UPDATED:

CGU15: Scott’s brace paces Cayman’s second victory: Cayman 4-1 Bahamas

From CIFA

GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman – Captain Lauren Scott scored a braced and sent host Cayman Islands to the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Girls’ Under 15 Championship, with an impressive 4-1 victory over the Bahamas.

Cayman got off to a fast start, with Chelsea Green tucking a goal home in the 2nd minute after a goal mouth scramble. Scott doubled the lead three minutes later and 11 year old Sabrina Suberan put Cayman 3-0 up by halftime.

In the second half Scott got her second just after the restart, scoring Cayman’s ninth goal in two matches and booking a spot in Wednesday’s quarterfinals. Laurann Brown scored a consolation goal for the Bahamians in the final minute of play.

” I’m very happy for them,” said Cayman Islands Head Coach Ruben Flores.

“The goal was always to have a good first round, but we still have another game to go and I want our team to be convincing and continue to play well. I just want the people to see that what they are doing is very consistent and not a fluke.”

Striker Chelsea Green scored her tournament leading fourth goal of the competition. Cayman returns to action against Curacao on Sunday at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex.

Group A Standings

Cayman Islands 6

Bahamas 3

Curacao 3

British Virgin Islands 0

Cayman beat BVI in U-15 Girls Champ

The Cayman Islands beat British Virgin Islands 5-0 in its CONCACAF Under-15 Girls Championship opener on Wednesday (6) at Truman Bodden, George Town, Grand Cayman.

Chelsea Green hit a hat trick.

Scorers: Chelsea Green 15′, 25′, 30′

Sabrina Suberan 23′

Deondra Kelly 70′

6 August results

Group A

Cayman Islands 5-0 BVI

Bahamas 3-0 Curacao

Group B

Honduras 1-0 Bermuda

Trinidad 4-0 Barbados

Passengers save man trapped between train and platform in Australia

By Stan Schroeder From Mashable

You know those “mind the gap” signs at train stations that warn commuters of a dangerous space between the train and the platform? A passenger at a Perth train station did not heed the sign, but, luckily, other travelers were there to help free his trapped leg Wednesday morning.

A video of the incident shows the man getting stuck between the train and the platform during boarding. Soon enough, dozens of other commuters gather to push the train, tilting it just enough so the man can free his leg and enter the train.

According to Transperth spokesman David Hynes, who spoke with ABC News, the company alerted the driver to make sure the train didn’t move, and then organized the nearby folks to help.

“It was people power that saved someone from possibly quite serious injury,” he said.

For more and to see video go to: http://mashable.com/2014/08/06/man-trapped-train-station/

 

Carey Group becomes listing agent for Cayman Islands Stock Exchange

Carey Group has become the first listing agent in the world not based in the Cayman Islands to become a Cayman Islands Stock Exchange (CSX) listing agent.

As both a listing agent of the CSX and a listing member of the Channel Islands Securities Exchange (CISE), Carey Group’s Guernsey fund services business now has the unique capability to offer clients the choice of two recognised stock exchanges.

Both CSX and CISE have ‘recognised stock exchange’ status from United Kingdom HMRC and both are affiliate members of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

Valia Theodoraki, Chief Executive Officer of the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange welcomed Carey Group’s admission as a listing agent and said: “We are very excited to have a CSX listing agent based in a European time zone with the experience and expertise of Carey Group’s Guernsey team.”

 

Rat invasion grounds Air India jet

From stuff.co.nz

An Air India flight has been grounded after rats were reportedly spotted scurrying about the aircraft.

Crew members noticed the “scores” of rodents as flight AI021 landed at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport from Calcutta, the Times of India reported.

As soon as the 200 passengers had disembarked, the flight was taken out of service for fumigation to exterminate all of the unwelcome guests.

An unnamed official told the newspaper the presence of rats onboard could be disastrous.

“Rats on board an aircraft can lead to a catastrophe if they start chewing up electric wires of a fly by wire plane.

“If that happens, pilots will have no control on any system on board leading to a disaster.”

The most common way for rodents to enter a plane was through catering vans, the official said.

However, a spokesman for Air India denied the report.

He told the Wall Street Journal only one rat had been sighted on the aircraft.

For more: http://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/travel-troubles/10357893/Rat-invasion-grounds-Air-India-jet

 

Cayman Chamber and ILO deliver free workshop

The Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce partnered with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to deliver a free two-day entrepreneurial skills workshop last month.

Thirty-seven (37) participants completed the workshop and received information about the various stages of developing a new business including self-management skills, entrepreneurial resources, finding a good business idea, organizing an enterprise, operating the business, developing a marketing plan, legal responsibilities and insurance, financial planning and finalizing a business plan. The participants organised in to four groups and worked together to develop a business plan that could be presented to the group for discussion.

