iNews Briefs
Cayman Islands placed high in Trip Advisor Awards
From Oasis Land
The 2014 Trip Advisor Awards are in
The 2014 Trip Advisor Awards are in. Where did the Cayman Islands fall during 2014? Here are the results:
Trip Advisor 2014 Awards
Top 10 Destination in the Caribbean – Cayman Islands #6
Top 10 Islands in the Caribbean – Grand Cayman #3
Top 25 Small Hotels in the Caribbean – Caribbean Club Grand Cayman #10 / Cotton Tree Grand Cayman #15
Top 25 Luxury Hotels in the Caribbean – Caribbean Club Grand Cayman #5 / Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman #24
Top 25 Beaches in the Caribbean – Seven Mile Beach Grand Cayman #8
For more: http://www.oasis-land.com/blog/post.php?s=2015-01-29-the-2014-trip-advisor-awards-are-in
DLP visit Cayman Islands Sister Islands Feb 5 & 6, 201
The Department of Labour & Pensions (DLP) will be hosting information sessions throughout the Districts, commencing February 5th and 6th, 2015, on the Sister Islands.
Representatives from the DLP will be in attendance to:
- Meet employers and review Labour and Pensions Laws
- Welcome the public and answer questions regarding the Labour and Pensions Laws.
Little Cayman Thursday, February 5th
- 9:30am-3:30pm IDLP visits and site inspections.
- 5:30pm- 7:30pm I FREE public information session, employees and employers welcome.
Little Cayman Beach Resort I Conference Room
Cayman Brae I Friday, February 6th
- 9:00am-4:00pm IDLP visits and site inspections.
Officers will also be available at the Creek Offices.
- 5:30pm-7:30pm I FREE public information session, employees and employers welcome.
Brac Reef Beach Resort I Conference Room
See attached
Cayman Customs search plane, upon arrival from Jamaica
From RJR News
Customs officers in the Cayman Islands on Wednesday carried out an operation on a Cayman Airways flight from Jamaica.
It was conducted shortly after the plane landed at Owen Roberts International Airport.
Television station Cayman 27, in its report on the operation, quoted a Customs official as saying it was “part of a stategy to reduce contraband coming through the airport.”
Dogs from the Customs Canine Unit sniffed each piece of checked luggage as it was unloaded from the aircraft and the inside of the plane was also searched, the television station reported.
Passengers told Cayman 27 that, while they understood that the authorities were merely doing their job, they were upset that it took “around an hour” before their luggage began arriving on the conveyor belt in the customs hall of the airport.
No contraband was found.
For more and video: http://rjrnewsonline.com/local/cayman-customs-search-plane-upon-arrival-from-jamaica
Swiss Banks face expensive US tax ‘holding pattern’
From Offshore Bankers
Around 100 Swiss banks are bleeding money as they wait for a legal process, aimed at resolving United States tax evasion issues, to regain momentum.
The programme ground to a halt last autumn after a row over small print with the Department of Justice (DoJ).
Banks had hoped that a deal negotiated by the Swiss government and the DoJ in August 2013 (see box below),
Would clear up legacy tax evasion issues by the end of last year. But many Swiss banks have entered 2015 still uncertain of whether this will be put to bed in the next 12 months.
For more: http://www.offshore-bankers.net/article/19653/banks-face-expensive-us-tax-lsquoholding-patternrsquo
Equity Estates Fund acquires Marquee Property in Grand Cayman
From King World News
Equity Estates second vacation home portfolio (Fund II) acquired its newest luxury residence in Grand Cayman Island, giving investors access to more than 75 magnificent residences spanning 30 countries. Located on the world famous Seven Mile Beach, the property boasts unparalleled ocean views and easy access to scuba and snorkeling sites, boating, golf, fishing and superlative bars and restaurants.
