iNews Briefs
Premier’s HARDtalk airing announced – first airing Mon (10) 11:30pm
The airing for the discussion between Cayman Islands Premier Hon. Alden McLaughlin and BBC HARDtalk host Stephen Sackur is scheduled for next Tuesday11 February, 2014, on BBC World News at the following times:
4:30 a. m., 9:30 a. m., 4:30 p. m. and 9:30 p.m. GMT, which translates to Caymans islands times of 11:30 p. m. Monday, and Tuesday at 4:30 a. m., 11:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The date could change if there is breaking news.
Mr. McLaughlin met with Mr. Sackur on Tuesday, 4 February, 2014, when the show was recorded.
Stop and go during rush hour traffic
The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service reported last Thursday (6) the four way stop lights at North Sound Road and Shedden Road were not working from 6:02 pm. No stoplights at all were on at that location. Motorists were asked to proceed with caution and observe the Four Way Junction rules.
However, when the writer approached the intersection at 7:00pm police were directing the traffic themselves although there was still a long backlog of traffic to the roundabout by A.L. Thompson’s.
It appeared that lights were off on all the buildings leading up to the stoplights although once I made the left turn onto Shedden Road the lights on the buildings were on.
A further police message said the four way stop lights at North Sound Road and Shedden Road were back in operation as of 7:40 pm.
Whale found dead in Little Cayman mangroves
It has been reported recently a Gervais beaked whale was found dead in mangroves on Little Cayman. The whale measured approx. 12ft. and resembled a whale.
Scientists from the Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI) took measurements and collected tissue samples from the whale and after contacting the Smithsonian museum and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the U.S. they confirmed it was a Gervais.
“It is a species that is quite commonly found to wash up ashore,” said Samantha Hamilton of CCMI.
Jamaica to receive $80M IDB loan for “Fiscal Sustainability”
From Caribbean Journal
Jamaica will be receiving an $80 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank aimed at improving the “effectiveness and efficiency” of the country’s tax system.
The loan will target “fiscal sustainability,” according to the IDB, with the goal of reducing tax distortions, strengthening revenue collection and enhancing the government’s control over budgetary expenditures, among other measures.
“Jamaica faces a significant challenge in terms of achieving economic growth and fiscal sustainability,” the bank said in a statement. “It is important to modernize a tax system that is complex, discretionary and outdated. A more effective tax administration will improve the efficiency and transparency of Jamaica’s public sector institutions.”
The IDB said the government of Jamaica would also lower its wage bill as a percentage of its gross domestic product, “thereby allowing greater investment in activities that promote economic growth.”
The IDB loan has a maturity of 20 years, with a 5.5-year grace period and an interest rate based on LIBOR.
“These tax reforms will reduce the fiscal drain and contingent liabilities by rationalizing their structure and improve accounting practices,” the IDB said.
Tom Cruise, Paramount hit with $1B IP suit over screenplay
From Law360
New York (February 06, 2014, 9:26 PM ET) — Paramount Pictures, Tom Cruise and several production companies have been hit with a $1 billion copyright infringement suit in California federal court alleging they stole the idea for the fourth installment in the “Mission: Impossible” series from a Washington state screenwriter’s rejected script.
Barbadian pacer included in England [cricket] squads
From Caribbean360
Jordan’s call-up comes after making his only appearance for England in the format in the final game of the T20 series in Australia last month.
LONDON, United Kingdom, Friday February 7, 2014, CMC – Barbadian born pacer Chris Jordan has been named in the England squads for the forthcoming tour of the West Indies and the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh.
Jordan’s call-up comes after making his only appearance for England in the format in the final game of the T20 series in Australia last month.
He impressed in the ODIs in Australia this winter and also in the limited overs series against the Aussies at the end of last summer.
England will play three ODIs and three T20Is in the West Indies next month before heading to Bangladesh prior to their opening game against New Zealand on March 22.
Also included in the England squad for the World T20 are uncapped Moeen Ali and Stephen Parry while Nottinghamshire seamer Harry Gurney will also feature in the earlier series in the West Indies.
Some Sochi Olympians will get medals made from a Meteor
By Melissa Goldin From Mashable
Select athletes will be taking home medals from the Sochi Winter Olympics that are literally out of this world.
Fragments of a meteor that hit the city of Chelyabinsk in Russia’s southern Ural region last February have been embedded in 10 commemorative medals that will be given out at the games, according to the Associated Press.
City officials commissioned 50 total medals, 10 of which will be given to Olympians who take home the gold in their events on Feb. 15, the anniversary of the meteor strike. The ceremony will not be part of official Olympic programming, and the medals will be presented to athletes in addition to their official tokens.
Olympians competing in eight different sports — alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, curling, ice hockey, short track, skeleton, ski jumping and speed skating — will have a chance to snag the space swag.
This is hardly the meteor’s first public debut. Moscow Planetarium put bits of the object on display last month as part of an exhibit called “Meteorites — guests from the sky.”
The meteor strike was the second-largest in more than a century, injuring approximately 12,000 people, according to The New York Times. Fragments found in the medals were taken from a 1,250-pound chunk of the space rock that was fished out of a Russian lake in October.
Cayman Arts Festival 2014 – award winning pianist and Rising Stars to perform
Danny Driver is an award winning pianist and concerto soloist who has performed internationally and has won international acclaim for his recordings.