This is the first time the ILO has worked with the Chamber to deliver a workshop for the benefit of the membership and the community.

“The workshop was well received by all participants and we are seeking to repeat the course in 2015,” said Chamber CEO Wil Pineau, CCE. “I would like to thank Anne Knowles and Kelvin Sergeant from the ILO’s Trinidad office for working together to deliver an outstanding workshop. The evaluations were outstanding.”

Last month the Chamber submitted a proposal for funding from the European Union for the course to be repeated in 2015 to assist with the development of entrepreneurs and small businesses in the Cayman Islands.

 

US government says someone besides Snowden is leaking secret docs

By Billy Steele From engadget

Due to content of a report from The Intercept, the US government says that there’s a new whistle blower leaking its secrets in addition to Edward Snowden. The article details national security documents prepared by the National Counterterrorism Center dated August 2013 — after the former NSA contractor left the US for Russia. Focusing on databases used to organize suspected terrorists’ identities, the report details one specific repository — the Terrorist Identities Datamart Enivornment (TIDE) — that now tallies a million names. According to The Intercept, 680,000 suspects make up the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) portion of TIDE, with over 40 percent (280,000 to be exact) labeled by the government as having no affiliation with a terrorist group. Documents also shed light on how the screening system has expanded under the Obama Administration to include the collection of biometric data (facial images, fingerprints, and iris scans) of watchlisted Americans. What’s more, part of the process included pulling records for every person with a driver’s license in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin in the time leading up to the Chicago Marathon.

For more: http://www.engadget.com/2014/08/05/us-government-new-leaker/?ncid=rss_truncated

 

RCC meets to discuss impact of climate change on Caribbean region

By Fernelle Neptune, St Lucia GIS

Senior level representatives from a wide range of regional institutions met in Saint Lucia, Tuesday, to develop a regional climate change strategy at the first meeting of the Regional Coordinating Committee (RCC) on Climate Change.

Saint Lucia’s Minister for Sustainable Development, Energy, Science and Technology, Honorable Dr. James Fletcher spoke on the impact of climate change.

“Climate change will impact almost every single sector in our region: health, agriculture, fisheries, tourism, transportation, education, social services. None will be spared. However, the cost of adapting to climate change is beyond the capacity of any of our fiscal challenge governments,” he said.

Dr. Fletcher also highlighted the need to for the region to adopt a plan that would help build resilience against the impact of climate change.

“In the Caribbean, climate change is a substantial issue that poses a clear and potent threat to our survival. While for many other countries—the US, EU and Japan—it may be an abstract, academic or esoteric subject, for us it is a matter of life or death.”

The regional framework will aid in promoting the implementation of specific adaptation measures to address climate change in the region.

 

Senseless killing of dog in Cayman gets man arrested

In what would seem to be a totally senseless and inexplicable killing of a dog on Grand Cayman’s West Bay Beach last Monday (4) lead to the arrest of a man suspected of carrying out the crime.

The dog, a German Shepherd, and not much older than a puppy, was playing with its owner, a 14 year old boy, when he got into an altercation with a 58 year old man.

The teenager said he put the dog on a leash and whilst pedaling off he dropped the leash. The man grabbed the dog and watched with horror as the man broke the dog’s neck and threw the now lifeless body into the sea.

The boy retrieved the dead body of his pet and took it home where his mother called the police and made the complaint.

The suspect is out on bail.

 

Consumer spending still isn’t even close to making a full recovery

By Myles Udland From Business Insider

Consumer spending still hasn’t grown to pre-crisis levels, and it isn’t all that close.

In a post on the New York Fed’s blog on Wednesday Jonathan McCarthy, VP at the Fed’s research and statistics group, took a look at how sluggish the recovery in consumer spending has been since the financial crisis.

From pre-financial crisis levels, real consumer discretionary fell 8%, and even still it is languishing more than 3% below pre-crisis levels.

“Discretionary expenditures have picked up noticeably over recent quarters,” McCarthy writes. “But, unlike spending on nondiscretionary services, they remain well below their pre-recession peak. Even so, the pace of recovery for both discretionary and nondiscretionary services in this expansion is well below that of previous cycles.”

It’s been a rocky road to repairing the economy since the damage suffered during the financial crisis, and as far as consumers are considered, there is still a long way to go.

