iNews Briefs, More & Community Events
Cayman Islands Community Events
TUE JUNE 9
Moonlight and Movies Summer Series
The Moonlight and Movies Summer Series is Tuesday (9 Jun) at 7pm in Gardenia Court. The feature film will be Penguins of Madagascar.
Sister Islands Community Underwater Clean Up
Join the GREEN Team with the Sustainable Sister Islands Community Underwater Clean Up on Tuesday (9 Jun) at 11am. Call Nina on 928.0507 for locations.
WED JUNE 10
National Workforce Development Agency in North Side
The National Workforce Development Agency will be at the North Side Library on Wednesday (10 Jun) from 2 — 5pm.
Bookends Club
Join The Bookends Club when they meet to review their latest pick, The Children Act by Ian McEwan on Wednesday (10 Jun) from 7-8:30pm at Books & Books.
National Workforce Development Agency in West Bay
The National Workforce Development Agency will be at the West Bay Library on Wednesday (10 Jun) from 10am until 1pm.
Basic food hygiene course
Certification courses in basic food hygiene are being offered by the Department of Environmental Health. The next meeting is Wednesday (10 Jun) from 9am until 4pm. For more information, call the DEH at 949-6696.
Cayman Islands Sports Minister makes first public comment re arrest of Jeff Webb
Cayman Islands Sports Minister, Osbourne Bodden spoke for the first time publically about the arrest of former FIFA Vice-President and President of CIFA and CONCACAF, Caymanian Jeffery Webb
He made his comments on CITN/Cayman 27 last Friday (5) calling the news “gut-wrenching”.
He said: ““We’ve always heard of corruption in FIFA,” he said, “That’s something that everybody talks about. But we never thought it would impact us as it were. But having our own President of CONCACAF, Jeffrey Webb, if he’s involved then we’re involved.”
“If he’s found guilty then we don’t condone that,” Bodden added. “If he’s exonerated, then the Cayman Islands is exonerated.”
Climate change skeptic: Greenland more proof there’s no global warming
By Cathy Burke from Newsmax
Don’t talk about global warming to residents of Nuuk, Greenland’s capital city, where record cold is keeping the city still buried in snow, climate change skeptic Steven Goddard writes.
Normally by this date, around 20 percent of Greenland is melting, the Real Science blogger contends.
“This year the area of melt is less than 2 percent – the latest start to a melt season on record,” he writes, noting: “Temperatures have plummeted over the past decade.”
Northeast Greenland also saw its coldest May on record since measurements started back in 1949, while the island as a whole is colder than normal, the Daily Caller reports, citing Danish Meteorological Institute data.
“Greenland has gained half a trillion tons of snow and ice since September,” Goddard writes.
But climate experts will see it differently, however, Goddard warns, saying they’ll “take pictures of glaciers calving into the ocean, and claim that it is an indication that Greenland is melting down.”
The controversial skeptic’s perspective comes in the wake of U.S. scientists’ report in March that Arctic sea ice levels last winter recorded their lowest peak since satellite monitoring began in 1979.
In memory of Landon von Kanel, Cayman Islands
The Landon von Kanel Memorial 4 Day Invitational Swim Meet commenced last Thursday (4). The meet, the first, is to encourage excellence in swimming and foster cross-cultural experiences between Caymanian and international swimmers.
Coldwell Banker Cayman and the Von Kanel family presented the meet in memory of Landon Von Kanel, a former Stingray Club swimmer who died in a car accident in the USA in 2001.
A native Mississippian and the son of pastor Randy Von Kanel and his wife Cindy, Landon spent his primary and early secondary years in the Cayman Islands where he excelled in swimming at the Lions pool and in the Caribbean.
He became the first gold medalist in international competition in the history of Cayman Islands swimming, winning the 200 meters and 400m freestyle at the CARIFTA Games in Trinidad in 1996.
These first medals by Von Kanel (two gold and two silver) and two of his best friends and teammates, Shauna Powell (two gold and one silver) and Tina Abbott (two silver), were the first of many more to come as they inspired the swimmers who followed to believe they could achieve their dreams.
Landon was also a former Stingray Club Swimmer.
Almost 14 years have passed since he died, but neither Landon, nor his spirit and commitment, is forgotten.
Competition on Friday begins at 5:30 p.m. Swimming on Saturday and Sunday will take place in two sessions from 8:15 a.m.
Bus of Wesleyans crashes in Caribbean
By Tricia Rife From Wesleyan Church
A church bus transporting children and chaperones home from a Sunday school rally in St. Vincent, an island in the Caribbean, has crashed.