Date: February 8th
Venue: First Baptist Church, 7pm
Rising Stars will also be appearing at The Festival
This event brings finalists of the 2013 Young Musician of the Year together again to perform for the public.
Date: February 11th
Venue: Prospect Playhouse, 7pm
Ticket price: $10, kids are free
Co to Cayman Arts Festival website to see all details at: http://caymanartsfestival.com/2013/11/21/events/
No timetable for Disability Bill
Although the Progressive Government has been in favour of supporting, promoting and protecting the interests of the disabled, there is nothing in the immediate works for legislation to be enacted or even discussed.
The only bright note is Premier Alden McLaughlin, has met with the current disability policy subcommittee.
Rough weather rocks Royal Caribbean’s Splendor of the Seas
By Jim Walker From Walker & O’Neill
Two weeks ago, a storm hit Royal Caribbean’s Splendor of the Seas, breaking plates, bottles and glasses and causing concern among the passengers.
According to the Brazilian newspaper Diário Catarinense on the night of January 23rd, passengers who were aboard the Royal Caribbean cruise ship reported “moments of panic and tension” after a the ship faced a storm between Argentina and Uruguay.
The newspaper says that the cruise ship tilted 7 to 10 degrees, permitting water to enter parts of the ship.
The captain of the cruise ship had warned the passengers earlier in the afternoon that the ship would be encountering rough weather.
Nonetheless, the events that evening surprised and frightened many passengers.
“Many people shouted that the ship would sink, and all were going to die,” said one passenger. Others screamed and some laughed nervously about the effects of the storm on the ship.
For more and to watch the videos go to: http://www.cruiselawnews.com/2014/02/articles/rough-weather-1/rough-weather-rocks-royal-caribbeans-splendor-of-the-seas/
Caricom to open trade office in Cuba
From CUBA STANDARD — The Caribbean Community (Caricom) plans to open a trade facilitation office in Cuba, which is not a member of the bloc.
The office in Havana, together with offices in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Venezuela, will be “key to the region taking greater advantage of trade agreements with third countries,” the Guyana-based Caricom Secretariat said in a statement.
Caricom trade with Cuba and other nations in the region, which have bilateral trade agreements with the bloc, has been “weak,” according to the bloc.
The Caricom secretariat is acting on the recommendation of a study by BKP Research and Consulting in Germany. In particular the consultant highlights the need for improved communication with and assistance for regional exporters via trade facilitation offices. Senior trade officials in the region will review the findings of the study in mid-February.
The study notes that “the divergence in interests between Caricom members, which is the result of vast differences in their economic structures,” is a major obstacle to overcome.
Full Caricom members are Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad & Tobago. Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, and Turks and Caicos have association agreements.
For more: http://www.cubastandard.com/2014/02/09/caricom-to-open-trade-office-in-cuba/
Missed a call from Antigua or Jamaica? Do not call back
By Lily Hay Newman, Slate From New Haven Register
NEW YORK >> If you get an unexpected missed call from a Caribbean number, don’t call back. It could be a hoax. An oldie but goodie called the “one-ring scam” is gaining momentum again and leaving people with fraudulent charges.
As independent analyst Richi Jennings points out, the scam takes advantage of a part of the North American Numbering Plan that gives three-digit area codes to certain Caribbean countries. People can connect to these numbers from U.S. phones that don’t have international calling plans even though they are actually “premium rate” numbers.
In the one-ring scam, a robocaller lets a call ring just once before hanging up to maximize the chance of creating a missed call without a person picking up. If someone does pick up, the robocaller disconnects, and there is less of a chance that person will be drawn into the scam and call back.
The Better Business Bureau lists calls from Antigua and Barbuda (268), the Dominican Republic (809), Jamaica (876), the British Virgin Islands (284), and Grenada (473) as potential scam threats. People who do call back could be charged something like $30 for the international call, depending on the carrier, and see fraudulent service fees showing up on their phone bills. This process of “cramming,” when third-party scammers sneak bogus charges onto legitimate phone bills, is ever on the rise, according to the Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission.
Between text message scams and Web hacking it can feel like nothing is safe, but this trick, though annoying, is fairly easy to avoid. The first step to protecting yourself is just ignoring the calls, but if you’ve called one of the numbers back by mistake, alert your carrier and watch your phone bill to make sure unusual charges aren’t cropping up.
For more: http://www.nhregister.com/business/20140207/missed-a-call-from-antigua-or-jamaica-do-not-call-back
Grenada Marks 40 Years of Independence
From Caribbean Journal
Grenada celebrated its 40th anniversary of independence this weekend, the seventh CARICOM member state to do so.
Grenada had been celebrating for a number of days leading up to the anniversary, which officially took place on Friday.
The celebrations included events both at home and in Diaspora communities around the world.
Grenada achieved its independence from the United Kingdom on Feb. 7, 1974. It became an associated state in March 1967.
“Let us toast this remarkably young, but maturing democracy that we have cultivated; nurtured through these 40 years of literal blood, sweat and tears,” Grenada Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell said in a national address. “Now, we are here today as a model of peace and stability in our region.”
“For every nation in Africa and the Caribbean that emerged from the era of colonialism, the 40th anniversary of independence has been regarded as a coming of age,” Mitchell said.
For more: http://www.caribjournal.com/2014/02/09/grenada-marks-40-years-of-independence/
