iNews Briefs & Community Events
Community Events
MAY 5
Special Olympics Cayman Islands Aquatics
Special Olympics Cayman Islands invites you to the 2015 Annual National Games and Week of Awareness. The next event is Tuesday (5 May) at 5:30pm at the Lions Pool where athletes compete in aquatics.
Notice of call for proposals for establishing Coral Nurseries
George Town, Grand Cayman – The Department of Environment Announces a Call for Proposals from those Interested in Establishing Coral Nurseries.
The Cabinet of the Cayman Islands has approved a policy for managing coral nurseries in the Cayman Islands. (Coral Nursery Policy Public 201 http://www.doe.ky/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Coral-Nursery-Policy-Public-2014.pdf) The Department of Environment will be accepting proposals to establish nurseries under this policy from 4 May to 29 May, with projects to commence October 2015 or later. Proposals should be for establishing nurseries for Acropora corals and eventual outplanting on Cayman’s reefs. Proposals, or requests for information, may be submitted to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]
Jamaica probes police ‘robber’ death by another officer
From BBC
Jamaica has begun a high-level investigation into the killing of a policeman shot dead by another officer after allegedly trying to rob a bar.
Kemar Beckford, 25, was fatally shot by the off-duty officer after reportedly attempting to rob patrons with a gun.
The incident happened early on Saturday morning in Hopewell, a fishing village in north-western Jamaica.
The probe is being carried out by the police and the country’s Independent Commission of Investigations.
Reports say Mr Beckford entered the bar wearing a mask and attempted an armed robbery, before being challenged by the other policeman who was off-duty at the bar.
The intervening officer and another patron were injured in the shootout.
The police have seized a car they believe had been driven by the constable and left idling outside the bar in a bid to make a quick escape.
They also believe the officer had an accomplice who reportedly fled the scene.
“Those are the persons who are supposed to serve and protect and they are the ones carrying out these heinous acts,” a bystander is quoted as saying by the Jamaica Observer.
Hopewell is not far from the popular holiday resort of Montego Bay.
For more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-32193300
Jamaica’s female Volleyballers win’s Caribbean Beach Volleyball Championship
By Dwight Fraser From IRIE
IMAGE: Jamaica’s female Volleyballers win’s Caribbean Beach Volleyball Championship
Jamaica’s female Volleyballers produced a scintillating golden set performance yesterday against the Cayman Islands to lift the Caribbean Beach Volleyball title at the Ocho Rios Bay beach yesterday.
The team of Danielle Perry and Kai Wright roared back from being down 13-7 to beat the Cayman pair of Jessica Wolfenden and Stefania Gandolfi 15-13 to take gold and book a spot in the second round qualifiers.
Earlier Jamaica’s B’ team of Alicia Malcolm and Sasha Lee Perry went down 18-21, 21-23 to the Cayman Islands “A” team.
Kai Wright was very pleased with the come from behind win and said they just could not let down the home support.
Jamaica while topping the Cazova Women’s Beach Olympic qualifier advance to the next round of qualifiers for Rio 2016 along with second place Cayman Islands, third place Trinidad and 4th place Barbados.
Fifth place Suriname and 6th place the U.S Virgin islands also advance to the next round.
An overall 12 teams participated in the 3 days qualifying competition.
For more: http://iriefm.net/jamaicas-female-volleyballers-wins-caribbean-beach-volleyball-championship/
Cayman Couture
From Jamaica Observer
Cayman Islands Fashion Week was back for its fifth go last weekend in Grand Cayman and welcomed the island’s hottest pop cultural export of the moment — Caymanian actress Grace Gealey, who stars on American TV’s breakout hit hip-hop drama Empire — to add currency to the couture celebration. Billed ‘Fashion Rocks’, the marquee event hosted at the Lions Centre in Red Bay, Grand Cayman, featured 13 collections from Caribbean talent such as New York-based Guyanese Roger Gary and 2012 Miss Trinidad and Tobago World-turned-designer Athaliah Samuel, and Mexican American designer Cesar Galindo and Project Runway Season 5 runner-up Korto Momolu. SO shares scenes on and off the runway.
For more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/lifestyle/Cayman-Couture–_18849907
Canadian military culture is hostile to women, external review finds
By Charmaine Noronha
The Associated Press
TORONTO — The Canadian Armed Forces perpetuates a sexualized military culture that is hostile to women and gay members, and harassment and assault are often tolerated by senior officers, according to a report released Thursday.
The external review, led by former Supreme Court justice Marie Deschamps, says soldiers are exposed to sexual innuendo, degrading language, rape jokes and discriminatory comments about women and LGTBQ members from the moment they join the military.
