iNews Briefs, More & Community Events
Community Events
SAT JULY 4
4th annual Delano Hislop Memorial 15K Walk/Run
The Lion’s Club of Grand Cayman invites you to participate in the 4th annual Delano Hislop Memorial 15K Walk/Run! This 3 Day Journey for Life on July 4th — 6th, to raise awareness for Prostate and Colon Cancer. Registration is $50 and participants are encouraged to raise funds. Proceeds will help support victims and survivors in the Cayman Islands. For more information, please visit lionsclub.ky or email us at p a c [email protected].
SUN JULY 5
Power of Faith Deliverance Ministry Women’s Convention
The Power of Faith Deliverance Ministry presents its Women’s Convention under the theme Stepping out of the Shadows Sunday — Tuesday (5 — 7 Jul). Sunday services are at 1015 and 7pm, Monday’s Girl Talk event is at 5pm and Tuesday night the conference continues at 715pm. For more information contact 322-1485
Good News Baptist Church 2015 Mission Conference
Good News Baptist Church 2015 Mission Conference is Wednesday (1 — 5 Jul) at 730pm nightly with special guest speakers from Micronesia, Guyana and China.
St. George’s Anglican Church Service
St. George’s Anglican Church service time has changed for the summer. As of July 5th, there will be only one service at 8:00a.m. and at 1030am in Newlands.
Church of God Full Gospel Hall in Savannah VBS
The Church of God Full Gospel Hall in Savannah is hosting Vacation Bible School Monday — Friday (6 — 10 Jul) from 6 — 9pm nightly for ages 5 — 15. Call transportation, call 947.1026.
MON JULY 6
West Bay’s DVDL Closed on Monday and Tuesday
The West Bay office of the Department of Vehicle & Drivers’ Licensing’s will be closed on Monday, 6 July – the Constitution Day Holiday AND TUESDAY (7)
The office will resume regular hours on Wednesday, 8 July, from 10am until 6 pm. The management and staff apologise for any inconvenience caused.
North Side Wesleyan Holiness Church’s Vacation Bible School
North Side Wesleyan Holiness Church’s vacation Bible School is Monday — Friday (6 — 10 Jul) at 630pm nightly. Registration is Saturday (4 Jul) at Rum Point from 9am until 1pm.
Gun Bay United Church’s Annual Fair
The Gun Bay United Church’s Annual Fair will be on Monday (6 Jul) from 11:00 a.m. to 5:30 pm at the Parking Lot of the Elliott Conolly Civic Center across the road from the Church.
TUE 7 JULY
National Gallery Summer Cine Club for Kids
National Gallery Summer Cine Club for Kids is back with an all new selection of neat movies to enjoy! Screenings will be every Tuesday afternoon starting at 2:00 PM and children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. To ensure that authentic cinema experience, popcorn, cookies and juice will be on sale at each showing. On July 7th the film is Spirited Away.
Electoral Boundary Commission George Town meeting
The Electoral Boundary Commission will be holding a public meeting to discuss the new proposed electoral district maps now available for public viewing at district libraries and on the Elections Office website on Tuesday (7 Jul) at 5:30pm at the George Town Town Hall
Rehoboth Summer Camp 2015 ‘Under Da Sea’
Rehoboth Summer Camp 2015 ‘Under Da Sea’ is July 7th — July 31st from 8am until 5pm for ages 5 — 12. For more information, call 916.5967
West Bay’s DVDL Closed on Tuesday
The West Bay office of the Department of Vehicle & Drivers’ Licensing’s will be closed on Tuesday, 7 July.
The office will resume regular hours on Wednesday, 8 July, from 10am until 6 pm. The management and staff apologise for any inconvenience caused.
WED JULY 8
Electoral Boundary Commission Savannah Meeting
The Electoral Boundary Commission will be holding a public meeting to discuss the new proposed electoral district maps now available for public viewing at district libraries and on the Elections Office website on Wednesday (8 Jul) at 5:30pm at Savannah United Church Hall.
Electoral Boundary Commission District Maps
The Electoral Boundary Commission has now released the new proposed electoral district maps for public viewing. Electoral district maps are available for viewing at the respective district public libraries on both Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac. A full set of maps are available for viewing at the Elections Office or at its website www.elections.ky. Members of the public are also invited to make final written submissions to the Commission c/o the Elections Office by July 8th
Top Cayman Islands cop resigns after alleged dispute
Detective Superintendent Stephen Ratcliffe, a senior police officer with the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) has resigned his position as head of the Financial Crimes and Joint Intelligent unit. He will be leaving neaxt month.
