iNews Briefs & Community Events
Community Events
MAY 13
Her Majesty the Queen’s New Year Honours 2016
Members of the public have until Wednesday 13 May 2015 to recommend persons who have made outstanding contributions to Caymanian society for Her Majesty the Queen’s New Year Honours 2016. Nomination forms can be found on the UK Government website at www.gov.uk/honours/overview. Completed forms should be returned, under confidential cover, to the Governor’s Office, at Government Administration Building on Elgin Avenue, or to email [email protected]. For any further information please contact the Governor’s Office on 244-2434.
DCI Closure
The Department of Commerce and Investment, including its Trade and Business Licensing Counter, will close from 10am to 1pm on Wednesday
Basic food hygiene course
Certification courses in basic food hygiene are being offered by the Department of Environmental Health. The next meeting is Wednesday (13 May) from 9am until 4pm. For more information, call the DEH at 949-6696.
National Workforce Development Agency in West Bay
The National Workforce Development Agency will be at the West Bay Library to assist job seekers on Wednesday (13 May) from10am until 1pm.
Bookends Club
The Bookends Club meets on Wednesday (13 May) at 7pm at Books and Books. This month’s book is Americanah.
Occupational Safety and Health Training for the Construction Industry
Occupational Safety and Health Training for the Construction Industry is Wednesday and Thursday (13 & 14 May) from 9 — 4pm at the Department of Labour and Pensions.
Police Welfare Committee’s Karaoke Wednesday
The Police Welfare Committee’s Karaoke Wednesday face off between prison and police is Wednesday (13 May) at the Mango Tree
Cayman Islands: Mother unable to testify son, acquitted of threatening to kill her
After a mother agreed that a protection order would be preferable so that she could avoid a trial because of her ill health, her son, Shane Edward Connor (37), was acquitted of a charge of threatening to kill her in September 2014.
Grand Court Justice Michael Mettyear made the order according to provisions of The Protection from Domestic Violence Law, 2010.
Connor is not to directly or indirectly contact his mother or his brother and is not to go to a specified address, the judge’s order stipulates. The order is for three years – the maximum allowed in the law.
In April Connor was tried on charges of threatening to kill a prison officer but a jury found him Not Guilty.
Small plane crashes in St. Vincent; both on board survive
From Yahoo News
KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent and the Grenadines (AP) — Authorities in St. Vincent and the Grenadines say a small plane crashed on the island Monday but that both people on board have survived.
The Cessna 337 was en route from St. Lucia when it crash landed near an airstrip on in northern St. Vincent. A statement from the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force said the pilot and co-pilot were hospitalized.
The statement identified the pilot as Wayne McDiarmed of St. Lucia and the co-pilot as Marvin Fabian Peka of Grenada. Details on their injuries were not disclosed.
The Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority sent two investigators to the crash site to investigate the cause.
For more: http://news.yahoo.com/small-plane-crashes-st-vincent-both-board-survive-221753742.html
Tourism gains won’t affect rating
By Shawn Cumberbatch From Barbados Nationnews
THE RECOVERY Barbados is witnessing in tourism is unlikely to be enough to positively influence its credit rating from Moody’s any time soon.
According to the influential agency based in the United States, continuing weak credit metrics across the region means that “a tourism-led recovery will have only a limited impact on ratings – or rating outlooks – over the next two to three years”.
Moody’s acknowledged that “the recovery of the tourism industry that is taking hold in the Caribbean is a credit positive development for most countries in the region . . . as they generally rely on tourism for both economic growth and foreign currency earnings”.
It added, however, that the major hurdle was challenges to credit quality, which included high government debt and interest burdens, limited fiscal flexibility, and large balance of payments deficits. So that while it concluded that “Caribbean tourism recovery supports growth dynamics”, Moody’s believed this “has limited impact on sovereign creditworthiness”.
Moody’s associate analyst Petar Atanasov pointed to Barbados, The Bahamas and St Vincent and the Grenadines as three countries where stay-over visitors “are yet to return to the levels achieved before the global financial crisis” and said this had contributed to “a weaker recovery”.
