Death of police officer  – RCIPS Commissioner instructs independent review

(RCIPS) Following a directive from Police Commissioner David Baines that an independent review of the circumstances surrounding the arrest, and the subsequent death, of Police Constable Raphael Williams should take place, the review, by officers from the Bermuda Police Service, began on Tuesday (28 January).

PC Williams, who had been arrested on Thursday 9 January 2014, on suspicion of blackmail and breach of trust, was released on police bail on Friday 10 January. His body was subsequently discovered on Sunday 12 January in the East End area. A police investigation determined that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

“It is normal practice in the UK, and in other jurisdictions, that such circumstances would be subject to independent review”, said Commissioner Baines. “I felt it was important to ensure that the RCIPS also adopts this approach to ensure that all aspects of the arrest and death are reviewed in an open, transparent and independent way. The enquiry team will outline their findings in a report to the Commissioner of the Bermuda Police Service, who will then make the findings available to Governor Helen Kilpatrick. It is anticipated that the report will be made public shortly thereafter.”

Changes approved in line with Constitution

Last Thursday (30) Members of the Legislative Assembly unanimously approved changes to the Police Law (2010 Revision) that reduces the time police can hold criminal suspects before taking them before a court.

The amendments lower the initial time police can hold individuals arrested “on suspicion” of a crime to 48 hours. The hold can be extended to 72 hours if a senior police officer approves and the suspect is brought before a magistrate who also allows the additional detainment without criminal charges being filed.

Grand Court Judge Alex Henderson had pointed out in a recent ruling that the old Police Law did not meet human rights requirements set out in Cayman’s 2009 Constitution Order and this prompted the LA members to act.

Standards in Public Life Bill passed by LA

The Standards in Public Life Bill was passed unanimously on Thursday (30) by all members present through its second reading in the Legislative Assembly (LA).

By June this year the details of assets, business interests and potential conflicts of interest from those that make decisions about public money will have to be made public.

The Deputy Governor, Franz Manderson agreed with the LA members in welcoming the Bill saying it would “shine a light” over the civil service and promote transparency. He also said he was pleased with protection given in the Bill to whistleblowers.

Cayman Government gives more time for beneficial ownership consultation

From Cayman Finance

The deadline to respond to the public consultation regarding beneficial ownership of Cayman Islands-registered companies has been extended to Friday, 28 February 2014.

The Ministry of Financial Services, Commerce and Environment is asking persons working in financial services and commerce, their clients, and the general public – including small-business owners – to provide their input. The deadline was extended in order to provide more time for persons to respond.

For more information on the consultation, contact Mr Wilbur Welcome, Senior Policy Analyst in the Department of Financial Services Policy and Legislation (formerly the Financial Services Secretariat), on [email protected]. The consultation paper is available on http://bit.ly/KjGbQ7.

Axiom founder Tim Schools received £81 m of £108 m swindled from investors, claim Receivers

From OffshoreAlert

British attorney Timothy Schools and entities he wholly or partly beneficially owned received £81 million of the £108 million that was swindled from investors in Cayman Islands-domiciled Axiom Legal Financing Fund, the Fund’s Receivers have claimed in an amended complaint filed at the High Court in London.

For more: http://www.offshorealert.com/axiom-legal-financing-fund-fraud-lawsuit-london–high-court.aspx

Raul Castro wants unity in Latin America, Caribbean

By Peter Orsi From Columbus Dispatch

HAVANA — Cuban President Raul Castro called on Latin American and Caribbean leaders yesterday to work together on pressing regional problems at a gathering of all Western Hemisphere nations except the U.S. and Canada.

In his keynote speech as head of the host nation for the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States — CELAC, for its initials in Spanish — Castro argued that the bloc should aspire to unity despite diversity, describing it as “the legitimate representative of the interests of Latin America and the Caribbean.”

Castro said: “In the context of CELAC, we have the possibility to create a model of our own making, adapted to our realities, based on the principles of mutual benefit.”

The summit’s main theme is fighting poverty, inequality and hunger. According to the U.N.’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, 28 percent of the region’s inhabitants live in poverty and 11 percent in extreme poverty.

For more: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2014/01/29/raul-castro-wants-unity-in-latin-america-caribbean.html

End Cervical Cancer Petition wants more signatures

The Cayman Islands Cancer Society is reminding people of the “end cervical cancer now” e-petition.

The e-petition was launched by regional groups. The aim of is to make screening and HPV vaccines readily available to women in the Cayman Islands and around the Caribbean. Cayman is among the top five countries in the region, including Jamaica, Belize, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, to have gained more than 1,000 signatures towards the petition’s goal.

To sign the petition go to: http://endcervicalcancernow.org/sign.php

See also iNews story “Sign the Healthy Caribbean Coalition E-petition to Stop Cervical Cancer” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/sign-the-healthy-caribbean-coalition-e-petition-to-stop-cervical-cancer/

DMS launches AIFMD in Ireland

DMS’s Alternative Investment Funds Directive (AIFMD) that came into effect in July 2013, has created an alternative regulatory passport for investment managers to access European investors.

