not the perpetrator. Julia Penelope, a feminist and activist from the 70’s, shows how this happened by simply showing how language has changed from one of the perpetrator being the subject to it being all about the victim with no mention of the man who caused the problem in the first place.
This is how it got to be a “Women’s issue” and not a “men’s issue”which it truly is. Taking us men “off the hook”.
John beat Mary.
Mary was beaten by John.
Mary was beaten.
Mary is battered.
Mary is a battered woman.
For more information on how you can join the conversation,
Contact me at [email protected]
SOURCE: http://www.manup.layman.ky