Atanasov said the trio had all lost market share since 2007, reflecting a structural erosion of competitiveness in their tourism sectors.
“The loss of market share of The Bahamas and Barbados, two traditional tourism powerhouses, can be traced to their high cost structures and the relative decline of the higher end boutique segment they have historically catered to,” he said.
Moody’s also predicted that “underlying credit weaknesses will continue to constrain the ratings of many Caribbean sovereigns for the foreseeable future”, despite the fact that it “expects GDP growth to accelerate across the region in 2015-16”.
“Even though rising levels of visitors should ‘lift all boats’ in the region, differences across countries are evident. These differences denote intra-regional divergence that could have important implications for sovereign credit trajectories,” Atanasov said.
The countries doing best in tourism compared to their peak years preceding 2009 were the Dominican Republic, Belize, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Jamaica and St Maarten. (SC)
For more: http://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/66906/tourism-gains-won-affect-rating#sthash.CP4tnp0Q.dpuf
Aruba and the hitchhiking snakes of the Caribbean
From Repeating Islands
For a long time no-one could understand how Aruba’s boa constrictors spread across the island so quickly. Then they realized – the snakes could easily travel miles by hiding under car bonnets and hitching a lift.
This might be the Caribbean of tourist dreams, but from where I’m standing, there’s not a rum punch or sun lounger in sight. Cacti, dense, sable brown scrub, immense boulders and the odd skittish goat surround me, in this arid landscape that looks like something more akin to Australia’s Northern Territory.
The fact that snakes – boa constrictors to be precise – are, according to my guide Robert, absolutely everywhere here in the Arikok National Park in Aruba, only compounds the sense that this is no relaxing beach break in paradise. In fact I’m on a wild island, with an invasive species far more deadly than the slew of cruise ship passengers meandering around the myriad duty-free stores in the capital Oranjestad.
“Somebody, back in the 90s, had some boas as pets,” Robert tells me as we continue to walk through the park, the insistent Caribbean sun casting a piercing heat upon us. “They probably couldn’t afford to feed them – fully grown boas need live chickens and things like that. So this person just released them. And they seem to just love Aruba – they’re thriving here.” [. . .] “We give US$10 to anyone who can bring us a boa that’s still alive,” I’m told. “Then we give them to the government and they destroy them. You don’t get any money for a dead snake though.
“We couldn’t believe how many snakes were being brought to us the first time we had a hunt day. One guy came in with a sack full of about 30 snakes – all were still alive. It’s difficult for me as I walk this park every day. I’m really scared of them. I’m glad it’s not long until I can retire.”
Later that day, despite not having seen any snakes during my walk with Robert, I decided to indulge in a more conventional Aruban tourist pursuit, namely taking a boat ride out to snorkel among the parrotfish and other tropical curiosities that swarm, dart and glide around the warm waters off the Aruban coastline.
But even here, it didn’t take long for the subject to return to the boa problem.
For more:
http://repeatingislands.com/2015/05/10/aruba-and-the-hitchhiking-snakes-of-the-caribbean/
French President Francois Hollande in historic visit to Caribbean island Cuba
From UT Ukraine Today
Hollande visit follows normalisation of relations between United States and Cuba
French President Francois Hollande has visited Caribbean island Cuba, where he met with President Raul Castro. Hollande becomes the first French head of state to visit the Latin American state, and the first western leader to visit Havana since 1986.
French President, Francois Hollande: “Ladies and gentleman, I arrive here in Cuba this evening with a lot of excitement as this is the first time the president of the Republic of France is visiting Cuba. It’s also symbolic to be the first western president to participate in the opening of Cuba to the world.”
Hollande’s visit follows US President Barack Obama’s decision to boost relations with Cuba. Obama met with Castro in Panama last month, where the two leaders affirmed plans to restore diplomatic ties and normalise trade and travel after more than 50 years of confrontation.
PM Harris launches CARPHA Federation Park “Greening” initiative in Trinidad
Team Unity SKN Press Release
St.Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister The Honourable Dr Timothy Harris on Thursday May 7th launched the “greening” of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) Federation Park Headquarters with the planting of a Flamboyant, the national tree of St.Kitts-Nevis on the CARPHA campus grounds.