For more: http://kingworldnews.com/equity-estates-fund-acquires-marquee-property-in-grand-cayman/
One of the oldest men in the Caribbean lives in Colombia
Bogota, Jan 28 (Prensa Latina) At the age of 113 and still active, the Colombian Jose Rosario Fabra, is considered one of the oldest men in the Caribbean region, RCN La Radio revealed today.
In his words, the farmer feels strong as an oak and has a prodigious memory that allows him to still run his farm in the coastal department of Córdoba.
A diet based on fish, cheese, deer and chicha corn -a traditional liquor of the Andes- allowed him to live in two centuries and surpass the 100 years of age with enviable health, said the farmer in statements to the national radio station.
“Mono Fabra”, as he is affectionately called, wakes up at dawn, after the first rooster’s songs, ready to begin field work.
Despite being 100 years old, his family protects him from hard work.
On several occasions he has escaped with a machete and has gone for a walk through the valley, confessed one of his daughters, Ena Luz Fabra.
According to official documents, Jose Rosario was born on December 31, 1902 in the department of Córdoba, washed by the Caribbean Sea, where he lives surrounded by his offspring, which exceeds 200 members including children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
For more: http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3483461&Itemid=1
Cayman Islands activist pleads guilty to using ICT network to annoy another
Sandra Catron, the Cayman Islands community activist pleaded guilty to using an Information and Communications Technology (ICT) network to annoy another person between May 27th and July 23rd, 2012, after the indictment was amended.
Submissions for sentencing will be on Feb 5th but the Grand Court judge, Charles Quin, said he may need more time to consider the documents before passing sentence.
Caribbean and Latin American Summit take up UN agency anti-hunger plan
From UN News Centre
28 January 2015 – A new plan to combat hunger in the Caribbean and Latin America presented by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is being considered for adoption at a summit of the region’s leaders taking place today and tomorrow in the Costa Rican capital.
FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva presented on Tuesday the new regional Plan for Food Security, Nutrition and Hunger Eradication by 2025 at summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in San José, Costa Rica.
“This proposal is a tool to help CELAC countries design national plans to transform their commitment to eradicating hunger and extreme poverty in the region into a reality,” said Mr. Graziano da Silva, and later added via social media that CELAC leaders were considering the plan.
FAO, in a press release issued Tuesday, said: “The plan was developed by FAO – with support from the Latin American Integration Association (ALADI) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) – at the request of CELAC governments.”
“It is based on four broad pillars: strategy coordination at the national and regional levels, with a special focus on gender issues; sustainably ensuring access to safe and nutritious foods; widening school feeding programmes with a priority on addressing all forms of malnutrition, from under-nutrition to obesity, and; tackling the challenges posed to food security by climate change,” according to FAO.
The plan seeks to identify and establish links that can generate “virtuous circles of development,” the food agency said, citing as an example linking family farming with school feeding programmes.
According to FAO, Latin America and the Caribbean represent the only region in the world which has collectively achieved the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving the proportion of people who suffer from hunger by 2015. And the region is set to reach the more stringent World Food Summit goal of halving the total number of undernourished people.
For more on this story go to: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=49931#.VMmB1Vp-RIc
Cayman Islands seek Jamaican lawyers
The Government of the Cayman Islands is seeking qualified persons from Jamaica to fill three posts: Senior Legislative Counsel; Legislative Counsel; and Crown Counsel. The appointment is on contract for two years in the first instance, with the option to seek renewal.
Benefits include medical and pension scheme.
Interested persons are invited to contact the Government of the Cayman Islands for further details.
Caribbean International Tourism Safety & Security Conference
Curacao Tourist Board in co-operation with Tourism and More Inc is organizing the Caribbean International Tourism Safety & Security Conference in Curaçao on June 24-26, 2015.
This Safety & Security Conference has as main goal, to enhance awareness about tourism safety & security.