The bus ran off a road and careened several feet down a slope, injuring many of the 23 passengers. Sis Green and Br. Enville Henry, who is a member of the General Board of Administration of the Wesleyan Holiness Church in the Caribbean, are both currently hospitalized. Eleven others suffered broken bones or various injuries. Other buses were part of the caravan, but they did not wreck.
“Let us continue to pray for the injured and their families for whom this incident has been a traumatic experience as well,” said Rev. Joel Cumberbatch, general superintendent of the Caribbean General Conference of The Wesleyan Holiness Church. “The Lord willing on Friday evening, June 5, I will be travelling to St. Vincent for a few days to get a first-hand assessment of the situation and to visit, pray, and counsel with those affected, as well as share in a special Thanksgiving service being organized by the district.”
For more: https://www.wesleyan.org/3650/bus-of-wesleyans-crashes-in-caribbean
Britons first to board Royal Caribbean Ovation of the Seas
From Carrentals
Royal-Caribbean-International-Logo-Voyager-of-the-Seas-281x3001Holidaymakers in the UK will be provided with the opportunity of taking a cruise aboard the brand new Ovation of the Seas next spring. Royal Caribbean’s new super-liner will make two short cruises from Southampton after its official launch before sailing off for her new Chinese home port at Tianjin.
Royal Caribbean is already accepting reservations for the two UK cruises. The first will see the Ovation of the Seas depart from Southampton on 17 April 2016 for a five-night round-trip tour of ports along the coastlines of northern France and Belgium.
The second sailing is also a return voyage and for seven nights. Passengers will leave on 22 April and visit locations along the coastline of Spain before docking in Gibraltar. After its return, the Ovation of the Seas will embark on the Global Odyssey tour which will eventually take it as far as Tianjin.
Royal Caribbean will offer reservations for the 56-night Southampton to Tianjin odyssey in five sections. The first covers Southampton to Barcelona and the second from there to Dubai. The third leg goes as far as Singapore and the fourth is a round-trip cruise for three nights from the city state. The home run to Tianjin is the final sector.
The Ovation of the Seas is currently being built at the Meyer Werft Shipyard in Germany and will be able to accommodate 2,094 passengers. It will be the third of Royal Caribbean’s Quantum Class vessels to take to the seas. The Ovation’s sister liners are Quantum of the Seas and the Anthem of the Seas.
Royal Caribbean says the Ovation’s onboard facilities and amenities are the same as on her two sister ship’s. Highlights are the North Star elevated pod rides, RipCord by iFLY skydiving and eateries where diners can taste culinary masterpieces concocted by the likes of Devin Alexander and Jamie Oliver.
Cayman Islands health MO to retire
Dr. Kiran Kumar, Cayman Islands Medical Officer of Health has announced his retirement.
Dr Kumar has been MOH since arriving here in 1962 and was awarded the Certificate and Badge of Honour for his services in the medical field. In 2015 he was named “Pioneer of Health Services.”
French Rubis becomes controlling owner of Caribbean SARA Refinery
From Tank Terminals
French Rubis Group has become 71% majority owner of the 17,000-b/d SARA refinery at Fort-de-France on the island of Martinique in the French West Indies after completing the takeover of Total’s 35.5% stake with conditional anti-trust approval, the LPG and fuel distributor said Thursday.
The deal indicates that co-owner Sol Petroleum Antilles (14.5%) — which succeeded ExxonMobil — exercised a preemptive right to acquire more shares in Societe Anonyme de la Rafinerie des Antilles (SARA). Rubis had made an offer for Total’s full 50% share last autumn.
SARA is the sole refinery for outlets in the French Antilles and Guiana, where it operates under a regulated price system, with prices set by the government. Rubis has already a presence in the area’s fuel supply, including LPG (“Vitogaz”), jet, bitumen and lubricants.
There are two bitumen depots — at Guadeloupe and Martinique — as well as automotive fuel terminals at Marie-Galante and Saint-Barthelemy.
To alleviate anti-trust concerns arising from its monopoly position, the French competition authority requested remedies, such as price caps and third-party access to infrastructure, according to a communique dated May 13.
“This acquisition strengthens Rubis’ position in both the French Antilles and Guiana, while increasing complementarity with its logistical operations in the whole Caribbean region where Rubis is already active,” the Paris-based company said in a statement.