Prime Minister Harris took the time to visit CARPHA while in Trinidad and Tobago for the Forum on the Future of the Caribbean. Executive Director, CARPHA, Dr C James Hospedales explained that “this initiative will see the grounds of CARPHA abloom with the national tree or flower of each CARPHA Member State in the future.”
At the tree planting ceremony, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, CARICOM Secretary General also planted the Chaconia, the national flower of Trinidad and Tobago. Ambassador Douglas Slater, Assistant Secretary General of CARICOM and Ms Wendy Phipps, Minister of Health of St Kitts and Nevis and Chair of the CARPHA Executive Board, along with the staff of CARPHA witnessed the special event.
Prior to the tree planting, the CARPHA Executive Management Team met with the Caribbean leaders. During the meeting, the Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis emphasized the value of CARPHA, citing its technical expertise in addressing public health concerns of relevance to Caribbean development. Ambassador La Rocque also commended CARPHA on its contribution to the Region, in particular the work done in responding to the Chikungunya outbreak.
CARPHA is the new single regional public health agency for the Caribbean. It was legally established in July 2011 by an Inter-Governmental Agreement signed by Caribbean Heads of Government and began operation in January 2013. CARPHA brings together five previously existing regional health institutions as one strong force under a public health umbrella, under which issues requiring a regional response are addressed.
British Caribbean Chamber and RISE St. Lucia announces scholarship programme
PRESS RELEASE – The recently launched British Caribbean Chamber of Commerce (BCCC), and RISE (St. Lucia) Inc., commend the Cabinet of Ministers for their vital support of the BPP 40th anniversary scholarship offer to Saint Lucia.
Thanks to the Cabinet, led by Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Kenny D. Anthony, scholarship recipients offered full tuition coverage, can access loan financing from recognized banks and financial institutions to cover their living expenses in London; a prerequisite for the Tier 4 student visa to enter the UK.
The Cabinet has also graciously allowed prospective students serving bonds to gain deferral of their bond to access this one time offer. It may be coincidental, but worthy of mentioning, that this was done in April which was National Youth month. What better way for the Cabinet to recognize Youth month than to facilitate access for 67 young Saint Lucians to university education?
Our High Commissioner in London, Dr. Ernest Hilaire, deserves special recognition for his ongoing support in making this opportunity a reality for our prospective students. Mr. John Kennedy of The Boca Group, President of the British Caribbean Chamber of Commerce, reminded the prospective students of the words of our Nobel Laureate, Sir Arthur Lewis, “the fundamental cure for poverty is not money, but knowledge”.
The British Caribbean Chamber of Commerce and RISE (St. Lucia) Inc. thank the Government of Saint Lucia for partnering with us in making this possible for many youth who would not otherwise be able to benefit from this wonderful opportunity to access new knowledge.
This week is the deadline for the Tier 4 UK student visa applications, if applicants hope to make the university entry date of May 25th, for this scholarship offer.
We therefore urge the Ministry of Education and our financial institutions, to make the extra effort it requires this week, to make it possible for the
students to capitalize on this one time opportunity.
We also urge the UKVI visa officers, who will be here to review the applications this week, to do their best to make this possible for our students to enter the UK.
A collective effort is required, in support of this initiative, to prove to St. Lucian young people that they do indeed matter.
For further information contact:
- RISE (St. Lucia) Inc.: Dr. Stephen King Tel: 484 3470 or Dr. Jacqueline Bird Tel: 484-3571
- Shelley-Anne Noon: Tel: 485 5948
- Randolph Cato – BCCC Country Manager Tel: 722 353
US-Caribbean clean energy will see Venezuela pushback
The Oxford Analytica Daily Brief ®
At the Summit of the Americas on April 10-11, US President Barack Obama said that the United States would help Caribbean countries develop renewable energy sources. The Caribbean had an average cost of 0.33 dollars per kilowatt-hour (kWh) in 2012, nearly three times the US cost of electricity — a considerable economic burden, not just in the region, but in nearly all island economies.
