iNews Briefs
“There’s a lot of money being paid ….. and we don’t know who it’s going to” says Cayman Minister
When North Side Member of Cayman Islands Legislative Assembly queried the operating costs of the CAREPAY card swipe system used by Cayman Islands National Insurance Company (CINICO) and the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority (CIHSA) that operates as a credit card billing system, it was discovered no one actually knows who actually receives the %’s being charged by the company every time the card is swiped, AIS Ltd, who set up the system.
Although it was known AIS Cayman is part of Advanced Integrated Systems Ltd., based in Jamaica, Finance Minister Marco Archer, chairman of the Finance Committee, where the query was raised, said he would obtain a copy of the current CAREPAY system contract, and also request operating licenses and a register of beneficial ownership for AIS Ltd.
Archer said, “There’s a lot of money being paid for this company and we don’t know who it’s going to.”
Miller was right to ask the question as the CIHSA expects to have nearly $70M in unpaid bills from services rendered to patients by the end of the upcoming budget year in June 2015.
CAREPAY that cost the country a $2.4M “mobilization fee” was brought in to significantly reduce the CIHSA’s bad debts.”
It hasn’t.
Carrie Underwood heads to Haiti for charity trip
By MT/WNWCCMT&WNTWT/MT
Country star CARRIE UNDERWOOD has embarked on a trip to Haiti as part of a children’s charity mission.
The Blown Away hitmaker joined forces with officials from the non-profit Danita’s Children organization, which rescues and provides support for orphaned children and kids in poverty, and headed to the Caribbean nation earlier this week (begs16Jun14) to lend a hand at the group’s medical center.
Underwood has yet to share details about her trip with fans, but Nashville, Tennessee resident Rhae Lauren revealed the singer’s involvement on Tuesday (17Jun14), when she tweeted a photo of the star with a group of volunteers on a “dental mission trip”.
In the accompanying caption, she wrote, “The girls of the trip getting ready to cross the D.R. (Dominican Republic)/Haiti boarder this morning. Excited for our first day. So proud of everyone and how much we were able to accomplish! @danitaschildren #haiti #dentalmissiontrip (sic)”.
Senior Cayman Islands Immigration Officer arrested for assault
On Saturday, 21st June 2014 a Senior Immigration Officer was arrested at her home on suspicion of assault causing actual bodily harm. The assault was of a domestic nature and during a search of her home a licensed 12 gauge shotgun was recovered with a quantity of ammunition, which were seized by the police. The firearm was featured in the victim’s complaint.
The victim who received a number of injuries during the assault were allegedly inflicted by a hammer. He was treated at the George Town Hospital and later released.
The Immigration officer has been interviewed and bailed, and the matter referred to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for ruling.
The RCIPS would like to point out that the ownership of any licensed firearm carries a great deal of responsibility; the misuse of any firearm can have deadly consequences which we will not tolerate. We take every incident of domestic violence whether the victim is a male or a female very seriously, and we continue to ensure a zero-tolerance policy.
Reggae Girlz thrash Dom Rep 7-0, advance to CFU Cup
By Sanjay Myers From Jamaica
SAN CRISTOBAL, Dominican Republic — Jamaica booked their place in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Women’s Cup after spanking the hosts Dominican Republic 7-0 at the Estadio Panamericano here on Sunday.
After brushing aside St Lucia 14-0 on Wednesday, the Reggae Girlz eased to another convincing victory to top Group Five. Striker Shakira Duncan scored four times (third, 23rd, 64th, 77th minutes) against Dominican Republic to bring her tally to eight goals in two matches.
Davis, who missed a penalty in the 88th minute, hit a brace with strikes in the 32nd and 90th.
Donna-Kay Henry, making her second start for Jamaica, blasted in the other goal in the 42nd minute.
For more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Reggae-Girlz-thrash-Dom-Rep-7-0–advance-to-CFU-Cup
Man shot in leg police seek witnesses
The RCIPS is currently investigating the report of a shooting incident which occurred at approximately 9:00pm on Saturday, 21st June 2014 in the Birch Tree Hill area of West Bay.
A 32-year-old male victim stated that whilst walking along Birch Tree Hill in the vicinity of Apple Blossom Close he heard three loud bangs, and almost immediately he felt a stinging sensation in his left leg but did not see anyone in the immediate area.
The victim was transported to the George Town Hospital where it was confirmed by doctors that his injury was consistent with a gunshot wound to the lower left leg. He has undergone surgery, and is currently in a stable condition.
Police does not have any information about a suspect or a motive for the shooting.
Officers from the West Bay CID are very keen to speak to anyone who may have seen or heard anything around that time or anyone who may have information about the shooting to contact DC Shane Ennis or DC Marcia Myles at 525-8303 or Crime Stoppers 800-8477(TIPS).
Dominican Republic: UN urges restoration of citizenship for unregistered
By the Caribbean Journal staff
A group of United Nations human rights experts is urging the Dominican Republic to “adopt the necessary legal measures to restore Dominican citizenship for all those born in the country but not registered at birth.”
The call by the UN’s Working Group of Experts of People of African Descent came after the Dominican Republic recently enacted a law to provide for a path to citizenship for those born to migrants in the country.
The law came after a controversial constitutional court ruling last year that effectively stripped as many as several hundred thousand Dominicans of Haitian descent of their citizenship, on the grounds that they had been born to non-resident migrants in the country and were thus not citizens.