Although the official reason provided is “for personal reasons” we were told on Monday by sources within the police service that he had a dispute over a high profile probe with senior police officers including Commissioner David Baines.
Appleby acts for CIC Gold on the London Stock Exchange
From Lawyer Monthly
Offshore law firm, Appleby, advised oxide gold miner and developer CIC Gold Group Limited (CIC Gold) a Seychelles registered company headquartered in Beijing, China in relation to its flotation on the Main Market of London’s Stock Exchange (LSE) on 23 June 2015. The initial offering makes CIC Gold the only Seychelles Company on the Main List.
CIC Gold’s market cap is valued at GBP3.1m. The Company intends using the listing funds raised to make acquisitions in undervalued gold properties, where gold is the principle commodity or gold mining is the principal activity. Its focus will be on quoted and private companies with strong underlying fundamentals suitable for producing substantial increases in value by funding and applying de-risking strategies and other corporate actions.
Appleby, as dedicated Seychelles counsel, advised on all Seychelles regulatory and structuring aspects of the listing Appleby Seychelles Managing Partner, Malcolm Moller, and Counsel, Anjana Ramburuth, jointly lad on the deal.
Commenting on the transaction, Anjana Ramburuth said: “Assisting CIC Gold on its successful debut listing was a real honour and gives the Seychelles a significant boost in profile in The City. Completing this deal was a substantial achievement for all concerned and a major milestone in the positioning and development of our client CIC Gold.”
For more: http://www.lawyer-monthly.com/2015/07/appleby-acts-for-cic-gold-on-the-london-stock-exchange/
Conference of Caribbean and International Social Work Educators
From NOW Grenada
The University of the West Indies (UWI) Open Campus Grenada, in collaboration with the Association of Caribbean Social Work Educators (ACSWE), will be hosting the 12th Biennial Conference of Caribbean and International Social Work Educators. The conference which be held 6 to 10 July 2015 at St George’s University, will welcome over 40 speaker and 150 attendees from all over the world.
Since 1993 the ACSWE has collaborated with Caribbean universities and other organisations to successfully host this premier activity for social work educators and practitioners in the region. The Grenada Site Office of the UWI Open Campus is located at the historic T A Marryshow House, former residence of a leading member of the labour and nationalist movements in Grenada and the wider Caribbean.
The biennial conference provides an opportunity for social work educators, practitioners, students, researchers, policy makers, social planners and others from across the Caribbean and abroad to share the results of their research and academic pursuits, practice experiences and visions in a lively atmosphere characterized by understanding, respect and concern.
This meeting will be held on the splendid campus of St George’s University. The campus will be home to the weeklong conference which will encompass workshops, academic papers and lectures. Social workers, health care professionals and many with interrelated interest from all over the world will be landing on Grenada’s soil. Sessions with topics ranging from Working with Men, Child Abuse, Aging Services, Gerontology and Youth Development are just the tip of the iceberg. To ensure that attendees are able to get a taste of Grenada, the Local Organising Committee has planned a Cultural Evening where vendors and entertainers will allow first time and return visitors an opportunity to experience the warm Grenadian hospitality and their eyes, ears and taste buds will titillate with memories our beautiful island — Pure Grenada, the Spice of the Caribbean.
“UWI Open Campus, Grenada, is very proud to support and partner with the Association of Caribbean Social Work Educators. Those within the field of social work or have overlapping interests are strongly encouraged to attend,” says Dr Nicole Phillip-Dowe, Head of Site UWI Open Campus, Grenada and Chair, Local Organising Committee.
Maria Holder Memorial Trust and Republic Bank in particular have collectively sponsored 80 Grenadians, enabling them to attend. This conference however has been funded by ACSWE, UWI Open Campus, UWI Mona, SGU, Howard University, and Grenada National Lotteries Authority. Interested Grenadians professionals are welcome to register for the conference to attend the entire week or attend one day sessions. For queries go to http://caribbeansocialwork.org/welcome/
ACSWE and UWI Open Campus, Grenada looks forward to engaging collectively with the past, the present and the future of social work education.
For more: http://nowgrenada.com/2015/07/12th-biennial-conference/
IMAGE: caribbeansocialwork.org
Qunar: Building up its O2O capabilities
By WestEnd511 Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. From Seeking Alpha
Summary
Remain bullish on QUNR post management meeting.
Hotel booking remains a key growth area.
O2O strategy with BIDU Maps a key differentiator.