For more: http://www.tankterminals.com/news_detail.php?id=3213
Qunar Cayman Islands up 5.8% after downsizing, pricing offering
From Seeking Alpha
Jun 5 2015, 09:23 ET | About: Qunar Cayman Islands Limited (QUNR) | By: Eric Jhonsa, SA News Editor Contact this editor with comments or a news tip
Qunar (NASDAQ:QUNR) is selling 6.53M ADS’ through its public offering, less than the 8M announced Monday evening. The offering has been priced at $47.50 ($0.25 below Thursday’s close), and comes with a 316K-share overallotment option. Not counting the overallotment option, it stands to yield gross proceeds of $310M.Qunar has risen to $50.50 premarket. Shares are up 10% since the company posted a Q1 beat, guided for strong Q2 sales and major spending growth, disclosed the receipt and rejection of a Ctrip buyout offer, announced the end of its Zhixin partnership with Baidu and the start of a Baidu mapping deal, and announced the stock offering and a $500M convertible debt investment.
For more: http://seekingalpha.com/news/2564306-qunar-up-5_8-percent-after-downsizing-pricing-offering
US Congresswoman Clarke’s Statement in Celebration of National Caribbean American Heritage Month
Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement in honor of the Eighth Annual National Caribbean American Heritage Month, which started June 4
“I have the distinct privilege of representing the Ninth Congressional District of New York, a diverse community that includes many people of Caribbean heritage. My parents came to the United States from the island Nation of Jamaica to pursue the American Dream – there are many families in Brooklyn and across the United States who know that story from their own personal experience. The nearly three million Americans of Caribbean heritage have contributed to every part of our civil society, from former Attorney General Eric Holder and former Secretary of State Colin Powell to activist and musician Harry Belafonte and my esteemed predecessor in Congress, the late Honorable Shirley Chisholm. I commend President Obama, who issued a proclamation designating June as National Caribbean-American Heritage month, for his commitment to building the relationship between the United States and the nations of the Caribbean Community. I was honored to visit Jamaica with President Obama in April, where he offered support for the development of renewable energy that has the potential to expand the economy of Jamaica and to protect us from the threat of climate change. As a member of the Congressional Caribbean Caucus and the Energy and Commerce Committee in the House of Representatives, I will continue to work in support of these initiatives and the continued achievements of Caribbean Americans in the United States.”
Cayman Islands Butterfield 800M Sea Swim
The 13th annual Butterfield 800M sea swim saw 124 swimmers enter the water. With perfect conditions, the Men’s race was a three way challenge down to the wire with Geoff Butler pulling away from Iain McCallum in the finish chute to win in 9.48, and Alex in 9.49. Eddie Weber rounded out the Top 3 in 9.51. On the woman’s side, Catriona Macrae won handily in 10.55, with Holly Stradling in 11.29 and Audrey Weber in 11.33.
To see the results go to: http://www.ciasa.ky/NewsShow.jsp?&id=408525&team=reczzciasa
The Caribbean meets Africa; Irie Poetry Vibes
By Opal Adisa From Fund My Travel
A Travel Campaign in Kenya, East Africa
I have been invited to attend the Kistrech Poetry Festival in Kenya, and it is an amazing oppurtunity to work with high school and college students in Kenya sharing my poetry, as well as other poets from the Caribbean and the oppurtunities to conduct poetry workshops on topics relevent to those students.
This is also a cultural exchange, whereby, I will learn more about Kenya and the topics and issues that are relevant at this time. I will also have the oppurtunity to share historical and cultural information about the Caribbean as well as provide relevant information about contemporary Caribbean and African American poets.
KISTRECH POETRY FESTIVAL is relatively new and unfunded. However it is the goal of the organizer, Christopher Okemwa, to expose students and citizens to an international array of poetry. To this end, he has invited poets with the expectation that they can independently garner funds to attend and share their experiences with the Kisii Community which is located 3 hours from the capital Nairobi, Kenya.
For more and video and where to donate: https://www.fundmytravel.com/Opal-Adisa-1431528923/campaigns/The-Caribbean-Meets-Africa-Irie-Poetry-Vibes-1433436661/view
Director-General participates in Colloquium on “Europe – Latin America and the Caribbean: Perspectives on the Climate Challenge, from the local to the global”
On 4 June, 2015, UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, took part in the opening ceremony of an International Colloquium entitled “Europe – Latin America and the Caribbean: perspectives on the climate challenge, from the local to the global”. The event, organized by the Institute of the Americas (IdA), with the support of the French Institute for Andean Studies (IFEA) and the European Union – Latin America and Caribbean Foundation (EU-LAC), is part of the preparation for the 2015 Paris Climate Conference COP21.
The event benefited from the support of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development and the French Senate which hosted the symposium in the prestigious Medici hall of the Palais du Luxembourg.
The event brought together government officials, researchers, representatives of international organizations and private sector to exchange experiences in Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of sustainable management, the reduction of emissions and resilience of peoples and societies, as well as the environment.