The conference will be held at the Curaçao World Trade Center at walking distance from various Hotels. The first day is a seminar reserved only for local stakeholders, followed by two days of international conference meetings and sessions. Speakers from around the world will be discussing topics such as; airline security, festivals securities, tourism police, cruise security, food & safety security, media crises, issues of law & tourism and human trafficking .
With a warm Caribbean mind we would like to invite you to the Caribbean International Tourism Safety & Security Conference.
Cayman Islands Quiz Night is on Wednesday (4)
From CARE – Cayman Animal Rescue Enthusiast
Why not get a team together and join us for the first Wednesday of every month for Quiz night at PD’s!
If you are unable to make it but would like to help spread the word about our Quiz, Download the attached flyer to share on your office notice board.
Caribbean youth ready to lead on climate issues
From Caricom Today
Members of the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CEYN) clean debris from a river in Trinidad. (Photo via Desmond Brown/IPS
Members of the Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CEYN) clean debris from a river in Trinidad. (Photo via Desmond Brown/IPS
At 24 years old, Stefan Knights has never been on the side of those who are sceptical about the reality and severity of climate change.
A Guyana native who moved to Trinidad in September 2013 to pursue his law degree at the Hugh Wooding Law School, Knights told IPS that his first-hand experience of extreme weather has strengthened his resolve to educate his peers about climate change “so that they do certain things that would reduce emissions.”
Knights recalled his first week in Trinidad, when he returned to his apartment to find “the television was floating, the refrigerator was floating and all my clothes were soaked” after intense rainfall which did not last more than an hour.
For more: http://today.caricom.org/2015/01/28/caribbean-youth-ready-to-lead-on-climate-issues/
Cayman Islands Nationwide Stride Against Cancer gets hundreds of participants
The Cayman Islands Cancer Society (CICS) Nationwide Stride Against Cancer took place on Sunday’ 25th January and was also the 10th anniversary of the event.
Hundreds of people took part in the event that takes place on all three islands, Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, simultaneously.
The event raises funds for the CICS.
The Stride Against Cancer took place on West Bay Road, North Side, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.
The Performance of Pan-Africanism: from Colonial Exhibitions to Black and African Cultural Festivals International Conference
The Performance of Pan-Africanism: from Colonial Exhibitions to Black and African Cultural Festivals International Conference
20-22 October, 2016
Winthrop-King Institute for Contemporary French and Francophone Studies, Florida State University
Keynote speakers: Andrew Apter (UCLA), Cheryl Finley (Cornell University), Souleymane Bachir Diagne (Columbia University)
Co-organizers: Tsitsi Jaji (University of Pennsylvania), Martin Munro (FSU), David Murphy (University of Stirling)
Cayman Islands mosquito plane helps fight fire in East End but 200 acres damaged
The Cayman Islands Mosquito Research and Control Unit was been enlisted to help fight a fire that has been blazing in the protected Salina Reserve in East End since Tuesday (27) afternoon.
The area is in a very difficult area for the fire services to access.
Although the MRCU assisted Wednesday night in pouring water on the inaccessible area, the fire was still smouldering on Thursday placing more endemic flora at risk.
The fire has been burning in an area that is home to many of Cayman’s endangered flora and fauna, including the blue iguanas but no homes are in danger.
The National Trust confirmed a large part of the Salina Reserve has been devastated by the brush fire.
The Trust has been reported as saying the fire started on an adjoining property when the owner was burning land to clear and the fire spread to the Salina Reserve.
It has not been confirmed but initial reports suggest that almost 200 acres of the Reserve has been damaged by the fire.
Scientist figures out how to use a laser to make metals permanently waterproof!
By hipstomp / Rain Noe From Core77
IMAGE: 0chunlei.jpg Photo by J. Adam Fenster / University of Rochester
Hitting metals with a laser to make the metals turn black doesn’t sound very sexy. But for Dr. Chunlei Guo, a professor of optics at the University of Rochester, it’s normal research. The ability to turn something dead black, which will thus absorb all light, is of optical interest.