This analysis is from The Oxford Analytica Daily Brief ®
Headings
Island economies
Caribbean case study
Assistance for Caribbean renewables
The Ten Island Renewable Challenge/Operation Smart Island Economies
Caribbean Climate Innovation Center
Canada’s Caribbean Program
Political limitations
Technical obstacles
Caribbean drive for renewables
Outlook
SOURCE: https://www.oxan.com/display.aspx?ItemID=DB199483
Some immigrants and refugees in Ontario at higher risk of psychotic disorders
From Medical Press
Some refugees and immigrants have a higher risk of psychotic disorders, with immigrants from the Caribbean and refugees from East Africa and South Asia at 1.5 to 2 times greater risk than the general population, according to a large study in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
“Given that Canada is currently experiencing a rapid growth in the population of foreign-born citizens—one of the highest rates of any Western nation—the mental health status of immigrants and refugees should be a national priority,” writes Dr. Kelly Anderson, an assistant professor at Western University, London, Ontario, and a fellow at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES), with coauthors.
Canada receives approximately 250 000 immigrants and refugees each year. Ontario is home to the largest number of migrants in the country, who make up about 30% of the provincial population.
To determine whether first-generation immigrants and refugees to Canada were at higher risk of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, researchers looked at health administrative data for 4 284 694 Ontario residents aged 14-40 years as of Apr. 1, 1999. They followed people over a 10-year period for a first diagnosis of psychotic disorder. Of the total study population, almost 10% of people (418 433) were migrants born outside Canada, and almost 23% (95 148) of migrants were refugees.
The incidence of psychotic disorders was 55.6 per 100 000 person-years in the general population, 51.7 among immigrants and 72.8 among refugees. Some immigrant groups (from Northern and Southern Europe and East Asia, for example) had lower rates than the general population. However, immigrants from the Caribbean and Bermuda had higher rates of schizophrenia, as did refugees from East Africa and South Asia.
“The differential rates cannot be explained by variations in the country of origin, and the selective migration of people who have an increased risk is increasingly being refuted as a plausible explanation,” write the authors. “The pattern we observed in Ontario suggests that psychosocial factors associated with the migratory experience and integration into Canada may contribute to the risk of psychotic disorders.”
The authors postulate that experiences of discrimination and racism may explain the higher rates of psychotic disorders in some immigrant groups, as indicated by previously published studies. Refugees may be more susceptible for several reasons, including earlier trauma in their home countries as well as obstacles in finding housing, jobs or health care when settling in Canada.
“Migrant status, in particular refugee status, needs to be considered as an important risk factor for psychotic disorders in Ontario,” they conclude.
In a related commentary, Dr. James Kirkbride, University College London, London, United Kingdom, notes that this study provides important data on the immigrant experience to Canada; most literature focuses on Europe. Migrants to European countries have a higher risk of schizophrenia, with incidence in the black Caribbean population almost 5 times that of the general population.
“Perhaps the most striking finding from the study is that rates of psychosis were not elevated consistently among nonrefugee first-generation migrants relative to the general population,” writes Dr. Kirkbride.
He suggests that the lower excess risk among migrants may be because Canada’s ethnically diverse general population, against whom immigrants were compared, may also include some groups that tend to experience higher rates of schizophrenia.
For more: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-05-immigrants-refugees-ontario-higher-psychotic.html
Hon. Wendy Phipps named first female chairperson of Caribbean Public Health Agency CARPHA Executive Board
By: Team Unity Secretariat, Press Release
St.Kitts-Nevis Minister of Health the Hon. Wendy Coleen Phipps has been named Chairperson of the CARPHA Executive Board. Minister Phipps will be the first female to head the Board of one of the region’s most important and significant institutions in the 2011 established CARPHA.
Jamaica’s Minister of Health Dr. Fenton Ferguson and Monsterrat’s Colin Riley has served in the position before
CARICOM Heads of Government approved the establishment of CARPHA Caribbean Public Health Aegncy, as the new public health agency in March 2010. CARPHA’s purpose is to integrate the functions of the five Regional Health Institutions and build on public health knowledge and expertise across the Caribbean, preventing duplication of effort and resources. This will facilitate a co-ordinated approach to public health issues including managing the risk of disease outbreaks in the Region.