See attachment – click to enlarge

For more: http://www.businessinsider.com/consumer-spending-recovery-still-lagging-2014-8#ixzz39ic5DzqR

 

Timex Smartwatch goes phone-free

By Katie Nelson From Mashable

Watch brand Timex introduced a phone-free smartwatch Wednesday, the company announced in a statement.

Called the Ironman One GPS+, the 3G-connected device’s standout quality is its ability to connects to apps on its own, rather than syncing with a smartphone. The company is targeting users who use smartwatches for fitness-tracking, but don’t carry a phone and a watch at the same time.

The smartwatch comes with 4GB of memory, MP3 capabilities and a year of free 3G data provided by AT&T. It also supports all fitness-tracking apps and is water resistant for those who prefer to exercise outdoors or in a pool.

As its name suggests, the watch is equipped with GPS to allow the user to track his or her location and make whereabouts visible to others. Meanwhile, the “Find Me Mode” feature lets users fire off customizable alert messages with exact location specifics should an emergency situation arise.

Ironman One GPS+ is available for pre-order on Timex’s website for $399. A fancier model with a built-in heart rate monitor goes for $449, and both will hit AT&T and electronics stores by fall.

IMAGE: Timex

For more: http://mashable.com/2014/08/06/timex-smartwatch-gps/

 

Saint Lucia’s health ministry prepares for possible Ebola cases

From Ministry of Health

The Ministry of Health, Wellness, Human Services and Gender Relations has announced that it is monitoring information on the West Africa Ebola outbreak, and has enhanced its state of preparedness for all diseases of public health concern.

National Epidemiologist, Mr. Nahum Jn. Baptiste, said that the Ministry has placed particular focus on infection control and universal health precautions.

In response to the Ebola outbreak, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Director General has convened a two-day meeting of the WHO Emergency Committee to ascertain whether the event constitutes a “public health emergency of international concern.”

The meeting commenced Wed Aug. 6 and ended Thu Aug. 7.

Ebola is a viral hemorrhagic disease transmitted through close personal contact with a person infected with the Ebola virus. It causes viral hemorrhagic fever in humans with a 50 – 90 percent fatality rate.

To date, the WHO has confirmed 932 deaths in Africa as a result of the Ebola virus—an increase from 887 confirmed deaths reported two days prior.

 

Cayman Chamber focuses on Minimum Wage

Minimum Wage was the focus of the July BE INFORMED session at the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce.

Mrs. Anne Knowles, Employer Specialist at the International Labour Organisation (ILO), delivered a detailed presentation entitled “Minimum Wage Practices in the Region and Beyond – Lessons to be Learned”. She responded to questions from the membership following her presentation.

During her visit, Mrs. Knowles, President Johann Moxam and CEO Wil Pineau, CCE also held meetings with Minister the Hon. Tara Rivers and the Minimum Wage Advisory Committee. Mrs. Knowles presentation can be viewed here.

 

Philadelphia Caribbean Festival celebration 28 years of Caribbean culture

From News Americas Now

The sounds of the Caribbean complimented by a market place of Caribbean Fashions and Exotic Cuisine returns to the 28th Annual Caribbean Festival, set for Columbus Boulevard and Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, on Sunday, August 17, 2014 from noon to 8 p.m.

Now in its 28th year, this free festival of Caribbean culture, music, and food is one of celebration of the many festivals in the PECO Multicultural Series and part of the 2014 summer season at Penn’s Landing, presented by PECO.

The 2014 Caribbean Festival is proud to announce its musical entertainment line-up highlighting the international known Image Band from Washington, D.C. The event will also feature gospel, spoken word and dancing as well as a Marcus Garvey Salute in honor of the Marcus Mosiah Garvey’s 127th Birthday, which falls on August 17th.

For more see www.phillycaribbeanfestival.com

 

Cayman College wants to further your education and career

The International College of the Cayman Islands (ICCI) is hosting an open house this month to help you further your education and career.

On CITN/Cayman27 ICCI Director of Admissions, Melissa Smith, said.” We aren’t only focused on educating our population, but we also focus on gearing them to be able to obtain jobs to be able to retain those jobs. To be able to function and enhance themselves within their careers. We strive to make sure that our students are placed in jobs and we have a career coach who actively seeks out job opportunities.”

ICCI’s Open House details are:

Thursday 28 August 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

www.icci.edu.ky | 947-1100

 

Fun Facts about Caribbean wildlife

By Jessica Pellien From Princeton University Press Blog

Did you know…

Residents of colonial Cuba could be punished for insulting the Cuban Trogon, a red-breasted bird whose plumage was seen as representing the red sash worn by Spanish kings.