In a statement, the group said the Dominican Republic’s recent law was an “important step towards rectifying the situation by which tens of thousands of persons of Haitian descent born in the Dominican Republic were rendered stateless by a ruling of the Constitutional Court on 23 September 2013.”
Cayman Minister says Brac hotel owners are to blame for delay in marina decision
Cayman Islands Environment Minister Wayne Panton has said “the difficulty with the Dilbert application and the reasons it has not progressed rest squarely with the applicant and those advising him”.
He said the other two marina projects in the Brac had been approved because they had provided their own environmental impact assessment (EIS) enabling the government to predict and understand the environmental impacts.
The Dilbert application provided no in depth analysis, modeling or surveys for them to analyse the submission and the Department of Environment (DoE) had found a number of ‘red flags’.
The DoE had reported the Dilbert marina proposal indicated “a level of complexity and scope that a responsible decision maker would want to understand much better before making any final decisions”.
Centrica sails out of the Caribbean
By Danny Fortson From Sunday Times UK
Centrica hoped to find new gas supplies in Trinidad and Tobago Centrica hoped to find new gas supplies in Trinidad and Tobago (Jason Lee Pack/Getty)
CENTRICA is selling its gas operations in Trinidad and Tobago seven years after the British Gas-owner dived into the Caribbean as part of a hunt for supplies to offset falling North Sea production.
The £250m auction is part of a sweeping asset sale programme launched by outgoing chief executive Sam Laidlaw. In December the company sold three Texas power stations for £420m, using the proceeds to buy back shares. It has also unloaded Race Bank, a giant wind farm development off the Norfolk coast, and last month unveiled plans to sell another three gas-fired plants in Britain. Macquarie, the investment bank, will handle the Trinidad sale.
The overhaul comes amid a dramatic boardroom shake-up and calls for the company, Britain’s biggest utility, to be broken up. Last month the Competition and Markets Authority launched an investigation in to whether the “big Six” utilities are abusing their dominance.
Cayman to host CONCACAF Girls’ U-15 Championship
Cayman Islands high school students were told that football was important in shaping lives just as much with girls as boys by Local Organising Committee chair Sharon Roulstone.
“CIFA hopes that by promoting national representation that more girls will want to be involved in football and aspire to be part of our national program and represent the Cayman Islands,” said CIFA Vice President Bruce Blake. “This is an opportunity for the students to meet and interact with the young ladies that will be representing the Cayman Islands at the upcoming CONCACAF Girls’ Under 15 Championship scheduled for August 2014 in the Cayman Islands. We thank the schools for accommodating us in their busy exam and graduation period.”
The tournament is scheduled for 6-17 August 2014. The Cayman Islands will contest Group A against Curacao, Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands.
Silent witnesses to child abuse in Barbados could be jailed
From Caribbean360
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Monday June 23, 2014, CMC – Persons who may be aware of instances of child abuse, but do not inform the authorities, could be brought before the courts and face possible jail according to a looming law.
Child Care Board Director Joan Crawford says Cabinet is about to consider a proposal making it mandatory for school principals, church leaders, social workers, court officials, and media workers, among others, to report knowledge of child abuse.
“There are no ifs or buts. It will be that you … are bound to report,” she said Thursday. “The only exception there is that lawyer-client privilege, but all others are not considered that way.”
Further explaining the proposal before the Cabinet she said, “Failure to report a suspected case should carry a sanction in the form of a fine, with the alternative of imprisonment”.
Crawford’s revelation came during a symposium on student sexual abuse, where UNICEF Representative Knu-Sandi Lwin suggested that education officials and others involved in the delivery of education can be blamed for not disclosing all information on probable cases of child abuse.
“All of us, in one way or another, have been sinning, the sins of omission,” she said.
Cayman’s Glow Run is a delight
It was a delightful evening for Cayman Islands inaugural Glow Run 5k held last Saturday (21) that raised money that benefited he National Trust for the Cayman Islands and Rotaract Blue Cayman Islands.
It was also a delightful event with over 300 persons taking part who were all encouraged to light up the night from head to toe with glow items as well as wacky attire.
This was to go with the theme of the run “Light up the Night for a Brighter Future.” There was even a glow after party and it was a good venue to finish the event at Margaritaville where party music kept everybody happy.
The race was won by Tobias Muchene, Matthew Volkyn was second and Marlon Crowe third.
The organisers were Cayman Islands National Trust and Caribbean Utilities Company.
NY medical marijuana law could mean big bucks for vaporizer makers
By Zach Honig From engadget
New York is against second-hand smoke of any kind; even beneficiaries of the state’s new medical marijuana law will need to avoid lighting up. Government restrictions do allow vaporizers, however, which got their (legal) start with tobacco and are about to become big business in NY. The handheld devices will play a key role in the treatment of medical marijuana recipients, who will be permitted to inhale the drug through vaporizers, but not by using cigarette paper and a lighter. You’ll also be able to consume marijuana in food or through a concentrated liquid called a tincture, but there’s no question that vaporizers will become more prolific as more New Yorkers get their hands on closely regulated prescriptions in the days and months to come.
For more: http://www.engadget.com/2014/06/20/ny-medical-marijuana/?ncid=rss_truncated
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