I recently met with Qunar (NASDAQ:QUNR) management to understand the company’s commission trends and mobile booking prospects. In short, I remain bullish on QUNR as the company becomes a key online travel player with an attractive presence in essential mobile booking channels (i.e., Baidu
(NASDAQ:BIDU) Maps). This positions the company well for the overall online-to-offline (O2O) trend. Additionally, the prospect of privatization is also possible given the recent privatization deals announced by several US-listed ADRs. I believe QUNR could be one of them as management looks to maximize shareholder value.
Like any other online travel service provider, QUNR operates in the air ticketing and hotel segments. On the air ticketing side, take-rate of 2% has seen moderate improvement over the past several quarters. Management forecasts around 65% air ticketing revenue growth due to higher take-rate and booking volume. International travel adds an additional kicker, growing in triple digits off a lower base. Worth noting, international take-rate is much lower than that of the domestic rate as competition on the international side is slightly stronger with Tuniu (NASDAQ:TOUR) being a key competitor.
On the hotel side, management is slightly more positive on the growth prospects and believes hotel could potentially become a bigger revenue share for the company. Most notably, 85% of smartphone users are not accustomed to mobile hotel booking, and this presents an attractive opportunity for QUNR as it leverages its exclusive presence in Baidu Maps. I note that BIDU’s decision to invest $3.2bn in O2O will add a favorable backdrop to QUNR as users of BIDU Maps can look up nearby hotels provided by QUNR and book them accordingly via BIDU Maps and QUNR. I note that the map is becoming increasingly important to a user’s hotel selection decision because it gives the user a good sense of where the hotel is located and whether it is convenient for the user. QUNR’s presence in BIDU Maps gives the user the convenience to look up and book hotels that are most relevant to their needs, in my view.
Conclusion: I remain bullish on QUNR as it is well positioned to be a competitive online travel player that has significant upside potential from its exposure to the O2O trend.
For more: http://seekingalpha.com/article/3296825-qunar-building-up-its-o2o-capabilities
Hope for the future Inbox
By Sonia Kwami, From Walk Free
Thousands of children in South Sudan are not in school today — as many as 13,000 children in the country have been pulled into the civil war as child soldiers.1 It’s not just in South Sudan — children caught in crisis situations across the world remain at risk of being abducted, trafficked and exploited right now.
But we have an opportunity to help. World leaders are meeting in Oslo in just a few days, and it’s our chance to ask them to take action. If governments allocate funds for education in times of emergencies, children’s education can be quickly re-started, which will help reduce their risk of being abducted, trafficked or exploited.
Call upon world leaders meeting in Oslo next week to publicly commit to the creation of a Global Fund for Education in Emergencies to get children back in school.
Yei, a small town in South Sudan has shown just how this is possible. Kinji Primary School, completely destroyed in war and rebuilt with the help of UNHCR funds, helped get 1,300 students back in school with the chance of a life free from slavery.2
We believe that setting aside funds to provide stable education and safe places for children in such areas will go a long way in protecting them from falling into modern slavery and from abductions that may lead to forced marriage or recruitment as child soldiers.3,4
Ask our leaders to set up an emergency fund to provide education for children in conflict communities and help ensure a secure future for them.
By signing this petition, you’ll help ensure that children who have been displaced by conflict and crisis will have a chance at a life free from modern slavery.
Thanks in advance.
Walk Free is a movement of people everywhere, fighting to end one of the world’s greatest evils: Modern slavery.
To sign petition go to: http://www.walkfree.org/education-in-crisis/?utm_source=Subscribers&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=education-in-crisis&utm_content=Global-fund-for-education-in-crises_Petition_Launch_en_Prospect_Ex_02Jul15
Do you like mangoes? “Man go get ya mango!”
From Trip Advisor
Do you like mangoes? In Cayman they are coming to the end of the season but if you’re in the Seven Mile Beach area you’re still in luck – for the next two or three weeks or so.
There’s a mango farmer named “Frankie” who has set up shop in a little white cabana out of the back of his van in the Seven Mile Beach Public Beach car park.
So if you like a nice juicy sweet mango, as we say in Cayman “Man, hurry go get ya mango before dey’s all done!”
{I hope this doesn’t count as advertising or violate any TripAdvisor rules. I have no connection to “Frankie” – other than as a very frequent and very satisfied customer! I don’t mean to be naughty – I just thought these sweet treats are too good not to share with our TA community …}
Enjoy!!!
New Cayman Islands police detention centre might be opening soon
For over a year the highly publicized purpose built new police detention centre has been sitting vacant for over a year with no explanation as to why.