Ackee with salt fish is Jamaica’s national dish, but the fruit can be highly poisonous if harvested or cooked incorrectly

The earliest attempt to import breadfruit into the Caribbean was thwarted by a famous mutiny — the one on the H.M.S. Bounty, which was carrying the seedlings among its cargo.

You can tell which way the wind blows on a given island by looking at the coconut palm trees, which often leans in the direction of the prevailing breeze.

The Caribbean is home to dozens of species of bats, about half of which are endemic to the islands.

The Red Junglefowl found in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the Grenadines is actually the feral offspring of formerly domesticated roosters and chickens.

Crocodiles are native to Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti.

Barracudas have been known to attack divers wearing sparkly clothing, which they can mistake for prey.

The black grouper can grow to four feet long and change its sex from female to male.

The Caribbean spiny lobster can swim backwards by flipping its tail.

Whether you are traveling to the Caribbean by plane or by cruise ship, make sure you pack a copy of Wildlife of the Caribbeanby Herbert A. Raffaele and James W. Wiley so you can learn more about the birds, fish, mammals, and plants you might see.

For more: http://blog.press.princeton.edu/2014/08/06/fun-facts-about-caribbean-wildlife/

 

Science and technology changing lives

From Trinidad Express Newspapers

THE National Institute of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (NIHERST), in collaboration with the Ministry of Science and Technology, on Monday opened its 13th Caribbean Youth Science Forum at the Faculty of Engineering, University of the West Indies (UWI) St Augustine Campus. Running until today, the Forum has attracted over 180 students from a number of Caribbean countries as well as representation by Trinidad and Tobago scholars.

The Caribbean Youth Science Forum is a platform for the nurturing of the passions of our young people through interaction with leading local and international scientists and professionals as well as through networking with your peers and “science in action” field trips. It affords delegates an in-depth look at the increasingly inter-disciplinary nature of sciences with a speaker list which promises a diverse range of topics for delegates to discuss, debate and learn about.

The key note speaker this year is eminent neuroscientist Prof Miguel Noicolelis. Miguel Nicolelis is leading the WALK AGAIN PROJECT which witnessed the first kick of the 2014 FIFA World Cup being delivered by a Brazilian who is paralysed from the waist down. The teenager walked onto the field, leaned back a foot and swing at the football, using a mechanical exoskeleton controlled by the teen’s brain.

In declaring the event opened Ms Ingrid Seerattan, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology, stressed the importance of STEM education (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) “in building more diversified and competitive economies. It is important that we provide the environment to foster creativity and innovation as well as to inculcate a sense of entrepreneurship, especially in our young people.” The Caribbean Youth Science Forum, therefore, provides our new generation of talented and ambitious young people with the skills and knowledge to enable them to formulate and implement solutions for many of our challenges.

Seerattan implored participants to use science, technology “to find solutions to some of our most dire national and regional issues such as in the areas of food and biotechnology, natural disasters, “greening” of the environment”.

For more: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/Science-and-technology-changing-lives-270259441.html

 

Cayman Connection: Campaign Issue?

From WTAX

The competing campaigns for governor thinking about the Cayman Islands – not as a vacation spot, but how to make the other man’s holdings there look bad.

Republican challenger Bruce Rauner’s campaign has said the financial connections he has to the Caymans, a notorious tax shelter, have no impact on his personal tax rate. Incumbent Gov. Pat Quinn’s camp says otherwise – and Wednesday trotted out an Ohio State University expert to bolster the case.

“When most people in financial markets think about the Cayman Islands, they think (of them) as a place to hide their money,” says a YouTube video produced by economist Michael Brandl, who says he is volunteering his time and talents.

“When there is a capital gain in a private equity transaction, that is going to be subject to a capital gains tax,” he continues. He says that tax could be as high as 28 percent in Illinois, compared to zero for the Cayman Islands. The Quinn campaign’s inference is that Rauner is using a legal – albeit detrimental to Illinois – means to reduce his tax bill.

Brandl would not go so far as to say this is a deciding factor for voters.

The Rauner campaign was quick to fire back that the state’s public pension funds – of which Quinn is a member – also have offshore dealings, and perhaps the governor can think about that.

For more: http://wtax.com/news/101101-cayman-connection-campaign-issue/#sthash.5tiukiWK.dpuf

NOTE: iNews Cayman has been covering this story with a number of articles:

http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/bruce-rauner-changes-tune-on-secret-cayman-islands-accountsquinns-double-standard/

http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/inews-briefs-172/

http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/super-rich-gubernatorial-candidate-used-controversial-cayman-tax-gimmick-to-maximize-his-fortune/

 

Jean Bertrand Aristide prevented from leaving Haiti

From Caribbean360

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, Thursday August 7, 2014, CMC – Former president Jean Bertrand Aristide is being prohibited from leaving Haiti as law enforcement authorities probe allegations of corruption, misappropriation of public funds and drug trafficking during his 2001-4 presidency, immigration officials have confirmed.