“We know already that sustainable development cannot be achieved only by the development of the “green economy” – we must aim more deeply for the emergence of “green societies”, where sustainable development is anchored in behaviors and values, through education, culture, knowledge sharing, and this is precisely the mandate of UNESCO,” said the Director-General.
Luxembourg signs MoU with Toronto Financial Centre
LUXEMBOURG, June 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Today, Luxembourg for Finance and the Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a partnership framework to develop their respective financial services industries.
The Memorandum contains, in particular, provisions regarding mutual exchange of research and information on banking, financial services, securities legislation and regulation in the respective jurisdictions, and on market trends in relevant international financial services activities and products. Specific examples could include the continued development of each jurisdiction as a hub for Renminbi trading, Islamic Finance and Financial Technology (FinTech).
Seminars and training courses may also be organised through the partnership, as well as facilitating contacts for market operators, university institutions, and financial delegations. Future staff exchanges may also be explored.
The MoU was signed by Luxembourg for Finance’s CEO, Nicolas Mackel. On behalf of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, the MoU was signed by Janet Ecker, President and CEO.
In April 2015, a financial delegation headed by HE Pierre Gramegna, Luxembourg Minister of Finance, travelled to Toronto to promote closer collaboration between Luxembourg and Canada within financial services. The visit focused on cross-border expertise in international banking, asset management and FinTech.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization on World Environment Day
The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) joins the world in recognizing World Environment Day on 5 June 2015. The following statement was released this morning:
This year’s theme; ‘Seven Billion Dreams. One Planet. Consume with Care’, encourages people across the globe to rethink their lifestyles and, through conscious consumer decisions, decrease humanity’s collective negative impact on nature’s resources.
At the CTO we believe the region holds a singular dream – that we can sustain the growth of our tourism sector to the benefit of our people, our visitors and our environment. This is all the more important as our collective consciousness focusses on the impact of our tourism activities occasioned by the steady growth in the numbers of visitors arriving on our shores by air and by sea.
The reality that our ecosystem, its appeal as a tourism product, and the quality of life we enjoy in the Caribbean are inextricably linked, has caused a welcomed shift in our tourism management strategies to ensure that there is greater awareness, policy infrastructure and penal measures to support this balanced approach to our development.
As leaders in Sustainable Tourism in the Caribbean the CTO continues to encourage its members to go the extra mile in incorporating positive environmental practices through resource conservation, energy efficiency and careful local consumption. Partnerships with regional and international tourism institutions help to ensure that we use strategic alliances to advocate for responsible decision-making.
Since its inception World Environment Day has served as a platform to encourage all world citizens to do something positive for their environment. This year’s overarching focus on resource efficiency and sustainable consumption is a reminder to all of us in the tourism industry of our dependency on critical resources and therefore our need to conserve. Creative initiatives such as youth challenges, interactive games, public awareness campaigns and incentive schemes are just a few of the ways we can ensure this message becomes our daily mantra. What initiatives will your community implement?
For World Environment Day 2015, let us play our part in adopting responsible environmentally friendly behavior as a way of life, not only today, but always.
SOURCE: http://www.eturbonews.com/59876/caribbean-tourism-organization-world-environment-day
Migration from EU to Latin America, Caribbean region increases: study
From Global Post
GENEVA, June 5 (Xinhua) — The International Organization of Migration (IOM) on Friday released a study that reveals a trend of increased migration flow from the European Union (EU) to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region.
The new study explores migratory flows in and between Latin America, the Caribbean and the EU, with a particular focus on movements in the last five years.
The study shows that since 2010 and for the first time in 14 years, more people emigrated from the EU to LAC than the reverse.
In 2012, 181,166 European nationals left for LAC countries, as compared to 119,000 Latin and Caribbean nationals who moved to the EU.
Spain is the EU country that sends the most migrants to LAC, followed by Italy, Portugal, France and Germany, the study shows.
“Over the past few years, changes in migration flows between LAC and EU countries show, once again, how the flows naturally adapt to the fluctuating socioeconomic realities and their potential as an adjustment tool and a response to economic and structural crisis,” says IOM deputy director general Laura Thompson.
According to the study, countries that have historically hosted higher numbers of European immigrants, such as Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela, have seen a decline in the number of EU nationals residing there, but there was a marked increase in the number of EU nationals in Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador.
The study was released ahead of the 8th EU-LAC summit, which will be held in Brussels on June 10-11, 2015.
Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, will chair the summit which 61 heads of state or government are expected to attend to strengthen relations between both regions.
In bribery and FCPA trial of CEO, GC says they did it
By Sue Reisinger, from Corporate Counsel
Gregory Weisman, the former general counsel of energy corporation PetroTiger, has testified that he participated in a secret deal with sellers of a company who offered kickbacks to Weisman and PetroTiger’s then-CEO.