“Problems beyond our control” is the official response to that question.
Now we understand the new facility will be open for business within “a month”.
Jamaicans, Vincentian caught in massive drug bust in Antigua
From CARIBBEAN 360
IMAGE: THE COCAINE WHICH WAS SEIZED.
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, Wednesday July 1, 2015 – Law enforcement officials in Antigua and Barbuda have nabbed three non-nationals in an operation that also netted over 230 pounds of cannabis and more than 49 kilos of cocaine.
The cannabis which was found in crocus bags, has an estimated street value of over EC$2.3 million (US$851,851) while the wholesale value of the sealed packages of cocaine is over EC$1.7 million (US$629,629).
The suspected smugglers – two Jamaican men and a Vincentian man – are now facing drug charges.
According to local media reports, the Jamaicans have been in Antigua for a while and the Vincentian recently travelled to the island.
They were held early yesterday morning when personnel from the Office of National Drug and Money Laundering Control Policy conducted an operation in the rural Mount Joy community.
U.S. & Cuba formally restore diplomatic relations
By Javier Hasse From benzinga
Shares of the Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund, Inc (NASDAQ: CUBA) were up 8 percent on Wednesday after U.S. President Barack Obama made public his plans to “formally reestablish diplomatic relations with the Republic of Cuba.”
Consequently, Obama announced that both countries will once again set up embassies in each other’s capitals. The U.S. will open an embassy in Havana over the course of this summer.
Obama said, “this is not merely symbolic,” adding he expects this development to kick off a “new chapter” in the relation with the Caribbean country, ending with more than half a century of estrangement and hostility.
“Americans and Cubans alike are ready to move forward,” he stated.
Individual stocks responding to the news included MasTec, Inc. (NYSE: MTZ) and Sherrit Intl Copr R (OTC: SHERF). Regarding the former, founded by Cuban American immigrant Jorge Mas Canosa, the fund’s manager Thomas Herzfeld said, MasTec “has the technology and resources and the understanding of Cuba” to capitalize on an eventual opening of business opportunity in the island.
Sherrit, for its part, is surging, for it operates in Cuba. This small-cap natural resources company would benefit from an end to the Cuban embargo.
Also on the rise were cruise liners Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (NYSE: RCL), Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ: NCLH) and Carnival Corp (NYSE: CCL), as American tourism in Cuba could pick up following Wednesday’s news.
It should be noted that all of the stocks mentioned above are a part of the Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund’s equity portfolio.
For more: http://m.benzinga.com/article/5642895
Caribbean leaders travel to annual CARICOM Summit Meeting
From Presna Latina
Georgetown, Jul 1 (Prensa Latina) Presidents and high ranking officials from the Caribbean are travelling today to Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados, to attend the 36th annual Conference of Heads of State and Government, to be in session on Jul 2-4.
According to the official website of the Caricom, at least 16 presidents of the area will be present in the meeting, as well as representatives of the Asia-Africa-Caribbean summit and the Association of Caribbean States.
The list of 150 attendees includes the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela.
The Caribbean leaders will discuss energy, the establishment of the single market of the Caricom, the technological development of the area, the promotion of candidates to relevant international positions and the claim for compensation from Europe for slavery.
They will also review their relations with the Dominican Republic in the wake of its decision to repatriate thousands of Haitians born there and the territorial disputes Guyana-Venezuela and Belize-Guatemala.
Prime Minister of Barbados, Freundel Stuart, will lchair the summit after assuming today the pro tempore presidency of Caricom, who was founded on July 4, 1973, to coordinate foreign policy and strengthen cooperation of their partners in the economic, agricultural, industrial, transport and telecommunications sectors.
Caricom groups Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Belize, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana and Suriname as full members.
Anguila, Bermudas, Caiman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, and the Turks and Caicos Islands are associated countries.
For more: http://www.plenglish.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3944181&Itemid=1
Cayman Islands News: BE INFORMED
From Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce
BE INFORMED session scheduled for Friday, 17 July to review the proposed labour amendments
You’re invited to attend a special BE INFORMED session on Friday, 17 July from 3:00 – 5:00 pm at the Chamber conference room in Governors Square. A special presentation will be delivered by Caymanian attorneys Huw Moses and Venesha McLean from HSM Chamber. They will review the proposed amendments and will respond to questions from members.
The Labour Relations Bill proposes to raise the retirement age to 65 years and increase maternity leave from 12 to 14 weeks; six of which would have to be taken immediately after a baby is born. For the first time, employers will have to give paternity leave to fathers of five paid days and five days unpaid.