The CARPHA Executive Board has responsibility for charting the directions of CARPHA by approving its strategic plan, appointments to staff positions and the technical advisory committees; by devising mechanisms for the prompt exchange of information among its members and between the Board and the various stakeholders; by promoting cooperation in education and public awareness; by supervising the mobilization and disbursement of resources and all other fiduciary matters related to accountability and good governance.
CMCArts opens Exhibit of International Contemporary Art
From St. Croix Source
IMAGE: Untitled by Judith Ganz — mixed media on canvas
The Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts (CMCArts) will present “Growth,” a group exhibition featuring works selected from the international public art collection of Thru Contemporary Arts. It will be on view at CMCArts from May 29 through June 27.
An opening reception will be held from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, May 29, at the Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts. Admission is free; a cash bar and light refreshments will be provided.
“Growth” is intended to expand conversation about the nature and boundaries of art in the Caribbean by exposing the public to a variety of approaches to creating contemporary art. It features a specially selected collection of contemporary art by artists from countries around the world. From mixed media art to photography, embroidery and digital works of art — all are represented in the exhibition.
“Growth” includes works by: Judith Ganz, GA Gardner, Beata Obst, Adele Todd, Clary Estes, Georg Gatz, Ute Bartel, Lap Yip, Christop Bartolosch, Almuth Baumfalk, Julia Neuenhausen and Sarah Knight
Thru Contemporary Arts is a project of GETTHRU, a non-profit arts organization based in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago: www.getthru.org. The project is dedicated to showcasing contemporary artists and their work in countries that lack access to nontraditional art forms and techniques.
Thru Contemporary Arts focuses on exhibition, education and the preservation of contemporary arts, and it houses and maintains a juried collection. The project acquires and promotes the artworks of prominent contemporary artists at various stages in their careers. This public collection is exhibited at museums, galleries and other spaces with the goal of educating and introducing underserved communities to various forms of contemporary art.
As part of this project the organization publishes and prints arts catalogs and books on various contemporary arts subjects. Thru Contemporary Arts is a collaboration of artists, writers and curators.
To learn more, visit or contact:
Caribbean Museum Center for the Arts
10 Strand Street and 62 King Street
Frederiksted, St. Croix, USVI 00840
Phone: 772-2622/ Fax: 772-2612 ([email protected])
This project is funded in part by Virgin Islands Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Caribbean Airlines gives back to mothers
By GuyanaTimes
Guyanese Tandieka Stephens has won the Caribbean Airlines’ “Love Has No Distance” competition.
The competition was part of Caribbean Airlines’ social media campaign, whereby a lucky customer could win a trip home for Mother’s Day courtesy of the airline. To be part of the competition, entrants had to submit a 10 to 30-second video, giving reasons why they would like to surprise their moms, for Mother’s Day.
“The heart of our business is bridging gaps and distances, 365 days. So, in recognition of Mother’s Day, Caribbean Airlines held this competition, which was open to persons residing in our key destinations of Toronto, New York, Miami and Fort Lauderdale with a mother living in Jamaica, Guyana or Trinidad and Tobago,” stated Head of Corporate Communications, Dionne Ligoure.
Ligoure continued, “We congratulate the winner Ms Stephens, who resides in New Jersey; her mum lives in Guyana. Her luck is two?fold, as her mother cares for her five-year?old son, so she gets to see him as well. Caribbean Airlines recognises the importance of delivering the warmth of the islands to its customers throughout its international network.”
IMAGE: Tandieka Stephens, her son and mother
For more: http://www.guyanatimesgy.com/2015/05/11/caribbean-airlines-gives-back-to-mothers/
Whistleblower suit against Sanofi-Aventis survives
By P.J. D’Annunzio, From The Legal Intelligencer
A case in which a whistleblower alleged that Sanofi-Aventis gave illegal kickbacks to doctors to prescribe a cancer drug for off-label use can proceed in federal court.