With the launch in Ireland of its Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) Management Company that has been recently approved in Ireland DMS can offer solutions to both European and non-European managers and investors to facilitate their continued access to the alternative investment fund market.

Don Seymour, Founder of DMS, said:

“AIFMD is a complex legislation that can have dire consequences for fund managers. With our expertise in structuring, governance and risk reporting, we’ve developed a solution that meets the needs of investors, particularly European institutional investors, as well as regulatory authorities. The fact that a Caymanian firm has developed this far-reaching solution speaks to the quality of fund governance that emanates from the Cayman Islands and truly distinguishes us as the home of the world’s leading hedge fund experts.”

JD.com Files For IPO Of Up To $1.50 Bln Of ADSs

From RTT news

JD.com Inc. filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with respect to its initial public offering of up to $1.50 billion of American depositary shares or ADSs.

The company neither disclosed details about the number of shares it intends to offer nor its price range.

JD.com is the largest online direct sales company in China in terms of transaction volume in 2012 and the first nine months of 2013, with a market share in China of 45% in the third quarter of 2013, according to iResearch, a third-party market research firm. The company’s gross merchandise volume, or GMV, increased from RMB32.7 billion in 2011 to RMB73.3 billion in 2012 and RMB86.4 billion (US$14.1 billion) in the first nine months of 2013.

The company provides consumers an online retail experience. Through its website www.jd.com and mobile applications, it offers a wide selection of authentic products at competitive prices. It also offers convenient online and in-person payment options and comprehensive after-sales services.

The company said its founder, Mr. Richard Qiangdong Liu, launched an online retail website in January 2004. He subsequently formed a company in Beijing and another company in Shanghai and conducted his online retail business through these two companies. In November 2006, the company incorporated Star Wave Investments Holdings Limited under the laws of the British Virgin Islands as our offshore holding company in order to facilitate international financing. We later changed the name of this entity to 360buy Jingdong Inc. In January 2014, 360buy Jingdong Inc. was redomiciled in the Cayman Islands as an exempted company registered under the laws of the Cayman Islands, and was renamed JD.com, Inc.

For more: http://www.rttnews.com/2260196/jd-com-files-for-ipo-of-up-to-1-50-bln-of-adss-quick-facts.aspx?type=qf&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=sitemap

Stride against cancer gets record turnout

On Sunday 26^th Jan 2014 almost 1,400 people took to the roads of Grand Cayman, Little Cayman and Cayman Brac in the first nationwide Stride Against Cancer.

Jennifer Weber, operations manager at the Cayman Islands Cancer Society, which organized the event, said this year saw the biggest turnout in Stride’s history.

After the runs were completed, Ms Weber said: “I am spent but thrilled to have such an amazing community turnout.”

Among the runners at Seven Mile Beach this year was Governor Helen Kilpatrick, taking part in her first Stride, and Deputy Governor Franz Manderson, who is a familiar face at many of the charity runs in the Cayman Islands.

The support on the Sister Islands and on Grand Cayman this year has prompted the organizers to make future Stride Against Cancer events nationwide.

“It was this time last year we decided to go ‘nationwide,’” said Ms Weber. “Now nationwide will be the norm.”

All proceeds of the run/walk go towards the creation of a new chemotherapy unit.

1,200 walkers and runners turned out to take part in the half and quarter marathons that started at Public Beach on Seven Mile Beach, 36 took part on Cayman Brac, 56 on Little Cayman and around another 100 participated in the North Side run.

Robert Bush murder trial adjourned again

Brian Borden, of West Bay, who was due to face trial last Wednesday (29) for the murder of Robert Bush in September 2011, has had it adjourned once again as a result of on-going legal complications.

Bush was gunned down in West Bay in what is believed to be a gang related killing.

Borden has denied being involved in the fatal shooting and been imprisoned at Northward for 18 months on remand since being arrested in August 2012.

David Tomassa has also been charged with the same crime.

World’s most precise atomic clock will still be spot-on in 5 billion years

By Chris Velazco  From Engadget

Most of us only pay attention to time when it’s causing headaches, but the same can’t be said of a team of researchers working out of the University of Colorado at Boulder. Led by National Institute of Standards and Technology fellow Jun Ye, they’ve crafted an atomic clock that can keep precise time for billions of years, a world record.

This hefty new timekeeper can tick off the seconds with the same unflinching regularity as the best of them, but it’ll be about 5 billion years before it experiences its first temporal hiccup. For the morbidly curious, that means the clock will still be precise when the sun starts ballooning into a massive red giant. That may not sound like a huge deal now, but when our descendants start laying in escape routes to some more pleasant planets they’ll be glad for that extra precision.

How does the thing work? Well, strontium atoms are held in “traps” formed by lasers, and researchers are able to track how often they oscillate by using that laser light to get them moving. It’s hardly a new technique, but you can’t argue with the results: The new clock is 50 percent more precise than the last record-setter, and Ye says that there are plenty more breakthroughs to come.

For more on this story go to:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/22/worlds-most-precise-atomic-clock/?ncid=rss_truncated