However, Guo discovered something else could be done with these tools. By using a laser to etch microscopic patterns into the surface of the metal, he found that water was super-attracted to the surface—it just gets sucked onto it, as you’ll see in the video below. Curious to see if he could create an opposite effect, Guo then managed to laser-etch the metal such that water could not stick to it. “The material is so strongly water-repellent, the water actually gets bounced off. Then it lands on the surface again, gets bounced off again, and then it will just roll off from the surface,” Guo explains.
Unlike a Teflon coating, Guo’s technique means the metal itself is actually rendered super-hydrophobic, no coating required. This means Guo’s treatment cannot be rubbed or worn off. And while dust and dirt can still stick to the surface, a droplet of water rolling across it will pick it all up, like the ball in Katamari Damacy. The result is super-easy-to-clean surfaces.
Guo has attracted the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who see applications to improve sanitation in developing countries. But there are still significant obstacles to overcome before the technology can be rolled out and applied:
It currently takes an hour to pattern a 1 inch by 1 inch metal sample, and scaling up this process would be necessary before it can be deployed in developing countries….
Guo and [colleague Anatoliy] Vorobyev use extremely powerful, but ultra-short, laser pulses to change the surface of the metals. A femtosecond laser pulse lasts on the order of a quadrillionth of a second but reaches a peak power equivalent to that of the entire power grid of North America during its short burst.
That sounds like quite the electricity bill, and Guo and his team are working on increasing the laser-patterning speed. They’re also looking into applying the technique to materials other than metal. Along those lines, check out this research done at MIT with glass that has yielded similar hydrophobic qualities.
Caricom and Cuba should build regional transportation system; Cuba wants intra-regional tariffs scrapped
By Denis Scott Chabrol From Caribbean News Desk radio
The 15-nation Caribbean Community (Caricom) is proposing the building of a transportation system with Cuba to maximize trade across the region.
The idea was placed on the table of the one-day summit of Cuban President Raoul Castro and his Caricom counterparts.
The two sides are examining, among other issues how to make the 14-year old Caricom-Cuba Trade agreement more effective.
Addressing the opening of the summit Monday morning in Havana, Caricom Chairman- Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister, Gaston Brown floated the idea of jointly developing a transportation system. Transportation has long been a major humbug to regional trade.
Mr. Brown also hopes that an effective transportation system will not only result in increased movement of goods but also tourists.
Meanwhile, Agencia EFE (Spanish News Agency) reports that Cuban President Raul Castro on Monday called for revising and updating the trade and cooperation agreement between his country and the Caribbean Community to scrap tariffs on 300 products.
“Small and vulnerable” countries need to receive “special treatment on trade access and investments,” he said in an address inaugurating the 5th CARICOM-Cuba Summit in Havana.
Cuba also joins other Caribbean nations in demanding the removal of the affected countries from “unilateral lists that hinder economic development and trade with other countries,” he told heads of state and other senior officials from Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
While Communist Cuba has been under a U.S. economic embargo since 1962 and is on Washington’s list of nations that sponsor terrorism, several other Caribbean countries have been stigmatized for inadequate financial regulation, among other things.
Regarding the current state of economic integration within CARICOM, Castro said that fostering cross-border investment among Caribbean countries “continues to be an outstanding issue.”
He also pointed to difficulties in transporting goods inside the region.
The Cuban leader urged Caribbean nations to come together in the face of “shared challenges” such as climate change, health and education, as well as to focus on the “post-2015 development agenda.”
“As small insular states and developing nations we face the challenge of surviving and moving forward in a world convulsed by a global economic crisis,” Castro said during the summit opening at the Palace of the Revolution.
For more on this story go to: http://www.caribnewsdesk.com/news/9077-caribbean-news-desk-radio-prog-caricom-and-cuba-should-build-regional-transportation-system-cuba-wants-intra-regional-tariffs-scrapped