After dismissing two counts of Yoash Gohil’s complaint, U.S. District Judge Lawrence F. Stengel of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania allowed the rest of the plaintiff’s claims to move forward.
Stengel explained in his memorandum that the suit stems from claims that Aventis told its employees to misrepresent the safety and effectiveness of the drug Taxotere, in addition to giving kickbacks to prescribing physicians. Gohil additionally alleged that Sanofi-Aventis, referred to by the court simply as Aventis, encouraged doctors to submit false claims to federal insurers for nonreimbursable uses of Taxotere.
Responding to the first count of Gohil’s complaint, the conspiracy count, Aventis claimed that Gohil never pleaded the existence of an agreement between doctors and Aventis. However, Stengel said it could be easily inferred.
Gohil’s second amended complaint “avers several specific incidents where Aventis paid some form of an illegal kickback to a physician, followed by the physician’s increased use of Taxotere. The [second amended complaint] also details how Aventis assisted physicians in submitting insurance claims to a federal reimbursement program,” Stengel said. “This is sufficient circumstantial evidence that the doctors agreed with Aventis to increase their usage of Taxotere and to submit false certifications that the claims were not tainted by an illegal kickback.”
From 1996 to 2004, Aventis promoted Taxotere for off-label use. According to Stengel, this marketing campaign consisted of training its employees, including Gohil, to skew the facts about the drug’s off-label safety and effectiveness.
An additional component of the scheme, Stengel said, occurred when “Aventis paid health care providers illegal kickbacks in the form of sham unrestricted grants, speaking fees, travel, entertainment, sports and concert tickets, preceptorship fees, free samples and free reimbursement assistance to incentivize providers to prescribe Taxotere for off-label uses.”
Stengel said that through the scheme, Aventis dramatically increased its Taxotere profits, from $424 million in 2000 to $1.4 billion in 2004.
Gohil filed his qui tam complaint shortly before resigning from Aventis in 2002.
In addition to objecting to the conspiracy claim, Aventis contested Gohil’s allegation that Aventis violated the anti-kickback statute and False Claims Act. In addition to arguing that Gohil did not identify any false certifications made to the government, Aventis argued that compliance with the anti-kickback law is not a condition of payment under federal reimbursement programs.
However, Stengel said the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit’s decision in United States v. United Health Group shows compliance is a precondition.
“Mr. Gohil alleges Aventis provided numerous illegal kickbacks to health care providers throughout the Philadelphia area. Aventis and the health care providers were aware that compliance with the Anti-Kickback Act was a condition precedent to payment from the federal reimbursement programs,” Stengel said. “Nonetheless, the health care providers, with the assistance of Aventis, submitted claims to the federal insurers. These allegations plausibly plead a violation of the Anti-Kickback Act and the FCA.”
Stengel did, however, dismiss the third and fourth counts of the complaint, relating to submission of false claims, on the basis that Gohil was not specific enough in his allegations, listing only reimbursement claims relating to medically accepted indications for Taxotere.
“To satisfy this standard, Mr. Gohil must plead for what unaccepted medical indications Aventis promoted Taxotere,” Stengel said.
Further into his opinion, Stengel said, “By pleading a ‘scheme’ to promote Taxotere for medically accepted indications, the counts III and IV appear baseless.”
The rules, Stengel added, do “not allow a relator to proceed on a fishing expedition on the basis of such weak allegations.”
But Stengel also said Gohil could fix his error by filing a third amended complaint.
“Mr. Gohil was allegedly trained in the fraudulent marketing scheme. He should have no trouble pleading the specific medical indications which made the scheme fraudulent,” Stengel said.
Gohil’s attorney, Carl D. Poplar, did not return a call seeking comment. The secretary for Aventis attorney Richard L. Scheff, of Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads, said Scheff declined to comment.
P.J. D’Annunzio can be contacted at 215-557-2315 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @PJDannunzioTLI.
(Copies of the 31-page opinion in Gohil v. Sanofi-Aventis, PICS No. 15-0500, are available from The Legal Intelligencer. Please call the Pennsylvania Instant Case Service at 800-276-PICS to order or for information.) •
IMAGE: Aaron Couture