Amendments proposed to the National Pensions Law include increasing the maximum pensionable annual earnings from $60,000 to $87,000 per year. The Bill also eliminates pension payment requirements for employees who work less than 15 hours per week. You can review the amendments to both pieces of legislation by visiting
The Chamber Council plans to review both Bills and will be seeking the views of the membership in upcoming weeks on the proposed changes
SOURCE: http://www.education.gov.ky/portal/page?_pageid=3901,8794732&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL
Watchdog sees mixed picture on Dutch Caribbean finances
By Jason Smith From The BVI Beacon
The government of St. Maarten missed a deadline in March to pay $33 million in past due contributions to the country’s pension and public health insurance funds, a Dutch financial watchdog said.
The financial overseer, known by its Dutch abbreviation CFT, will now require St. Maarten to develop a plan to pay back the money over the next three years.
The CFT has closely monitored the finances of the Dutch Caribbean “constituent countries” since a 2010 agreement that forgave millions in government debt in exchange for a pledge the countries made to balance their budgets in the future and accept financial supervision.
The CFT believes that St. Maarten’s government could bring in the $248 million in revenue that it projects to collect in 2015, although “seasonal” variations may provoke a shortfall later this year.
The organisation would like to see the government sell surplus property or cut spending to make the past-due contributions, it said in a press release. It noted that Dutch laws prohibit the government from additional borrowing to pay the bill.
Canada Life takes over L&G’s Dublin-based offshore business
By Emma Ann Hughes From FT Adviser
Legal and General has offloaded its Dublin-based offshore business, L&G International, to Canada Life Group for an undisclosed sum.
Launched in 2007, the unit was a subsidiary of L&G, based in Dublin. It provides investment and tax planning solutions, primarily focused on the UK high net-worth market.
The business has more than 4,300 UK investment bond policies, with assets under administration of £2.7bn as at 31 March 2015.
Sean Christian, executive director offshore of Canada Life, said he had appointed Tom Kenny as managing director of CLIAI.
Mr Kenny was chief financial officer of the business when it was owned by L&G.
Paul Mahon, president and chief executive officer of Canada Life and owner of Great-West Lifeco, stated: “Canada Life is a highly regarded investment bond provider and has been selling into the UK for over 28 years both from within the UK, as well as through its companies based in the Isle of Man and, more recently, in Dublin.”
US$200 million invested in renewable energy projects in Jamaica
From CARIBBEAN360
KINGSTON, Jamaica, Wednesday July 1, 2015 – Minister of State in the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Julian Robinson says US$200 million has been invested in various renewable energy initiatives that will come on stream by the end of next year.
Among the projects are the US$45 million expansion of the Wigton Windfarm in Manchester and the recent signing of a US$47 million financing agreement with WRB Enterprises and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) for development of a 20 megawatt solar plant in York Town, Clarendon.
And Robinson says the government’s focus on renewable energy solutions is well placed.
“Reliable energy sources have revealed that alternative energy technologies, such as wind, solar, and electrical storage, continued to gain ground in 2014, with solar, in particular, capturing almost 50 per cent of all global investments in clean energy, which grew to over $310 billion in 2014,” he said.
Wigton Windfarm is the largest wind energy facility in Jamaica and the English-speaking Caribbean, providing more than 100 million kilowatt hours of electricity to the grid on an annual basis.
“When the new 24-mega watts generating plant comes on stream in early 2016, it will increase renewable energy input to the grid by two per cent,” Robinson pointed out.
As for the development of the 20-megawatt solar plant in York Town, Clarendon, the minister said when that facility is completed, it will be one of the largest solar projects constructed in the Caribbean.
“It is of strategic national importance to Jamaica and is one of three successfully selected proposals from among 24 other projects . . . to provide a total of 115MW of renewable energy to the Jamaican power grid,” he noted.
Robinson said there are also prospects for hydro power development, following the completion of feasibility studies late last year, which identified 26 MW in hydro potential from six local rivers.
“The Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) will be carrying out an aggressive marketing drive to attract investment to exploit these commercial opportunities while increasing Jamaica’s renewable energy supply,” he said.
The minister said that those projects, among others, were being pursued to increase renewable power generation to about 20 per cent by 2030 and reduce the importation of oil, which last year amounted to US$2 billion.
“To achieve this objective we have sought to involve both private and public sector entities in the development of our renewable energy resources. Our strategy is bearing fruit as we see local and overseas companies as well as government corporations investing in renewables,” he said.