Aristide and several of his former colleagues have been accused of embezzling hundreds of millions of dollars from the State through his organisation, Aristide for Democracy Foundation and other organisations.

His colleagues including Mirlande Liberus, Yvon Neptune, Jean Nesty Lucien and Gustave Faubert, have also been banned from leaving the country, according to a ruling issued by investigating judge, Lamarre Belizaire.

For more: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/jean-bertrand-aristide-prevented-from-leaving-haiti?utm_source=Caribbean360%20Newsletters&utm_campaign=c51b5e59d6-8_7_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_350247989a-c51b5e59d6-39393477

 

How to clean the freezer

From The Kitchn

Freezers read like a crime scene. If a forensics expert took a look, the conversation would go something like this: “If you’ll refer to Exhibit A, you’ll see the dinner party leftovers from four months ago that should be been eaten by now. And Exhibit B, the surplus of Costco ground beef purchased last month because it was “too good a deal” to pass up.”

Because the freezer is a place for long-term storage, it’s easy to forget what we’ve put inside — and it’s also easy to let sneaky leaks go un-wiped and for food debris to gather in its nooks and crannies. Today, let’s talk about how to clean the freezer in just 30 minutes.

Because your freezer may not fall into your usual cleaning routines, it’s good to set aside some time to freshen it up (and dispose of some unlabeled mysteries). By raising the temperature and spraying in a little vinegar and water, it’s easy to get your freezer back to top form. And hopefully forensic experts will no longer be able to trace your footsteps through the mysteries contained within.

The whole process will take you about thirty minutes (depending on just how long it’s been since you last cleaned).

For more and to see slide show of how to clean your freezer go to: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-clean-the-freezer-cleaning-lessons-from-the-kitchn-206364

 

The FBI uses malware to combat online anonymity

By Chris Velazco From engadget

Online anonymity is a beautiful, terrible thing, so naturally governments and law enforcement types are eager to see what happens behind the web’s closed doors. Naturally, that includes the folks at the FBI: According to Wired, the FBI has been using “network investigative techniques” — like highly specific, purpose-built malware — to help peel back popular anonymizing service Tor’s layers of obscurity to catch criminals.

The bureau’s efforts began in earnest with an involved child pornography investigation dubbed Operation Torpedo back in 2012. They eventually lucked out by gaining access to a CP site called Pedoboard, arresting the operator, taking over the servers, and delivering malware to visitors who thought they were protected by Tor.

There’s no denying that some good has come from the bureau’s use of malware, as Wired’s Kevin Poulsen points out that more than 12 child porn aficionados are headed to trial as a result. The flip side of that coin is that the FBI’s success with Operation Torpedo led to another effort to bypass the anonymity that Tor provides… and possibly exposed some innocent people’s information to the FBI’s eager eyes. With a little Javascript, understanding of Firefox and Tor security issues and a “tiny” Windows program, users of some Tor-hidden services like Tormail (hosted by an outfit called Freedom Hosting, which itself was being investigated for “tolerating” child porn) essentially had their IP addresses unmasked.

For more: http://www.engadget.com/2014/08/05/the-fbi-uses-malware-to-combat-online-anonymity/?ncid=rss_truncated

 

These robots have x-ray vision, thanks to WiFi

By Mariella Moon from engadget

These robots from the labs of a University of California, Santa Barbara professor might not be able to outrun anyone, but they sure have a special ability of they own: they can see through walls using only WiFi signals. For the technique to work, the machines work in pairs, with one broadcasting wireless transmissions and another (positioned on the opposite end) measuring them. Since walls and objects reduce signal strength, the receiver can distinguish between empty and occupied spaces to create an accurate map of the area. These aren’t the first robots we’ve seen that can peer through concrete, but the Cougar20-H surveillance robot that emerged years ago uses a number of sensors, whereas UCSB’s creation depends solely on WiFi.

In the future, the researchers believe the technology can be used for search and rescue (it’ll certainly be very useful in rescuing people out of collapsed buildings after earthquakes), to determine the occupancy level of a location and as a helper for archaeological digs. Also, these robots can potentially be outfitted with technology that can classify the object (if it’s human, or what it’s made of if it’s not) they’re seeing through walls. The UCSB team, which has been working on this project for years, has just released a video of the robots in action that you can watch at source story link below.

For more on this story and to see video go to:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/08/05/robots-wifi-xray-see-through-walls/