Weisman testified Wednesday as the government’s first witness against Joseph Sigelman, the former CEO, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal. Besides the kickback scheme, Sigelman also is charged with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by trying to bribe an engineer in Colombia to win a state oil services contract.
When he was still GC, Weisman cooperated with federal prosecutors and secretly recorded a 2012 conversation about the alleged bribe with Sigelman while they were in a Miami penthouse.
Court records revealed the wiretap after Weisman pleaded guilty in January 2014 to conspiracy to violate the FCPA and commit wire fraud.
At that time Michael Schwartz, a lawyer for Weisman at Pepper Hamilton in Philadelphia, told Bloomberg News, “Mr. Weisman has fully accepted responsibility for his role in this matter and looks forward to the opportunity to move on.”
But prosecutors aren’t letting him move on just yet. Under his plea deal, Weisman faces up to five years in prison, though his sentencing has been delayed until after Sigelman’s trial in U.S. District Court in Camden, New Jersey.
Weisman previously served as in-house counsel at Office Tiger, and before that he practiced corporate law at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in New York and at Dechert in Philadelphia, according to Bloomberg.
Weisman told the court Wednesday that he arranged for more than $50,000 in his share of the kickbacks to be sent to a relative’s bank account. “It was dirty money, and I didn’t want it coming directly to me,” Weisman said, according to the Journal.
Meanwhile, Sigelman’s defense attorney, William Burck, tried to shift the blame onto Weisman. In his opening statement, Burck told the jury the former CEO had relied on his general counsel to properly handle the deal and all disclosures, according to the article.
Yahoo ditching maps, discontinuing support for other products in new prioritization plan
By Ashlee Kieler From Consumerist
If you’re a stalwart user of Yahoo Maps we’ve got some bad news: The company plans to shut down the site and other tools this month in a revamp of its priorities.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the tech company made the decision to axe the once popular service and other regional and genre-specific products in order to better concentrate on key product pillars: search, communications and digital content.
“Part of that focus includes taking a hard look at our existing products and services, and ensuring our resources are spent smartly and with a clear purpose,” the company said in a blog post announcement. “Ultimately, we want to provide you with the best products, platforms and experiences possible.”
The Yahoo Maps site is slated to close at the end of June. But it won’t be going away completely. Instead, the company will continue to support the service in the context of Yahoo search and on other properties including Flickr.
In other announced changes, Yahoo will no longer support Yahoo Mail on older iOS devices.
“In order to maintain focus on the security, speed and functionality of Yahoo Mail on the latest systems, we are no longer supporting Yahoo Mail on the built-in Mail app for devices prior to iOS 5 on June 15, 2015,” the company says.
Individuals who use iOS4 and earlier versions can continue to use Yahoo Mail on their Safari mobile browser.
The company will also discontinue support of Yahoo Contacts syncing for devices prior to Mac OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion starting on June 15. Users with older systems can access contacts through their web browser.
Additionally, the company will shut down several regional, genre-specific media properties to streamline editorial offerings, according to the blog.
Products slated for closure during the month of June include: Yahoo Music in France and Canada; Yahoo Movies in Spain; Yahoo TV in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Canada; Yahoo Autos in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy; and Yahoo Entertainment in Singapore.
The homepage for Yahoo Philippines and its genre-specific sites will also close and redirect to the Yahoo Singapore homepage.
Caribbean Tourism Organization Chairman: Serious obstacles to come for Cuba Travel
By: Joe Pike From travel Agent Central
NEW YORK CITY, New York — On the same day that Richard Sealy, chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), told media and tourism officials gathered at the Wyndham New Yorker hotel for the closing press conference of Caribbean Week New York to curb their excitement about restriction-free U.S. travel to Cuba, House Republicans voted Thursday to maintain restrictions on Americans seeking to travel to Cuba.
During the CTO press conference, Sealy first wanted to remind the attendees that Cuba is and has been a member of the CTO. He also noted that just because Cuba hasn’t had American tourists in years doesn’t mean the island isn’t already a tourism powerhouse in the Caribbean, attracting roughly three million tourists a year with Canada as its source market.
“In fact, Cuba gets more tourists a year other than anyone in the Caribbean except for the Dominican Republic,” he says, “so, we are not talking about a country that is new to tourism at all.”
Although Sealy says he was “looking forward to seeing Cuba fully integrated into this whole system of offering tourism services,” he did want to remind those in attendance not to start planning their trips to Cuba anytime soon since there were still some major obstacles to overcome in fully lifting travel restrictions from the U.S.