The report found that “a large percentage” of cases of sexual assault and harassment are not reported amid fears that complaints will hurt one’s career or not be treated confidentially.
The military launched the review last year after media reports into what appeared to be a major discrepancy in official records of sexual harassment and assault cases and what was actually happening inside the Forces.
Deschamps’ review, based on more than 700 interviews, found that the attitude of misogyny and sexual misconduct is so pervasive that members become desensitized to it as they move up the ranks, with officers tending to excuse incidents on the grounds that the military reflects civilian society.
“At the most serious extreme, these reports of sexual violence highlighted the use of sex to enforce power relationships and to punish and ostracize a member of a unit,” the report says.
“Dismissive responses such as, ‘This is just the way of the military’ are no longer appropriate,” the report says.
The report contains 10 recommendations, including that the military acknowledge that inappropriate sexual conduct is a problem and put a strategy in place to change the military’s culture.
Music is on the menu in Cayman Islands
MUSIC ON THE MENU – 14 MAY 2015
Cayman Arts Festival
See attached – Click to enlarge
Suspended Gibson Dunn partner confirms his departure
By Jennifer Henderson, From The Am Law Daily
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher partner Peter Gray, who was suspended from the firm after being accused of knowingly submitting false evidence against a Djibouti businessman, has confirmed to The Am Law Daily in an email that he has stepped down.
It is unclear whether Gray, who joined Gibson Dunn’s Dubai office in 2012 from now-defunct Dewey & LeBoeuf, left the firm voluntarily or if he was forced out.
Last month, a British high court judge, Justice Julian Flaux, denied Gray’s request for permission to appeal a March ruling, which found that the partner had deliberately misled the court by submitting misdated phone transcripts that implicated Abdourahman Boreh in a 2009 grenade attack on Djibouti’s Nougaprix market. Gray told The Am Law Daily at the time that he would take his request to the Court of Appeal.
Gibson Dunn, which is representing the Republic of Djibouti in its case against Boreh, had referred Gray’s conduct to the Solicitors Regulation Authority in addition to suspending him once the allegations against him came to light. The firm and its client were ordered to pay Boreh $1.3 million in fees after Flaux reversed an order to freeze a reported $100 million in Boreh’s assets as a result of Gray’s faulty evidence.
“As a law firm, we place the highest value on ethical conduct, including honesty, integrity and candor,” according to a statement from Gibson Dunn. “Following his suspension by the firm, Peter Gray is no longer employed at Gibson Dunn. The firm will continue to represent the government of Djibouti in pursuing its claims.”
Gray’s departure was first reported by The Lawyer.
Cayman Islands thieves steal PAWS kennel
The PAWS charity kennel that serves as a feeding station and shelter to Cayman Islands feral cats has been stolen for the second time.
The kennel that bears the name “PAWS” is heavy and would need three persons to remove it was chained to a tree close to the dock in Frank Sound, Grand Cayman.
A spokesman for the PAWS charity said no charges would be brought if it is returned.
Anyone with information please call Giuseppe Gatta at 916-1731.
T&T women in CAZOVA semis
From Trinidad Express Newspapers
TRINIDAD and Tobago advanced to the semi-finals of the opening leg of CAZOVA (Caribbean Zonal Volleyball Association) women’s beach qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games on Saturday at Ocho Rios Beach, Jamaica.
After they had already been assured of a place in the second round of qualifying when the first day’s play ended on Friday, the T&T women failed to move straight into the last four when they were edged 2-1 by Cayman Islands.
But T&T bounced back to whip the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) 2-0 in the losers’ draw later in the day to earn a semi-final meeting yesterday against Jamaica.
Cayman Islands were scheduled to oppose the winners of the Barbados-Suriname clash for the other place in yesterday’s final.
The four semi-finalists, along with the losers of the clash between Barbados and Suriname and the USVI will complete the list of six qualifying countries.
They will do battle against the top six from ECVA (Eastern Caribbean Volleyball Association) in the second of four rounds of NORCECA (North, Central America and the Caribbean) qualifying for the next Olympics, to be staged in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in August next year.
No venue or date for the second round has been finalised as yet.
T&T, 2-0 winners over Haiti on Friday after a first-round bye, began on the back-foot the day after when No 2 pair Elki Philip and Shenelle Gordon were defeated 21-17, 15-21, 21-19 by Jessica Wolfeden and Stefania Gandolfi.
The Cayman Islands’ No 1 pair later beat Apphia Glasgow and La Teisha Joseph 15-9 in a “golden” deciding set after this country’s No 1s had whipped Chante Smith-Johnson and Ilean Powery 21-13, 21-14.
But T&T got back in contention for the title when Philip and Gordon were 21-19, 21-10 winners over Jamie Farley and Amber Bennett and Glasgow and Joseph halted Mannika Charles and Valissia Braithwaite 21-12, 23-21 to sweep the USVI.
Players from 12 countries will also be competing for six places when the opening round of CAZOVA men’s qualifying takes place in Trinidad at Saith Park, Chaguanas, from Friday until Sunday.
The hosts will be represented by Josiah Eccles and Tevin Joseph as well as Daniel Williams and Fabian Whitfield, winners of all ten local tournaments thus far this season.
For more: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/sports/TT-women-in-CAZOVA-semis-302372791.html
Jamaica launches first angel investor network
From The Daily Herald
KINGSTON, Jamaica–First Angels Jamaica, a new Jamaican angel investor network, supported by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the World Bank Group, was officially launched last week Wednesday in Kingston. The network is geared towards helping growth-oriented entrepreneurs with capital and mentorship. The launch was also marked by the group’s first investment in a Jamaican start-up.
Angel networks are formal groups of high net worth individuals who make direct investments of personal funds into early-stage businesses.
According to chairman of the network Joseph Matalon, “Angel Investors play a critical role in helping start-up or early-stage ventures achieve above-average growth. They not only provide patient capital but play the role of coach, mentor and board member, introducing entrepreneurs to potential customers, helping them solve potential problems, and gain credibility in the marketplace.”
Jamaica’s economy, which is characterised by low growth and high debt, needs new innovative sectors that are dependent on private sector-led, entrepreneurial activities.
First Angels Jamaica (FAJ) was created in July 2014 recognising the challenges that entrepreneurs face in accessing growth capital and the need to fill a critical gap in the ecosystem for venture capital in Jamaica. The network’s investment focus will evolve over time as opportunities for investment are presented. Some founding members have already invested in companies developing digital applications, digital media and other innovative businesses.
Recently, FAJ received a grant from the Xcala Programme funded by the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) of the IADB, which supports the development of angel investment networks throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
The IDB views the emergence of Angel Investment Networks as an essential element in the development of a robust eco-system for dynamic entrepreneurship and the growth of a venture capital industry in Jamaica. This grant complements the MIF’s ongoing work to support venture capital development in the country.
Trinidad and Tobago Author announced as Regional Winner for the Caribbean, 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize
By ARC Magazine
Commonwealth Writers has announced the regional winners of the 2015 Commonwealth Short Story Prize. The Trinidadian author, Kevin Jared Hosein, is the regional winner for the Caribbean for his story ‘The King of Settlement 4’. A poet, writer and science teacher he has illustrated and published a book for younger audiences, ‘Littletown Secrets’. His short stories have been featured in Caribbean anthologies such as ‘Pepperpot’ and ‘Jewels of the Caribbean’.
Poet, novelist and regional judge Fred D’Aguiar writes of the winning story, “The exuberant tone of ‘The King of Settlement 4’, from its alliterative and onomatopoeic delight in the language of the Islands rolled off the tongue, to the bodacious characters who appear to have walked off the street and into the story (or should that be the other way around?) makes it a winner. The insights of story ring true and the subject matter reminds readers how the best fiction works hard at fulfilling its ethical function, of speaking truth to power, in an imperfect world.”
The Short Story Prize provides a platform for writers from the 53 countries of the Commonwealth to inspire others by bringing compelling short stories to a wider audience. This year unpublished stories were entered by 4,000 writers from the five regions of the Commonwealth. The international judges reflects these regions: Africa, Leila Aboulela, (Africa), Bina Shah (Asia), Marina Endicott (Canada and Europe), Fred D’Aguiar (the Caribbean) and Witi Ihimaera (the Pacific), and Chair, Romesh Gunesekera.
The regional winners will compete with each other to become the overall winner, who will be announced in London on 8 September.
Kevin said of his win, “I just feel grateful to leave my footprint for Trinidad and Tobago on these sprawling literary stomping grounds. I’m also thankful for this remarkable, yet formidable, opportunity to present the characters (and monsters) I’ve envisioned to a wider audience.”
Agro Central has won the Economic Innovation Award, for the Caribbean at TIC Americas
Panama City, Panama, April 9, 2015 – As part of the closing ceremony of the IV Young Americas Forum, the awards ceremony of the Tenth Edition of the Talent and Innovation Competition of the Americas (TIC Americas), Eco-Challenge 6.0 and the first edition of the Cultural Entrepreneurship in the Americas.
TIC Americas is an international platform for entrepreneurship and business accelerator for young entrepreneurs and start-ups led by the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT). YABT is an international nonprofit organization founded in 1999 as a private sector initiative that promotes social and economic development among young people worldwide. YABT works in cooperation with the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) to promote and facilitate opportunities for spaces and tools aimed at eradicating poverty and improving the lives of young people in the Western Hemisphere.
Adult Parade brings Carnival 2015 to a satisfying, colorful conclusion
By David Knight Jr. From St Croix Source
A cool breeze blessed Main Street on Saturday for the 63rd annual St. Thomas Carnival Adult Parade in Charlotte Amalie. Majorettes, calypsonians, Carnival royalty, pan bands, single entry floats and troupes in full pageantry delighted revelers as they made their way from Western Cemetery to Lionel Roberts Stadium.
Although some complaints could be heard from the spectators that lined the parade route during the 30-minute long gaps that occasionally cropped up between entries, mild weather and a peaceful atmosphere kept crowds in generally good spirits during the nine-hour parade.
Adult Parade mainstays, The Gypsies, who have been a part of St. Thomas Carnival since 1952, were one of the first troupes to introduce their 2015 group theme, “Limin’ Under the Sea,” and costumes that included long white beards and tridents for the men and crowns of faux-coral for the women. The Gypsies sparkled in blue, white and aqua sequins as they marched in front of an underwater-themed float.
“We had a lot of fun with this one,” said Juliette Millin, who has marched with the troupe since 1989. “It was either going to be this or a construction worker theme,” she laughed.
While The Gypsies kept things aquatic, another of the parade’s oldest troupes, Elksoe and Associates, took to the air with a theme, “Virgin Islands Beauties,” that made prominent use of the V.I.’s official bird, the bananaquit.
Former calypso monarch St. Clair ‘Whadablee’ DeSilva keeps it in the family, singing with his son during the parade.
Although the parade was light on social commentary this year, one troupe did have an explicit political message. The local branch of National Organization for the Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML) was represented by a group of masqueraders in super hero outfits and necklaces made of plastic beads in the shape of cannabis leaves.
IMAGE: A young member of the Zulu Warrior troupe in training. PHOTO: David Knight Jr photos
UWI working with China to establish campus in Beijing
From Jamaica Gleaner
Even before officially taking office as the vice-chancellor of the University of the West Indies (UWI), Sir Hilary Beckles has already inked an agreement to set up a campus outpost of the regional university in Beijing, China.
In an exclusive interview with The Gleaner, Beckles disclosed that he has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a university located in the heart of the information communication technology (ICT) district in China.
“We have signed an MOU with the Global Institute for Software Technology (GIST), whereby we are proposing to establish a branch of the UWI in China, and they, in turn, will establish a branch of GIST in UWI,” he said.
He explained that GIST is the feeder university for the China-Singapore Suzhou Industrial Park, which is China’s version of Silicon Valley.
The Suzhou UWI Institute of Software Technology is to be set up as early as next year.
“We have signed those MOU and are moving toward contract, and we are hoping that by next year we will be able to recruit the first generation of Caribbean students who will enter the software technology institute, and to be sending students and professors to China,” Beckles added.
For more: http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/lead-stories/20150504/uwi-working-china-establish-campus-beijing
Women in Maritime Association established
From ALL WOMAN
WOMEN in Maritime Association, Caribbean (WiMa) has officially been launched.
The association was established during a Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ) conference in April in Montego Bay, a first in the region. The conference was attended by over 45 strategy officials from 15 Caribbean states and neighbouring countries.
Among the presenters at the workshop was Commander Antoinette Wemyss Gorman, first female commanding officer of the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard.
She recounted her arduous journey on entering the coast guard and getting to her current level.
“Women in the maritime field today are leaders,” she said. “We are leading the way for other women to follow. We must mentor and inspire them to be all that they can be in this very exciting and diverse industry.”
The various country presentations listed challenges and barriers to the work of women in the maritime sector, including balancing family and work life, lack of promotion opportunities, no access to ships, ridicule from male counterparts, harassment and low wages.
Sharon Folkes-Abrahams, minister of state in the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce, commended the establishment of this association to deepen the integration of women in the maritime sector as both timely and appropriate. She expressed the need for more women to be trained and employed in non-traditional areas, not based on gender, but on their ability.
The conference agreed on the need to develop a code of good practice to ensure that issues of women’s genuine participation, access, performance and mobility in sea-going and shore-based maritime sectors are governed by globally recognised rights-based and gender diversity standards.
The meeting selected the executive council which hails from Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, and adopted the articles of association and resolution on the establishment of the association.