“I think a little dose of reality needs to be realized here,” says Sealy. “(President) Barack Obama did all he could do as far as restoring relations, but there is still this thing called Congress.”
According to The Associated Press, the Republican-controlled chamber voted 247 to 176 to retain a Cuba-related provision in a transportation funding bill. It would block new rules issued in January that would significantly relax restrictions on travel to Cuba and allow regularly scheduled flights for the first time.
According to the report, the administration rules lift a requirement that American travelers obtain a license from the Treasury Department before traveling to Cuba. Instead, all that is required is for travelers to assert that their trip would serve educational, religious or other permitted purposes. The White House has threatened to veto the bill, in part because of the Cuba-related provision. The measure is also caught in a broader battle between Republicans controlling Congress and the White House and Democrats over spending for domestic agencies.
Keep visiting www.travelagentcentral.com for more updates on this story.
CHF Caribbean and Ministry of Agriculture host Irish potato tasting event
From Dominica GIS
The Canadian Hunger Fund (CHF) Caribbean’s Promotion of Regional Opportunities through Enterprise and Linkages (PROPEL) project partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture on Wednesday June 3rd to host a taste testing event for Irish potatoes.
The aim of this exhibition was to demonstrate the new varities of Irish potatoes.
Consumers gave feedback via evaluation of the quality, taste, texture and other key characteristics of the potatoes of interest to CHF Caribbean.
The organization is looking to be better guided as it relates to the preferences of nationals.
Agri-business and Marketing Coordinator of CHF Caribbean, Dr. Nadia Pacquette -Anselm says CHF Caribbean sees this exhibition as a step forward in terms of understanding consumer needs.
She notes that consumer feedback has been exceptional.
“The consumer feedback is more than I expected. I think we have persons from all levels. We [had] varieties on display and the general feedback is that the peel or aesthetics of the potato is amazing and persons are telling us their preferences so we are happy for that. We also [had] locally prepared dishes including the pebble or very small potatoes.”
According to a taster, “They were both very nice but I preferred the local taste.”
Soufriere Farmer, Erica Burnett-Biscombe says she was very pleased with the yield of her crop of the new variety of Irish potatoes.
“I’ve been a potato farmer for a few years planting the Desiree variety but this year I tried a new variety, El Mundo. I was very pleased with the results; it was easy to cook and turned out fluffy. It made a nice mashed potato and I was very happy that it grew very quickly,” she said.
“In Dominica, We are blessed with fabulous climate and fantastic soil for growing potatoes so as long as you follow the instructions from your Extension Officer, you can get a good yield. Mine was 5:1 and 6:1,” Burnett-Biscombe added.
The aim of the CHF Caribbean funded PROPEL project is to help various Caribbean countries including Dominica meet the quality, quantity and food safety needs of buyers in a consistent and reliable way, year round.
Mazda adds 540,000 vehicles to Takata airbag recall list
By Ashlee Kieler from Consumerist
The roster of vehicles recalled for Takata-produced airbags found to spew pieces of shrapnel with enough force to injure or kill occupants continues to grow. This time, the list increased by nearly 540,000 Mazda automobiles.
The Associated Press reports that Mazda will recall 503,000 cars with defective driver’s side airbags and 35,000 small trucks with defective passenger side airbags in the U.S. and Canada.
Vehicles affected by the recent recall include: model years 2003 to 2008 Mazda 6; model years 2006 to 2007 MazdaSpped 6; model years 2004 to 2008 RX-8 and model years 2004 to 2006 B-Series pickup trucks.
The company says that some of the vehicles were part of a previous recall last year.
Automakers – including Ford, BMW, Chrysler Fiat and Honda – have been scrambling over the last week to identify which of their models should be included in the recall of nearly 34 million vehicles equipped with Takata airbags.
The expanded recalls come just a week after Takata declared that nearly 33.8 million vehicles sold in the United State should be recalled for the defect.
While about 17 million of those vehicles had already been part of recalls by major automakers, millions of others had yet to be identified, leaving consumers wondering if they’re driving around with what some people have likened to an explosive device in their steering wheel.
Consumers looking to see if their vehicles are part of the largest auto recall in history can check by entering their 17 digit VIN on the SaferCar.gov website, which produces a list of all recalls associated with a particular vehicle.
For more: http://consumerist.com/2015/06/05/mazda-adds-540000-vehicles-to-takata-airbag-recall-list/
Ball of worms is a real-life horror movie
By Jeff Leeson From Mashable
No, this isn’t the work of an overturned spaghetti truck.
Piles of worms were seen wriggling around after recent record rains and flooding in Texas. The worms stayed around for two days before squirming back down into the the earth, ABC News reported.
May was the wettest month of any calendar month in Texas history, when an average of 8.81 inches of rain fell across the state, which translates to more than 35 trillion gallons of water, according to the National Weather Service.
Park officials have no definite answer as to how the herd of worms came to be. One theory is the floods saturated the ground so much that the worms wriggled onto the road as it was the nearest dry place they could find. Another theory is that the rain sounded too much like predators so they all clumped together to try and avoid them.
Of course, they could just be a new breed of worms specifically designed to exterminate the human race. We may never know.
Association of Marine Lab Conference features Caribbean Ciguatera Research
From NCCOS
To raise awareness about a resurgence of Ciguatera Fish Poisoning (CFP) in the Caribbean and the current state of ciguatera research, NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) led a special session on ciguatera at the Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean 37th Scientific Conference in Willemstad, Curaçao, during the week of May 18-22, 2015. Data presented from the Caribbean Epidemiology Centre indicated that ciguatera incidence in the region has increased 300% over the last 31 years.
Electron microscope image of Gambierdiscus toxicus. (Credit M. Richlen, WHOI)
Electron microscope image of the ciguatera fish poisoning culprit, Gambierdiscus toxicus. (Credit M. Richlen, WHOI)
Talks featured ECOHAB-funded advances in understanding the ecology of the causative toxic algal species Gambierdiscus and its response to environmental changes including warming sea surface temperatures. Speakers shared findings on ciguatera toxin concentrations in invasive lionfish and whether fishing can be used to reduce the damage they cause to reef ecosystems. They discussed their advancing efforts on standardizing ciguatera monitoring, CFP predictive capabilities, and facilitating better awareness and management of CFP risk in Caribbean fisheries. The session reviewed how these projects advance NOAA HAB program goals and highlighted a recently adopted multidisciplinary global strategy to improve the detection, monitoring and prediction of causative organisms and toxins and the epidemiology of CFP.
For more information, contact [email protected] or [email protected]
Healthy Caribbean Coalition hosts three key regional NCD meetings
From NCD Alliance
This 4, 5 and 6th June, HCC is hosting NCD meetings in key topics to help forward NCD prevention and control in the Caribbean region.
On the 4th June, in collaboration with The Commonwealth and the Caribbean Public Heath Agency (CARPHA), HCC held “Measuring and Engaging the Business Sector Response to NCDs – The Caribbean NCD Private Sector Forum” to provide an opportunity for senior business executives of the Caribbean to discuss how the private sector may implement and strengthen workplace wellness programmes and more effectively interact with government and civil society, in the response to NCDs.
The Forum supports at the regional level the WHO GCM/NCD Working Group on how to realise governments’ commitments to engage with the private sector for the prevention and control of NCDs. Cary Adams, chair of the NCD Alliance, spoke at the meeting on “Why NCDs matter to the private sector”.
On the 5th June, HCC with The Commonwealth, CARPHA and PAHO, is holding “Strengthening The Multi-Sectoral Response to NCDs in the Caribbean National NCD Commissions” to broaden the ‘whole of society’, multi-sectoral response to NCDs in the Caribbean through the strengthening of National NCD Commissions in CARICOM countries and the development of a NNCDCs implementation framework.
Finally, on the 6th June, supported by the NCD Alliance as part of the Expanding Access to Care, Supporting Global, regional and Country level NCD Action Programme in partnership with Medtronic Philanthropy, HCC will hold the Caribbean Civil Society Regional Preparatory Meeting to obtain consensus from Caribbean civil society around regional NCD advocacy priorities.
SOURCE: http://www.ncdalliance.org/news/healthy-caribbean-coalition-hosts-three-key-regional-ncd-meetings
Motley wants entire Caribbean to adopt CCJ as final Appeal Court
From Jamaica Gleaner
Barbados Opposition Leader Mia Mottley on Wednesday said she yearns for the day when all countries in the region will sign on to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in its appellate jurisdiction.
Motley, who visited Jamaica for the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, ParlAmericas, Inter-American Development Bank conference hosted by the Houses of Parliament on ‘Strengthening Legislative Oversight’, told The Gleaner that she would, however, not dare suggest the direction Jamaica should take in respect of the court.
“That is a matter that the Jamaican people will have to decide, but suffice it to say that the court has been functioning extremely well, and I trust and pray that one day all Caribbean countries will use it,” Mottley said.
Let The People Decide
The Jamaican Government has been pushing to have the CCJ replace the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the country’s final court of appeal. However, the parliamentary opposition, which lost in its bid to stop three CCJ bills from passing the House of Representatives, has said that the people should decide, by way of a referendum, if they want the regional court.