Claudia Grant, deputy director general of the MAJ and elected president of WiMA, Caribbean, expressed excitement at the establishment of this association.
“While the association seeks to adopt policies to empower women, it is not designed to exclude men in the sector, but rather seeks co-operation and collaboration between men and women working together for the advancement of this very important maritime sector,” she said.
For more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/allwoman/WOMEN-IN-MARITIME_18831950
Here’s what happens when a lithium-ion battery overheats
By Timothy J. Seppala From engadget
Lithium ion batteries are practically ubiquitous; they power everything from laptops and cell phones to cameras and tablets. But before they can start providing the juice for bigger and more demanding applications, research about their failure needs to happen. That’s where the fine folks at University College London come in — they’ve used 3D-and-thermal imaging to track exactly what happens when the power cells overheat, inside and out. As you can see in the GIF above, the results aren’t pretty. After cranking the heat on a pair of the batteries to 250+ degrees Celsius (482 degrees Fahrenheit) and keeping an eye on them with the aforementioned techniques, researchers witnessed one of the batteries blow its top. Prior to that happening, during what’s known as “thermal runaway,” the core collapsed.
What’s that mean?
Well, according to the paper published in Nature, the change in temperature that lead to a destabilizing further change in temperature elevates the risk for internal short circuiting and damaging any nearby components. That only happened in a battery without internal support, though. The cell that wasn’t lacking such a feature was a bit different. After hitting about 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit) the copper internals melted, the heat spread outward and caused thermal runaway. It sounds quite a bit less violent, actually.
This isn’t the sort of thing that would happen under normal operating conditions at all, and UCL’s Dr. Paul Shearing readily admits that. However! He says that this sort of testing provides invaluable knowledge regarding how the lithium-ion cells fail and will hopefully help how safety aspects are designed and considered in the future. I’d imagine that Boeing is paying pretty close attention to these experiments. Call it a hunch.
For more and video: http://www.engadget.com/2015/04/30/lithium-ion-battery-failure/?ncid=rss_truncated
Peter Holmberg receives The Guy Eldridge Spirit of Enthusiasm award
By Trish Jenkins From Sail-World
Peter Holmberg, the Caribbean’s most famous sailor is living proof that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things, and at this year’s BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival he was awarded for his services to the sailing world.
‘Every year we present The Guy Eldridge Spirt of Enthusiasm Award to someone who shines in the spirt of the sport and who we feel has stepped out and gone beyond,’ remarked the Commodore of the Royal BVI Yacht Club, Chris Haycraft.
Previous recipients include the late Arthur ‘Tuna’ Wullschleger, renowned ocean racer, legendary race official and mentor.
‘This year we are giving it to a guy who has done so much for Caribbean sailing and especially during his roll as President of the Caribbean Sailing Association over the last couple of years – Peter Holmberg,’ continued Haycraft. ‘He has reorganised Caribbean regattas, he has gone out there and got boats to come to regattas, he is a spokesman for Caribbean sailing. He and his team has promoted Caribbean racing to the world, while at the same time improved events and reached down to promote sailing at the grass-roots level on the smaller islands. We are proud to present Peter Holmberg with this award.’
‘It’s a real honour to be selected by my good friends here in the BVI,’ said Holmberg on accepting the trophy at the Awards Ceremony for the recent BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival where he was strategist on Steve and Heidi Benjamin’s high performance American Carkeek 40, Spookie.
‘Thank you very much. I am very proud of the country I’m from and we do have the best sailing in the world. It’s just a matter of getting sailors from around the world to come down here to enjoy it. Thank you BVI Spring Regatta very much,’ continued Holmberg who is in his third and final year as President of the CSA; a job which he says has been one of the most rewarding ever as he’s been able to give back to the sport which gave him so much.
Peter Holmberg was born and raised on St. Thomas, Virgin Islands and went on to win the first and only Olympic Medal for the US Virgin Islands in the 1988 Olympics in the Finn Class. He followed this into a professional sailing career that saw him reach World No one ranking in Match Racing and was victorious in the 2007 America’s Cup. He is now based again in the Virgin Islands and continues to sail professionally for various racing programs around the world. Peter is currently racing on Spookie at Les Voiles de St. Barths and his final event of the Caribbean season will be at the Nonsuch Bay RS Elite Challenge during Antigua Sailing Week which runs between 25th April-1 May.
IMAGE: Peter Holmberg, John S. Duncan OBE, Governor, BVI, Judy Petz, Director, BVI Spring Regatta and Sailing Festival© Todd Van Sickle
For more: http://www.sail-world.com/Peter_Holmberg_receives_The_Guy_Eldridge_Spirit_of_Enthusiasm_award/133724