The bills are currently in the Senate, but will fail unless a minimum of one opposition senator joins with the 13 government senators in support.
Mottley, a declared regionalist, noted that “Jamaica has already paid the money so it is no additional cost to the Jamaican people to access the court as its final appellate body”.
Barbados, Belize, Guyana, and Dominica have replaced the Privy Council with the CCJ as their final court of appeal.
Acrimonious Relationship
Meanwhile, Mottley, when asked about the perceived acrimonious relationship between Jamaicans and Barbadians, said that: “Caribbean people see themselves as Caribbean people. I think governments are the ones who try to foster greater nationality. You can foster nationalism at a very high level when you can afford to do it. If you cannot afford to do it, then you have to find ways to deepen functional cooperation,” Motley responded.
Tensions between both countries reached a crescendo in 2011 when Jamaican Shanique Myrie was hassled by an immigration officer as she attempted to enter Barbados. The CCJ has since ruled that Myrie’s rights to hastle-free travel, as enshrined in the Treaty of Chaguaramas, were breached. Barbados has had to compensate her.
At the height of the stand-off, Motley said that Barbadians “can no longer bury our heads in the sand to the perception that others have of us that Barbados does not treat its Caribbean brothers and sisters and people of African descent fairly and with respect”.
Motley told The Gleaner that she feels the relationship between Jamaicans and Barbados is strong.
“I think we should go to each other’s country more and mix more. I think it is fundamentally a strong relationship. You will always have problems in the family, and I think you need to step back when you have a problem and fix it in a way that does not burn bridges,” said Motley, who calls Jamaica her second home.
PREVIEW-Reggae Boyz must revive spirit of Indomitable Lions
By Reuters From EUROSPORT
PREVIEW-Reggae Boyz must revive spirit of Indomitable LionsJamaica enjoyed their finest footballing hour when they qualified for the 1998 World Cup in France to become the first English-speaking Caribbean country to play in the showpiece tournament.
They lost 3-1 to Croatia and 5-0 to Argentina before beating Japan 2-1, failing to reach the knockout stages but earning plaudits for their adventurous play under Brazilian coach Rene Simoes. The Reggae Boyz have struggled on the international stage since, however. They won the Caribbean Cup in 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2014 and reached the Gold Cup quarter-finals in 2003, 2005 and 2011 but failed to qualify for the last four World Cups. Earning a place in this year’s Copa America as one of two invited teams, the Jamaicans, under German coach Winfried Schaefer, will have another chance to mix it with the big boys. Getting through a tough first-round group including World Cup runners-up Argentina, defending champions Uruguay and Paraguay would be a major achievement and recent results against major football countries do not bode well. Jamaica were crushed 8-0 in a friendly in France last year but did win the Caribbean Cup in November with a 4-3 penalty shootout triumph over Trinidad & Tobago in the final following a 0-0 draw. Home wins over Venezuela and Cuba in friendlies have lifted Jamaica to 65th in the world but if they are to perform well in Chile Schaefer must revive the spirit of his Cameroon team of 2002 when the indomitable lions won the African Nations Cup.
Eastern Caribbean Nationals Hope Council will bring benefits
The second meeting of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States’s Economic Affairs Council is taking place in Saint Lucia and nationals are hopeful that the meeting will bring meaninful change. Officials say the ministers will not focus solely on matters of economics and growth, but will dedicate time to issues which touch the lives of the 6 million citizens of the OECS. These include human and social development, employment, health, education and the rights of indigenous people. “The EAC will address in detail, the OECS growth and development strategy, giving consideration to macro economic targets and related strategies, as well as the status of implementation of the strategy. The role of the private sector as an engine of growth cannot be sufficiently underscored. Several significant private sector initiatives will also be discussed, such as enhanced relations with Cuba and our newest associate member Martinique, maritime transportation and the OECS Business Council,” said Didacus Jules, director general of the OECS. So how do OECS nationals feel about the council and its goals? Youth activist Tevin Shepherd says one of the most important issues for young people is free movement – the ability to move to and work on sister islands. “I think it boils down to the ease of moving around and I think once citizens and people are able to move around easier, then regional integration will be successful,” he said, adding “I think that there is a lot of work to be done, from policy down to the grassroots. It needs a lot of determination and focus and the focus is not there. It is always preached, but there is not enough focus in promoting regional integration.” Members say that the OECS has remained resilient in the toughest of times and this is a clear indication that the Sub-Region has what it takes to tackle new global challenges. They however warn that it will require taking some hard, necessary decisions and making sacrifices. The OECS Economic Affairs Council was launched in Saint Lucia in June 2014
For more:
