‘Light of freedom’ burns bright in Cayman Beacon commemorates 70th anniversary of VE Day James Whittaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A fiery beacon was lit off the coast of West Bay on Friday night as the Cayman Islands joined countries around the world in a poignant salute to the heroes of World War II. The lighting of the beacon, timed to co- incide with the 70-year anniversary of the declaration of peace in Europe, stirred dif- ferent memories and emotions among the veterans present. Thomas Ewart Ebanks, now 94, was on patrol with the Trinidad Navy, hunting German U-boats and protecting oil fields in the Caribbean Sea when Victory in Europe was declared. Athel Long, who would later become Cayman’s first governor, was toiling some 11,000 miles away in a Japanese prisoner of war camp in Singapore. Dale Banks was just a boy of 8 when the war came to a close. But he vividly recalled the climate of fear in the Cayman Islands during a conflict that left no corner of the globe unaffected. “I remember that our windows facing the sea had to be covered each evening be- fore our kerosene lamp could be lit be- cause we were afraid our light might at- tract shelling from a German submarine, many of which patrolled our waters,” said Captain Banks, who went on to have a 30- year career as a U.S. Air Force pilot. “When this beacon is lighted tonight, may it signify the permanent removal of those blankets that once covered our win- dows and let us resolve that the light of freedom will forever burn bright.” Like many Caymanians, Mr. Banks had family fighting the war. His uncle, a gunner on a navy ship, was killed when the vessel was torpedoed. His cousin served in the ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – monday may 11, 2015 High of 90 Low of 78 Moderate with wave heights of 3 to 5 feet. ABCDE NATIONAL WEEKLY Health Why we can’t hold the salt 17 Politics The biggest teasers 4 Nation Lost in the shadows in New York 85 Myths About riots 23 THE WEEK OF SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2015 . IN COLLABORATION WITH THE WASHIngTon poST Cuban Revelation Editorial | pagE 4 Uk election: no Goliath, JUst david Cayman leaders celebrate Conservative win Premier speaks of relief at Labour loss James Whittaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Premier Alden McLaughlin has expressed relief at the U.K. general election result, claiming a Labour victory would have had “dire consequences” for the Cayman Islands. David Cameron’s Conservative party defied the polls in a decisive victory that puts it as the sole party of government in the U.K. Mr. Cameron has put pressure on over- seas territories, including Cayman, to create public registers of beneficial ownership for offshore companies. But the territory’s leaders reason that he remains a better option than Labour leader Ed Miliband, who was even more strident in his rhetoric about offshore financial centers during the campaign. Mr. Miliband resigned on Friday after Labour’s electoral defeat. Financial Services Minister Wayne Panton joined the Premier in welcoming the Conservative victory as good news for the Cayman Islands. Anthony Travers, chairman of the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange, cautioned that the issue of beneficial ownership, viewed by U.K. politicians as a way of preventing tax avoid- ance, was not going away under a Tory gov- ernment. But he agreed that the Conservatives were more likely to be persuaded by a “rea- soned approach.” In a statement on Friday, Premier McLaughlin gave a resounding message of support to Mr. Cameron. “It is not without relief that we have learned that the Conservatives won the ma- jority of the national vote in yesterday’s United Kingdom elections and that David Cameron has returned to Number 10 Downing Street...,” he said. “We believe that a win by the Labour Party would have had dire consequences for the Cayman Islands and other Overseas Territories, especially in the area of ben- eficial ownership of companies based in their jurisdictions. “We have vehemently opposed forced ben- eficial ownership, which Labour proposed, be- cause it could damage our very important fi- nancial services industry.” He said Mr. Miliband had made the issue AdditionAl libel clAim AgAinst opposition leAder Brent FUller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com A defamation lawsuit filed last week against Cayman Islands Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush made a secondary accusation of libel, based on a text message Mr. Bush sent to a local news organization. The suit, filed by Premier Alden McLaughlin, focused mainly on a parliamen- tary motion filed by Mr. Bush on April 14 that alleged a conspiracy “toppled” Mr. Bush’s former United Democratic Party government. Mr. McLaughlin states in the writ that the mo- tion, which names the premier as part of that conspiracy, was an attempt to “destroy” Mr. McLaughlin’s political and legal career. Mr. Bush commented on the writ Friday: “In due course, my lawyers will respond to Alden. However, I’m confident in the matter and, if he wants a trial, that, I intend to see, with God’s help, he gets!” The secondary claim made in the lawsuit involves a letter sent to Mr. Bush on April 24 by Mr. McLaughlin’s attorneys that asked the opposition leader to apologize or face legal ac- tion for the “libels and falsehoods” contained in the motion and in statements to the press on April 14. A local news blog, Cayman News Service, published Mr. Bush’s response to the attor- neys letter on May 1. The response was sent via a text message. The writ states the text message read as follows: “There was once a certain minister PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » Cayman-based veterans of various conflicts and local officials at the beacon ceremony Friday night. – pHoto: binA mAni, gis PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL Monday May 11, 2015 • Cayman Compass www. REGmovies.com SATURDAY NIGHT: For your viewing pleasure, minors under the age of 18 will not be admitted to any lm starting after 6pm, unless accompanied by their parent. © Warner Bros. Pictures y x HOT PURSUIT (PG13) 12:40 I 2:50 I 5:00 I 7:30 I 9:50 AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON 3D (PG13) 12:30 2D I 1:00 I 3:35 2D I 4:10 6:40 2D I 7:20 I 9:45 2D FURIOUS 7 3D (PG13) 12:45 I 3:45 2D I 6:45 I 9:45 2D AGE OF ADELINE (PGI3) 7:00 I 9:40 PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2 (PG) 1:10 I 4:00 *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. - MONDAY - $8.00 Trial begins in death of Special Olympics athlete Carol Winker cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Trial got under way Friday for Jose Guadelupe Sanchez, 27, who is charged with murdering Special Olympics athlete Solomon David Webster in 2014. Mr. Webster, 24, won a gold medal in the individual bocce event during the 2010 Special Olympics Latin American Regional Games in Puerto Rico. Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryll Richards said the cen- tral issue is who fired the firearm at Mr. Webster and with what intent. A number of witnesses saw Sanchez with a firearm in his hand, and the Crown’s case is that Sanchez fired the gun with intent to kill or at least cause serious harm. She noted that the al- ternative of manslaughter would be open for the judge to consider. Opening the Crown’s case, Ms. Richards said the yard where the inci- dent occurred on Sept. 7, 2014, at 57 Miss Daisy Lane, West Bay, had 10 buildings housing family members and tenants. Mr. Webster lived there with his par- ents and siblings. Sanchez’s mother also lived there, and witnesses said he had been staying with her for several months. Ms. Richards said Sanchez had left the yard earlier that Sunday to at- tend a boat party. A friend drove him back to the yard that evening. The friend’s evidence would be that a man by the name of Shaquille Bush came over to her car and an argu- ment started. She saw Bush try to take a bottle of rum from Sanchez. They started fighting and then went out of her view. Other witnesses saw Mr. Webster get involved, and then saw the three men grappling and holding on to each other. Shortly be- fore the shooting, Sanchez was allegedly heard to say “One of you goin’ dead to- night” and “Solly, you goin’ die tonight.” There was a gunshot and a man heard Mr. Webster say, “Peto, you shot me” and call out for his mother. Peto is a nickname for Sanchez. One woman reported hearing what sounded like a gunshot and then going outside, where she saw Sanchez, Bush and Webster “in one bundle, holding onto each other” and later falling. She saw Bush get up and go out of the yard; she didn’t notice if he had anything. Sanchez and Mr. Webster were still holding on to each other when they fell again. Sanchez got up and Mr. Webster got up, but dropped back down on his face. A man turned him over and there was a lot of blood on his right leg. Sanchez was still standing there; it looked as if he were searching for something. He ran from the scene when si- rens were heard. The gunshot wound to Mr. Webster’s right thigh perforated an artery. The incident occurred some time after 8 p.m. and Mr. Webster was pronounced dead at 10:06 p.m. One witness said she saw Bush back at the scene talking to police the next day. Officers located Sanchez on Sept. 9, Ms. Richards said. When they saw him, he ran but stopped at their command. He was taken to hospital and treated for minor bruises and lac- erations consistent with the incident. Exhibits for the trial in- clude a large aerial photo- graph of the yard and nu- merous copies of a map of the yard. Ms. Richards said witnesses saw different as- pects of the incident. She explained that each witness had a separate copy of the map on which they would mark the points from which they had viewed what hap- pened and where they saw the men. Justice Charles Quin, who is hearing the matter without a jury as Sanchez chose, indicated he would like to view the scene, which would mean a visit by everyone together, in- cluding the defendant, court staff, defense counsel Mark Heywood and Guy Dilliway- Parry, Ms. Richards and Senior Crown Counsel Tricia Hutchinson. The weapon, a semiau- tomatic Colt Commander, was found by a resident of the yard after Sanchez left the scene. The resident hid the gun in the bush and later took a police officer there to re- cover it. Officers also recov- ered a live 9mm round and a spent round. A firearms expert said the round that was fired was from that Colt Commander. In submissions last week before the trial started, Mr. Heywood pointed out that a partial DNA profile had been obtained from the gun. The Crown had said the material was suitable only for exclusion purposes and both the defendant and the deceased were excluded. Scrapyard blaze closes road James Whittaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Plumes of thick black smoke peeled across the Esterley Tibbetts Highway on Sunday morning as fire- fighters battled a blaze in a scrapyard close to the dump. A section of the road was closed following reports of the fire, which broke out just before 10 a.m. Initial fears that the land- fill site was alight once again proved unfounded. The source of the flames was a garbage fire that spread to a pile of scrap metal and used cars on land behind the Ready Mix Concrete plant, close to the bypass between Camana Bay and the AL Thompson store. Three fire trucks were called to the scene and the blaze was brought under con- trol. Just after 1 p.m. Sunday, firefighters were still on site, using excavating equip- ment from the landfill site to move piles of scrap metal in an effort to fully extinguish the fire. The road was closed for an hour between 10.33 a.m. and 11.33 a.m., a police spokesman said. Children’s Festival Final ConCerts this week The public is invited to attend the final concerts this week of the Children’s Festival, featuring per- formances in speech and drama, choral music, instru- mental music, and dance. Students of all ages from government and pri- mary schools will per- form each night, starting at 6 p.m. at the Harquail Theatre, Monday through Thursday, May 11-14. A firefighter douses the scrapyard blaze. – Photo: taneos raMsaY Deadline nears for New Year Honours The public has until Wednesday, May 13, to rec- ommend people who have made outstanding contribu- tions to Caymanian society for Her Majesty the Queen’s New Year Honours 2016. Nomination forms can be found on the U.K. govern- ment website at www.gov.uk/ honours/overview. Completed forms should be returned, under confidential cover, to the Governor’s Office, at Government Administration Building on Elgin Avenue, or to email staffoff@candw. ky. For further information, contact the Governor’s Office on 244-2434. troPiCal storM ana, a bit weaker, near Coast oF Carolinas NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (AP) — Tropical Storm Ana weakened slightly as it lumbered just off the coast of South Carolina, sending pounding surf crashing against Atlantic beaches as it prepared to bluster in- land, forecasters said. The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Ana was centered at 5 a.m. EDT about 5 miles south of North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and packed top sus- tained winds of 45 mph. Ana, a surprisingly early tropical storm that emerged ahead of the of- ficial June 1 start of the Atlantic hurricane season, was moving to the north- northwest at a plodding pace of about 5 mph. Hurricane specialist Dave Roberts said the storm would be blowing ashore Sunday morning in an area between Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina. The storm was kicking up 11- to 12-foot seas – as recorded by offshore buoys – and the dangerous surf was a worrisome aspect of the storm, he said. He ad- vised people to stay away from the water. “It’s about rough surf. People need to stay off the beach for sure,” Roberts told The Associated Press by phone from the hurri- cane center. Although the Atlantic season doesn’t formally start until June 1, early surprise storms are not all that unusual every few years or so, the center said. There were two May tropical storms in 2012, for instance. Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryll Richards said the central issue is who fired the firearm at Mr. Webster and with what intent. 3 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Monday May 11, 2015 Despite issues, Cayman FOI rated among best Brent Fuller bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Despite recent signs of at- rophy in the Cayman Islands open records regime, the British Overseas Territory is still ranked as having one of the world’s best Freedom of Information Laws. A report released in March by the Centre for Law and Democracy in Canada ranked Cayman’s Freedom of Information Law 13th best out of 102 countries that currently have, or which are in the pro- cess of passing right to infor- mation, or RTI, legislation. In the Caribbean re- gion, only the northeastern Caribbean island of Antigua beat Cayman in the center’s scoring system that worked out the strength of various open records laws around the globe. The ranking was based only on legislation or proposed legislation, not on the opera- tion of the laws in practice. “We welcome the fact that the Cayman Islands has such a strong RTI law,” said the center’s executive director, Toby Mendel. Other Caribbean coun- tries did not fare so well. The Bahamas, which still has only a proposed Freedom of Information Bill, was ranked 48th by the center. The Dominican Republic was rated 93rd. Cayman, which earned 112 of a total of 150 points on the center’s rating system, scored higher than the United Kingdom [99 points], the U.S. [89 points] and Canada [79 points] when comparing na- tional-level right to infor- mation laws. Neighboring Jamaica, which passed its own FOI Law in 2004, scored 88 points on the rating system. Despite its high rating, Cayman’s open records law still has some improvements to make regarding government transparency and access to public records, Mr. Mendel said. “[Both the Cayman and Bahamas laws] share some critical deficiencies,” he said. “[There are] exceptions [to the release of information] which are illegitimate in nature [or] overbroad. Both laws also fail to apply a public interest over- ride to all exceptions and ex- clude many public bodies from [the laws’] ambit altogether.” The Cayman Islands Freedom of Information Law, which took effect in January 2009, has never been revised or updated, even though a Legislative Assembly com- mittee did review the law and make recommendations for changes in 2013. Moreover, concerns have been expressed of late from certain quarters that Cayman’s open records regime is being “undermined” by a lack of sup- port from civil service man- agers and elected lawmakers. Former Cayman Islands Information Commissioner Jennifer Dilbert told the Cayman Compass last week that she has serious concerns about the ongoing indepen- dence of that office, as well as with government plans to merge the office with a number of unrelated functions. “I don’t see it being work- able, I don’t see it effecting any savings,” Mrs. Dilbert said. “You’re already under- mining the office just by talking about it.” The Centre for Law and Democracy noted some dif- ficulties with the Cayman Islands FOI Law in the area of the information commis- sioner’s independence. It noted that the commissioner reports to the Legislative Assembly, but that there is “no men- tion of budget” with regard to how the office’s finances are maintained. In addition, the review notes there is “no security of tenure” for the information commissioner, who can be ap- pointed for up to a five-year contract term. O’Dea chosen Young Musician of the Year Jewel levy jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com Conor O’Dea, an 18-year-old student at St. Ignatius Catholic School, is Butterfield’s Young Musician of the Year for 2015. O’Dea surpassed nine other finalists at the Prospect Playhouse last Thursday night to take home the honor and a $500 cash prize. Performing “Light of Sothis” by Amy Quate and “Sonata in G Minor” by J.S Bach on the saxophone, O’Dea showed judges and guests his skill, talent and star quality. O’Dea, who has been playing the alto saxophone for the last six years and tenor sax for the last four, said he has always enjoyed the instruments due to their diversity and global appeal. “I am delighted to have won the Cayman Islands Young Musician of the year 2015,” he said. “My aim on the night was to play my best and to also enjoy the performance. It was great to see a number of fellow fi- nalists from the 2014 Young Musician competition again, and see how much everyone had improved over the year. “I would like to thank my music teacher, Ms. Natalie Barber, and also Simon Donoghue, St. Ignatius Catholic School and my par- ents for all their support and encouragement.” Vocalist and pianist David Brown, 15, a student at Triple C, was awarded runner-up and a cash prize of $300. “Last night was fantastic. Everyone did great,” he said. “To God be the glory for let- ting me win second place.” Other participating final- ists were: Jacie Mascarenhas, Triple C; Miriam Foster, Layman E. Scott; Duncan Anderson, Deidra Campbell and Abby Onfroy, UCCI; Chyna-Rose Bennett and Amy Gillies, Cayman Prep; and Nayil Arana, Cayman School of Music. Students in the competi- tion, open to those ages 18 and younger, showcased their talents in piano, voice, violin, clarinet, euphonium, guitar and steel pan. Contestants were required to perform two contrasting solo works for 10 minutes, with one of the works re- quired to be from the clas- sical music genre, and give detailed information abut the two pieces they performed. Grammy award-winning conductor and violinist John McLaughlin Williams judged the competition along with Stephanie Williams and Dr. Catherine Rand, of the School of Music at the University of Southern Mississippi. The musicians were judged on technical compe- tency as well as musical per- formance and risk-taking. The competition is the brainchild of Frances McConvey, former head of music at George Hicks High School (now Clifton Hunter High School), who started it in 2008 to provide a suit- able vehicle for students who wanted to excel and be dis- tinguished beyond receiving gold, silver or bronze for their musical performances at the National Children’s Festival of the Arts. The islands’ most-trusted news source 4 – EDITORIAL – Opinion&Letters The Cayman Compass welcomes comments, opinions and viewpoints from readers. Letters to the editor can be emailed to editor@pinnaclemedialtd.com, submitted via www.caymancompass.com, sent by post or hand-delivered to the Compass office. Monday May 11, 2015 • Cayman COmpass UK election: No Goliath, just David In regard to results, the recently concluded British general election was historic. In regard to unpredicta- bility, it was unprecedented. Nevertheless, the clear winner to emerge from the chaos of the campaign is, in a sense, the status quo – in the form of U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, whose Conservative Party won a surprise majority of parliamentary seats and whose chief rival Ed Miliband has already resigned following even more shocking losses by the Labour Party throughout Scotland and England. That’s not to say that the status quo in the U.K. is one defined by stability. In his second stint as prime minister, Mr. Cameron won’t be burdened with the inconveniences of guiding a coalition govern- ment, but he will be faced with pressure from within his own party by fellow Tories who have adopted a strong anti-European Union stance, and also from opposition members in the newly empowered Scottish National Party, which, as the name implies, has as its main priority the furtherance of greater autonomy of Scotland. Those “divisive” forces guided much political con- versation before the election, the results of which have, if anything, crystallized those questions of identity – of the U.K.’s relationship with Europe, and Scotland’s relationship with the rest of Britain – as primary themes for the next government to ponder. While U.K. leaders can be expected in the near future to redouble their existential omphaloskepsis, what should we be expecting from London, in relation to positions and policies that will affect the colonial vestiges of the Empire, such as the Cayman Islands? Premier Alden McLaughlin reacted to the Tory victory with a written sigh of “relief,” saying, “I con- gratulate Mr. Cameron on a well-fought battle … We believe that a win by the Labour Party would have had dire consequences for the Cayman Islands and other Overseas Territories, especially in the area of beneficial ownership of companies based in their jurisdictions.” Mr. McLaughlin referred to the Labour leader Mr. Miliband’s campaign promise that, if elected to power, his government would compel U.K. overseas territories, including Cayman, to create public reg- isters of beneficial ownership of shell compa- nies and other entities within six months or face being blacklisted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. We tend to place Mr. Miliband’s vow in the same class as U.S. President Barack Obama’s critical quip about Ugland House being “the biggest tax scam on record.” The importance lies not in the execu- tion of that specific threat, but in the overall attitude expressed toward the industry or territory at hand, as an indication of where, and how forcefully, future winds may blow. (Witness, for example, the Obama admin- istration’s subsequent implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.) Anthony Travers, chairman of the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange, said, “Although we have seen very little in the way of support for the Cayman Islands financial services industry from the current coali- tion government led by Mr. Cameron, we can safely conclude that a Labour government led by Mr. Miliband would be more, not less, hostile to the offshore finan- cial centers.” Others did not perceive as much daylight between the Tory and Labour positions on Cayman. Former Premier McKeeva Bush said, “Whoever wins, Cayman is going to be in the same boat policy- wise. Between the U.S. and the U.K., they are going to put a lot of pressure on Cayman’s financial industry.” In other words, those of Tim Ridley, former chairman of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority: “Whatever the face of the [ruling U.K. government], none of the possible members have any love for offshore financial centers generally, so I think it will be just more of the same.” Writer grateful for visa help My name is Komal Sakhrani and I am an Indian resident currently visiting my family in the U.S. My family suddenly de- cided to visit the Cayman Islands for a holiday. Now the problem was that I, being an Indian resident, did not have a Cayman Islands visa, and they, being U.S. citizens, did not need a visa. Everyone told me to forget about this trip as I would not be able to get a visa for the Cayman Islands since I was out of my country of residence. However help came in from every quarter, and these are the people I would like to thank here. Firstly Dr. Krishna Mani, Cayman’s honorary consul general for India, without whom I could have never pro- ceeded ahead; Patricia Stoll and Netty Wagner from the Deputy Governor’s Office; and Gary Wong and Tamara Reid Vernon from the Department of Immigration. Each one of them pains- takingly in their own capacity helped me get my visa without a hitch and I can finally visit the beautiful Cayman Islands. I will be visiting the Cayman Islands on May 13. I am sending this mail so that these lovely people can be appreciated publicly, and people like me don’t worry about applying for visas. This has been such a won- derful experience. Komal sakhrani Printed and Published by: Caymanian Compass Limited (a subsidiary of Pinnacle Media Ltd) Compass Centre Shedden Road, George Town send us yOur VieWs Or neWs: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman KY1-1108, Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 Email: newsdesk@pinnaclemedialtd.com adVertise With us: Telephone: (345) 949-5111 Email: sales@pinnaclemedialtd.com Website: www.caymancompass.com PUBLISHERS daVid r. legge and Vicki l. legge EdITOR-In-CHIEf daVid r. legge A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will find their own way” Germany spies so the US can deny it Noah FeldmaN Bloomberg View Reports of German spying on European corporate tar- gets at the behest of the U.S. have led to calls that Chancellor Angela Merkel was hypocritical for complaining about U.S. spying on Germany. What’s more striking about the recent revelations is their targets – and what they say about U.S. government claims that it doesn’t spy on behalf of private U.S. corporations. Start with a rather ob- vious question: Why would the U.S. government rely on Germany to spy on European corporations? Why not just do the spying directly? It’s hard to know for sure, and the answer may conceivably lie in complex interstate agreements that aren’t public. But there’s a highly plau- sible alternative answer, one connected to the recent his- tory of U.S. efforts to vilify Chinese government’s in- dustrial espionage. The U.S. may be using Germany to do industrial spying because it wants to claim that, un- like other countries, the U.S. doesn’t do spying on behalf of its corporations. In August 2013, a National Security Agency spokesman told The Washington Post in an email that the Department of Defense “does ***not*** en- gage in economic espionage in any domain, including cyber.” Notice that the NSA state- ment didn’t say that other agencies avoid economic es- pionage, just those that are part of the Department of Defense. Notice, too, that the statement didn’t say that no one shares stolen informa- tion with the U.S. The next month, after a fresh round of Edward Snowden revelations, the di- rector of national intelli- gence, James Clapper, is- sued a further statement. He acknowledged that “the Intelligence Community” (his capitalization) “collects infor- mation about economic and financial matters.” But he insisted that “what we do not do … is use our foreign intelligence capabili- ties to steal the trade secrets of foreign companies on be- half of – or give intelligence we collect to – U.S. companies to enhance their international competitiveness or increase their bottom line.” A close, retrospective reading of this statement reveals it to be completely consistent with the U.S. re- lying on foreign intelligence organizations, such as the Germans, to spy on private targets – and then share the proceeds with American com- panies for whatever reason. Why not just admit it? The most probable answer is that the U.S. wants to differentiate itself from China, which en- gages in cyber-espionage for the benefit of its companies. We don’t know for sure if that’s happening, of course. But we know from experi- ence that intelligence offi- cials like to issue denials that leave room to do what- ever they consider expedient. Unless the U.S. now denies that it’s shared foreign intelli- gence with U.S. companies, it’s safest to assume that it does. Noah Feldman, a Bloomberg View columnist, is a professor of constitutional and international law at Harvard and the author of six books, most recently “Cool War: The Future of Global Competition.” © 2015, Bloomberg News5 LOCAL NEWS Cayman Compass • Monday May 11, 2015 One-Day Workshop The Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman June 8, 2015 America’s #1 Success Coach www.Thrive.ky | info@Thrive.ky (345) 945-1515 | (345) 525-7070 Founder of the book series Chicken Soup for the Soul Tickets Still Available! JACK CANFIELD JackCanfield 4X12_4x12 Jack Canfield 5/5/15 6:33 PM Page 1 CUC: More customers but lower sales amid cooler temperatures MiChael Klein mklein@pinnaclemedialtd.com First quarter net earnings for the Caribbean Utilities Company totaled $3.3 mil- lion, a decrease of $0.1 mil- lion compared to the same period last year. Higher depreciation and higher transmission and dis- tribution costs lowered the earnings, but were partially offset by lower consumer ser- vices costs and higher other income, CUC reported. Although the company had 435 more customers than in the first quarter last year, bringing the total number of customers to 27,873, sales during the period of 129 mil- lion kWh were down 1.7 mil- lion kWh year on year due to the cooler weather and a de- clining air conditioning load. Richard Hew, the utility’s CEO, said the Cayman Islands economy continued to show positive signs of growth with increased tourism air arrivals and gross domestic product growth projected at 2 percent for 2015. He noted positive devel- opments for the utility, in- cluding, “most significantly,” groundbreaking on March 5 to begin installation of “two new 18.5 megawatt V48/60 medium-speed diesel gen- erating units and one 2.7 MW waste heat recovery steam turbine.” When completed next summer, this additional firm capacity will replace some of the company’s retiring gener- ating units. CUC said the new plant is anticipated to im- prove the company’s current fuel efficiency by approxi- mately 6 percent. The approximate cost of the Generation Expansion Project is US$85 million. On May 4, CUC an- nounced that it had success- fully completed its previously announced rights offering that commenced in March. Under the offering and a re- lated stand-by agreement, CUC raised gross proceeds of US$31,563,639 through the issuance of 2,930,700 class A ordinary shares at a price of US$10.77 per share. Following the offering, CUC has an aggregate of 32,237,709 class A ordinary shares outstanding. Fortis Energy (Bermuda) Ltd., an existing shareholder of CUC, purchased an aggregate of 2,169,682 shares under the offering and a stand-by agreement with the company. FEBL now holds 19,460,326 shares, representing approx- imately 60.4 percent of the outstanding shares of CUC. The percentage holding in- creased 1.5 percent as a re- sult of the offering. Fortis Energy is a wholly owned subsid- iary of Fortis Inc. of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. “We are pleased to com- plete this offering with the support of our existing class A ordinary shareholders, in- cluding the standby com- mitment made by [Fortis Energy],” Mr. Hew said. “This commitment by our share- holders provides the strong financial base necessary to carry out the Generation Expansion Project.” CUC intends to use the proceeds of the of- fering to partially finance the Generation Expansion Project and for other ongoing capital expenditures. CUC customers saw a re- duction in their bills during the first quarter, reflecting a 32 percent decrease in the company’s average price per imperial gallon of fuel. The lower fuel costs of $3.24 per gallon resulted from both a drop in market prices and a reduction of the import duty for fuel which came into ef- fect in 2015. The fuel factor mechanism passes on 100 percent of the cost changes to customers. During the first quarter, CUC and the Electricity Regulatory Authority agreed on revisions to the Feed In Tariffs program, which now allows for 4 MW of con- sumer-owned renewable en- ergy (CORE) generation. Mr. Hew noted, “… We be- lieve the program, along with the 5 MW solar project pro- posed by the company and currently under review by the ERA, will provide environ- mental benefits without neg- atively impacting cost and re- liability of service …” JaMes WhittaKer jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Police are hunting for a lone gunman who held up a li- quor store in Grand Cayman’s main tourist district on Friday night. The robber made off with just over $800 in the raid on Blackbeard’s at the Falls shopping plaza, op- posite The Westin Grand Cayman Resort. Witnesses said the gunman pointed his weapon at staff and demanded “give me di money.” It is the fourth time a liquor store has been held up by armed robbers in the last month. In the latest robbery, just before 10 p.m. Friday, police said the suspect, described as 5-feet, 5-inches tall, slim build and with a dark complexion, pointed a black and silver handgun at each of the store’s cashiers and demanded that they empty the tills. A police spokesman said the gunman was dressed in a dark long-sleeved T-shirt, wearing a baseball cap, with a bandana covering his face and carrying a green Kirk su- permarket bag. No shots were fired and no one was injured in the raid. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Owen Santo on 324-0684 or call Crime Stoppers anonymously on 800-8477(Tips). Fourth armed robbery in a month Mr. HewThe islands’ most-trusted news source 6 Monday May 11, 2015 • Cayman Compass a major election topic in the U.K. when he told over- seas territories in February that they would have six months to create public reg- isters or be added to a tax haven blacklist. “This would happen under his government if Labour was successful in the polls. Thankfully, they were not,” Mr. McLaughlin said. “I again congratulate Mr. Cameron and the U.K. It is a comfort to know that we will be working with a U.K. government with which we are fa- miliar.” Mr. Panton echoed those sentiments, saying the Conservative party had earned its victory by being good stewards of the country and the economy. “The result should also certainly be indica- tive that a significant ma- jority of the U.K. voters are more supportive of rea- soned and balanced ap- proaches to matters such as beneficial ownership, rather than irrational and draconian policies.” Prior to the election, observers – including Tim Ridley, the former chairman of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority – warned that whatever the result, offshore financial centers were likely to face more pressure from the U.K. Speaking after the re- sult on Friday, Mr. Travers noted, “The question of the need for the public register of beneficial ownership re- mains on the table.” He has previously dis- missed calls for the register from British politicians of all stripes as hypocritical and out of touch. “There has been exten- sive consultation between the government and the private sector, the results of which confirm that any such proposals are firstly unnecessary in the light of the extensive provisions of disclosure of beneficial ownership to tax authori- ties and law enforcement that already exist; sec- ondly, would be harmful for the Cayman Islands fi- nancial services industry; and thirdly, far exceed any standard of transpar- ency introduced in com- petitor offshore jurisdic- tions or indeed, in the onshore financial cen- ters,” he told the Cayman Compass on Thursday. Expat votes go uncounted in UK election Voters in Cayman affected by postal vote delays James Whittaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Hundreds of British ex- pats around the world, in- cluding some in the Cayman Islands, were unable to vote in the U.K. general election last week because their ballot papers did not arrive in time. Voters from as far afield as Australia, Singapore, the U.S. and Brazil have com- plained that they were left disenfranchised because of postal holdups and delays in sending out ballot packs. Britons living overseas, who were registered on the U.K. electoral roll within the last 15 years are eligible to vote. More than 100,000 ex- pats applied for postal bal- lots before the cutoff date of April 20. Christine Cooke, who has lived in the Cayman Islands for 10 years, said she had gone to great effort to meet the deadline to register but had not received her papers in time for Thursday’s poll. “I am very disappointed at not receiving my postal vote, having jumped through hoops to get registered in time,” she said. Ms. Cooke said her hus- band’s papers arrived on Saturday and had been re- turned via air mail, but had only a slim chance of reaching their constituency of Wyre Forest, in Shropshire, in time. In the run-up to the elec- tion, authorities in the U.K. had a publicity campaign encouraging expats to vote, while the Conservative party, in particular, attempted to court overseas voters. Prime Minister David Cameron sent out a per- sonal message to expats last December telling them their vote could be the difference between a Conservative gov- ernment and a Labour one, in what was expected to be the closest election in decades. In the end, the Conservatives defied the polls to win comfortably on Thursday, and Ms. Cooke ac- knowledged that her vote, in a Conservative safe seat, would not have made a dif- ference to the overall result. But she believes it is a matter of principle that ex- pats who make the effort to participate in the democratic process should have their voices heard. “I am surprised that there was that encouragement for us to get out and vote and no thought to how to make it happen effectively,” she said. “If they want expats to vote, they need to get the postal ballots out earlier.” Paul Timothy Reynolds, assistant pastor at the First Baptist Church, said he had registered to vote in March but had not received his postal vote papers. He said he was disap- pointed but does not believe his vote would have been cru- cial in his New Bedfordshire constituency, another strong- hold for the Conservatives. Mr. Reynolds said post from the U.K. could take as long as six weeks to reach the Cayman Islands, based on his experience, making postal voting a difficult process for Brits living in the territory. According to the U.K. Elections website, overseas postal ballots were not sent out until the deadline to be- come a candidate passed on April 9. Officials in each of the 650 constituencies are respon- sible for sending out postal votes in their areas. A spokesman for the U.K. Electoral Commission said, “The guidance to electoral administrators is clear that postal votes sent to overseas electors should be prioritised to allow the maximum time for them to be returned. We are aware that some overseas voters have raised concerns that they have not received their postal ballot packs. The Electoral Commission will look carefully at the ev- idence they have received on this when they consider what issues to raise in their statutory election report, which will be laid in the UK Parliament in the summer.” The governor’s office in the Cayman Islands said it was unable to comment. Cayman leaders celebrate Conservative win The Conservatives’ Boris Johnson urges expats to vote at a pre-election event in Singapore. – PHOTO: COLIN BLACKWELL “I am surprised that there was that encouragement for us to get out and vote and no thought to how to make it happen effectively.” Christine Cooke Shark week planned for Cayman Dart sponsors event, research James Whittaker jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com The Cayman Islands will host its first “shark week” this summer as part of a three-year sponsorship deal between Dart Realty and the Guy Harvey Research Institute. The event at Camana Bay will feature documen- tary movies, some based in Cayman, and talks by re- searchers on international work to protect sharks. It will be free for up to 2,000 school- children during three days of the event and open to paying members of the public in the evening. Guy Harvey said Dart’s sponsorship, which he de- scribed as substantial, would also support various research projects including the mon- itoring of stingrays at the sandbar and an ongoing tag- ging and tracking project on oceanic whitetip sharks. “With this grant, Dart have become an important player in the research field here in Cayman,” he said. Mr. Harvey said pri- vate sector donations are crucial to marine research in Cayman. “The lack of government assistance that we have had with things like the stingray surveys and the reluctance to release any funds from the Environmental Protection Fund means sponsorship is essential to research.” Shark fishing is banned as part of the National Conservation Law. Mr. Harvey said the ban is a great first step, but he believes it will be difficult to enforce if the public does not understand and buy into it. He believes events such as shark week are vital to em- phasizing the importance of marine conservation. He said educating young people about the value of the marine environment is a cru- cial part of his mission. “Once you get people ed- ucated, you can execute con- servation methods. “I still fully believe the schools are our best avenue. I think there is a high level of interest in all things ma- rine but there is not enough marine education in schools. Given the fact that we are surrounded by water, an ap- preciation and love for nat- ural history is under-em- phasized. There is a need for people like the DoE and for me to get into classrooms and do it,” he said. Part of the oceanic whitetip tagging project in- volves each school group naming a tagged shark and following its progress on a satellite track over the next 12 months. Mr. Harvey said funding for the tags came from Dart’s sponsorship. So far, researchers have tagged 13 sharks over the last two years at three sep- arate fishing tournaments. Ultimately they aim to tag 50 sharks to create a pic- ture of the animals’ move- ments and distribution around the Caribbean Sea and wider Atlantic. Chris Duggan, of Dart, said, “We look forward to working with local schools on the oceanic whitetip shark tagging project and hope that this interactive project will help educate the next genera- tion about the importance of ocean conservation. “Dart is firmly committed to protecting the environ- ment and this new, long- term partnership with Guy and his foundation will pro- vide valuable resources to continue the critical work being done by his team in researching and protecting the valuable underwater en- vironment that we are so fortunate to have here in the Cayman Islands.” CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 It is a comfort to know that we will be working with a U.K. government with which we are familiar.” Wayne Panton, financial services minister Chris Duggan, of Dart, and Guy Harvey celebrate their new partnership.The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 Cayman Compass • Monday May 11, 2015 79th U.S. Army Division that took part in the invasion of Normandy in 1944 and was involved in the infamous Battle of the Bulge. His father and grandfa- ther captained ships in the conflict, and he recalls that the wait for news of family members was one of the most striking aspects of life in Cayman at that time. “I remember that notices of death were delivered in black-bordered envelopes by an employee of the wire- less station in George Town, riding a bicycle. “Because there was little mechanical noise, human voices carried long dis- tances, and I remember the mournful wailing of fami- lies that had just been noti- fied that a beloved one was never coming home. “I remember the joyous day news was received that four West Bayers and one Cayman Bracker, who had been held as German pris- oners of war for years after their ship had been torpe- doed, had been rescued,” he recalled. Mr. Long, now 96, had a very different war-time ex- perience, fighting in Asia with the British army. He was 19 when war broke out in Europe and remembers a “great rush” to join the war effort. “I suppose a lot of us regretted it afterwards,” said Mr. Long, who spent more than three years in a Japanese prisoner of war camp and worked on the in- famous Burma Railway. Mr. Long, who was part of the 22nd Mountain Regiment of the Royal Artillery, said he was not treated badly by the Japanese. “People say it must have been horrific, but it was re- ally not as bad as all that. Everybody used to make a hell of a fuss, but if you are a prisoner of war, you are a prisoner of war. We had to take what was handed out.” Mr. Long became Cayman’s first governor in 1971, and has since returned to the islands to live. U.S. radio clips an- nouncing the end of the war in Europe were played at Friday’s ceremony at the car park opposite the Cayman Turtle Farm, while a bu- gler played the last post and chorus before Governor Helen Kilpatrick lit the beacon at precisely 9:32 p.m. Large fires or beacons were lit across the world as part of a unified ceremony of remembrance. Premier Alden McLaughlin paid tribute to Cayman’s Home Guard, led by Maj. Roddy Watler, who manned watchtowers around the island to look out for German U-boats. He said it was an honor and privilege to commemo- rate the contributions made by Caymanians, many of whom fought with British and U.S. forces as well as with the Trinidad Navy. “I’m most grateful to be part of this ceremony and to say to these men and to those who have gone before them how grateful and how proud we are of their contri- butions and how much we value, and forever will, their tremendous sacrifices.” of government in an over- seas territory who was ac- cused of getting a business for granting an oil license to a certain oil company. The minister demanded an apology. When the member of the House refused, the min- ister took him to court. The member of the House pro- duced the document in court showing that, indeed, the minister had made a deal with the oil company to get a gas station.” This comment was pub- lished on May 1 and repub- lished in another online en- tity, Caribbean News Now, on May 4, the writ states. “By way of innuendo, the words complained of meant and were reasonably un- derstood to mean that [Mr. McLaughlin] had, in fact, been guilty of the conduct alleged against him by [Mr. Bush] and that [Mr. Bush] had a document which showed him to be guilty,” the writ states. “The text message so published by [Mr. Bush] was seriously defamatory [to Mr. McLaughlin] and was false and malicious.” Mr. McLaughlin’s writ al- leges that the publication of the text message caused him “considerable hurt, distress and embarrassment.” Mr. Bush faced var- ious criminal investiga- tions during his time as pre- mier between 2010-2012 and was removed from govern- ment following a “no confi- dence” vote of the Legislative Assembly in December 2012. He faced a criminal trial last year on corruption and mis- conduct charges related to the use of a government-is- sued credit card to withdraw nearly US$50,000 at casinos in the U.S. and the Bahamas; cash that was used, in at least some instances, to gamble at slot machines. He was acquitted by unan- imous jury verdict in October 2014. During the trial, a se- ries of emails were read out by Mr. Bush’s defense team, which lawyers suggested showed a conspiracy to “bring down” the former premier. Premier McLaughlin stated in his writ that both the private members’ motion filed by Mr. Bush and subse- quent statements published by the local and international media essentially accused Mr. McLaughlin of committing a number of criminal offenses. Mr. McLaughlin claimed at least six local news media outlets and a number of other international online publications and “blogs” re- peated the defamatory allega- tions made by Mr. Bush be- tween April 14 and April 24, 2015. No media outlets were listed as defendants in the writ filed Thursday. ‘Light of freedom’ burns bright in Cayman CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Capt. Dale Banks recalled the climate of fear in Cayman during the Second World War. – PHOTO: JAMES WHITTAKER Additional libel claim against opposition leader CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 “The text message so published by [Mr. Bush] was seriously defamatory [to Mr. McLaughlin] and was false and malicious.” Lawsuit fiLed against opposition LeaderThe islands’ most-trusted news source 8 Former Turkish president dies at 97 Kenan Evren, the general who led Turkey’s 1980 military coup that ended years of street-clashes between left- and right-wing militias, but that also unleashed a wave of arrests and torture, died Saturday. Monday May 11, 2015 • Cayman Compass America’s #1 Success Coach JACK CANFIELD WIN $495 ticket One-Day Workshop June 8, 2015 ENTER AT caymancompass.com/competitions One winner each week for 5 weeks 6x4 Jack Canfield Competition_6X4 JACK CANFIELD COMPETITION 5/5/15 6:27 PM Page 1 Raul Castro impressed by pope, says he may return to church VATICAN CITY (AP) — Cuban President Raul Castro paid a call on Pope Francis at the Vatican Sunday to thank him for working for Cuban-US de- tente and later said he is so impressed by the pontiff he is considering a return to the Catholic church’s fold. “Bienvenido!” Francis said in his native Spanish, wel- coming Castro to his studio near the Vatican public au- dience hall. The Cuban pres- ident, bowing his head, gripped Francis’ hand with both of his, and the two men began private talks. The meeting lasted nearly an hour, as the Argentine-born Francis and Castro spoke in their native Spanish. Francis will visit Cuba in September en route to the United States. After leaving the Vatican, Castro, the brother of Fidel, the revolutionary leader who brought the Communists to power in Cuba, gushed with praise for Francis. The pontiff “is a Jesuit, and I, in some way, am too,” Castro said at a news con- ference. “I always studied at Jesuit schools.” “When the pope goes to Cuba in September, I promise to go to all his Masses, and with satisfaction,” Castro said at a news conference at the office of Italian Premier Matteo Renzi, whom he met with after the Vatican talks. “I read all the speeches of the pope, his commentaries, and if the pope continues this way, I will go back to praying and go back to the church, and I’m not joking,” he said. It was a startling as- sertion for the leader of a Communist country, whose crackdown on dissidents in the past had drawn sharp Vatican criticism. “I am from the Cuban Communist Party, that doesn’t allow (religious) be- lievers, but now we are al- lowing it, it’s an important step,” Castro said. Speaking about Francis, Castro said he has been “very impressed by his wisdom, his modesty, and all his virtues that we know he has.” Castro had already pub- licly thanked Francis for helping to bring Havana and Washington closer together after decades of U.S. govern- ment policy of strict isola- tion of the Communist-ruled Caribbean island. On Sunday, he stepped up his praise on Francis’ push for the two nations to put enmity aside and work for reconciliation for the benefit of Americans and Cubans. As he took his leave from the Vatican, Castro told jour- nalists, “I thanked the pope for what he did.” Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the president also “laid out to the pope the sentiments of the Cuban people in the wait and preparation for his upcoming visit to the is- land in September.” After his meeting with Renzi, Castro expressed hope that his country would quickly see more fruits of the thaw between Cuba and the United States. “Maybe the (U.S.) Senate will take us off the list of terrorist nations” soon, Castro told reporters. Francis gave Castro a medal depicting St. Martin of Tours, known for caring for the destitute. “With his mantle he covers the poor,” Francis told Castro, saying more efforts on behalf of the poor are needed. Fidel Castro met with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 1996. That encounter helped pave the way for John Paul’s 1998 pilgrimage to Cuba, the first visit by a pontiff to the island. John Paul was also eager for Cuba to grant more visas for foreign priests to bolster the dwindling corps of clergy on the island. The Vatican’s general policy of opposing economic sanctions as a foreign policy tool carries appeal for Cuban leaders and people, after de- cades under a U.S. economic embargo. With the Vatican keen on protecting the inter- ests of its Catholic followers under Cuban Communist rule, Pope Benedict XVI also visited the island. Castro told reporters that “we are trying to carry for- ward improvements of our political, social and cultural system. But it’s very diffi- cult to do it without causing shocks, without leaving some in the street.” He came to Rome on his way back from cele- brations in Moscow of the 70th anniversary of the sur- render of Nazi Germany in World War II. Pope Francis meets Cuban President Raul Castro during a private audience Sunday at the Vatican. - Photo: AP Migrants in Italy toil to put food on Europeans’ plates SYRACUSE, Sicily (AP) — Colorful plastic boxes lie evenly spaced on a freshly turned field, ready to be filled with potatoes des- tined for the plates of diners across Europe. The 14 men lining up to pluck them from the rich soil of eastern Sicily are almost all new- comers to a continent where many eye them with a mix of pity and suspicion. The desperate quests of record numbers of migrants to cross the Mediterranean have been well-documented. But few know that those who make it here often spend years trapped in an immi- gration limbo where the only way to make money is to do the back-breaking farm labor that locals shun – but which is critical to feeding the continent. This week, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano suggested that the new- comers do volunteer work while they wait for their asylum requests to be pro- cessed. They are more likely, however, to work under-the- table to earn cash to send home or to fund the next leg of their journeys north. “The work is good,” said Khamis, a 33-year-old from Sudan who was harvesting potato fields near Syracuse this week. He said he earned 50 euros (US$56) a day, more than the amount typically cited by aid groups. Payment is usually cash in hand, but often a local agent gets a cut. In Italy, which has seen a near-record 26,228 migrants arrive so far this year, would- be refugees are housed in special centers where food and clothing are provided. Depending on their immi- gration status, some receive pocket money in the form of vouchers or cash. Some are allowed to work while their asylum bids are being re- viewed, others must wait months or even years before getting the necessary papers. Those wishing to escape boredom and privation in overcrowded welcome cen- ters are left with few choices, given Italy’s 13 percent un- employment rate. Most do find something, “whether it’s legal or on the black market,” said immigration lawyer Angela Ghennet Lupo.The islands’ most-trusted news source 9 Cayman Compass • Monday May 11, 2015 Obama to try to allay Gulf nation leaders’ fears about Iran WASHINGTON (AP) — Leaders of Gulf nations unnerved by Washington’s nuclear talks with Iran and Tehran’s med- dling across the Mideast look to President Barack Obama to promise more than words and weapons at Thursday’s Camp David summit. They want commitments from Obama that the United States has their backs at a time when the region is under siege from Islamic ex- tremists, Syria continues to unravel, Iraq is volatile and Yemen is in chaos. “I think we are looking for some form of security guar- antee, given the behavior of Iran in the region, given the rise of the extremist threat. We definitely want a stronger relationship,” said Yousef Al Qtaiba, the United Arab Emirates’ ambassador to the United States. “In the past, we have sur- vived with a gentleman’s agreement with the United States about security. I think today, we need something in writing. We need something institutionalized.” What are the expecta- tions for Obama’s meet- ings with Gulf Cooperation Council countries – Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman? Weapons sales. A renewed call for a coordinated mis- sile defense system. More joint military exercises. Better cooperation on cyber- security, as well as maritime or border security. Making the countries’ defense sys- tems work in concert. “The challenge,” Qtaiba said, “is how do you turn on a regional defense system when different countries are purchasing different equip- ment and at different paces? How do you link it? How do you get the radars to talk to each other?” A high-level Saudi offi- cial told The Associated Press in Riyadh that his country wants a defense system and military cooperation sim- ilar to what the U.S. affords Israel. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t autho- rized to disclose details of the Saudis’ wish list at the summit, said they also want access to high-tech military equipment, missiles, planes and satellites, as well as more technology and training cooperation with the U.S. The U.S. and five other na- tions are working to finalize a deal intended to stop Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons in exchange for easing pen- alties that are choking the Iranian economy. The White House says the Gulf countries would be better off with an agreement that blocks Iran’s path to an atomic weapon. But the nuclear deal is not the only source of unease. Arab allies feel threatened by Iran’s rising influence and they fear a nuclear pact will embolden Tehran. They worry that the deal would unlock billions of dollars that Iran might decide to use to fur- ther intrude in countries or support terrorist proxies. Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said Obama will have to work hard to convince the Arab allies that they do not need to fear fallout from any nuclear deal. “Right now they feel that they have no support from this administration so he has a steep hill to climb,” said McCain, pointing to Saudi Arabia’s decision to act uni- laterally in Yemen. McCain, R-Arizona, said that’s why the Saudis gave Gen. Lloyd Austin, head of the U.S. Central Command, only “an hour’s notice they were going to strike Yemen.” Saudi Arabia has led air strikes against Iranian- backed rebels who have top- pled the Yemeni government. Secretary of State John Kerry is optimistic, but de- clines to say exactly what kind of reassurances Obama is prepared to offer at Camp David. “I can just tell you in gen- eral terms that they have to do with the intensifying and strengthening of the security- military relationship between the United States of America and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, as well as dealing with new chal- lenges that we face in the re- gion, foremost of which is the Iranian interference in the affairs of the countries of the region,” Kerry said Friday in Paris. He said U.S. officials were fleshing out a series of com- mitments that will create a “new security under- standing, a new set of secu- rity initiatives,” Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said he ex- pected the summit would lead to ways that “joint action will be more effective and more expansive in all areas, whether it relates to cyber- security or defense against ballistic missiles or military training or equipping.” Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, chairman of the Senate panel overseeing foreign aid, warns against the U.S. offering a massive arms package in exchange for Gulf nations’ support of a nuclear deal. Graham, R-S.C., said he isn’t opposed to up- grading the military capabil- ities of Arab allies, but “if it has a hint of being connected to the Iran deal, I will do ev- erything I can to make sure they never get one bullet or one plane.” Jon Alterman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington wonders if there is anything the United States can do that would reassure the Gulf states when it comes to Iranian expansionism in the region. “It seems to me that where they most want re- assurance is where the U.S. is both least able and most unwilling to provide it,” he said. “My guess is that the summit is going to leave everybody feeling a little bit unsatisfied.” A high-level Saudi official told The Associated Press in Riyadh that his country wants a defense system and military cooperation similar to what the U.S. affords Israel. Eight police, 14 alleged gunmen killed in Macedonia KUMANOVO, Macedonia (AP) — Eight police officers and 14 alleged members of an armed group have been killed in fighting in a northern Macedonian town, authori- ties said Sunday, amid in- creased concern about the political stability in the Balkan nation that has a his- tory of ethnic hostilities. Interior Ministry spokesman Ivo Kotevski said 37 other police officers were wounded in the clashes that started Saturday. Kotevski told reporters the police operation is now over and “one of the most dangerous terrorists groups in the Balkans has been neutralized.” He said police have found bodies of 14 individuals be- lieved to be members of the armed group. Some of the killed wore uniforms with insignia of the disbanded ethnic Albanian Kosovo Liberation Army, or UCK. No identification documents were found on the deceased. The UCK, an ethnic Albanian rebel group, fought Serb government forces for Kosovo independence in 1998-1999 and international peacekeepers still have a presence in Kosovo. Kotevski named five leaders of the 44 member group, all citizens of Kosovo, as founders of paramili- tary structures. He said the group entered Macedonia at the start of May with an aim to launch attacks on state institutions. It was sheltered in Kumanovo’s western neigh- borhood “Diva Naselba” and police found a huge ar- senal of weapons at the lo- cation, he added. Police have filed ter- rorism-related charges against more than 30 mem- bers of the group that have surrendered. Later Sunday, they are expected to be brought before an investiga- tive judge, who will decide on possible detention. Kotevski was not able to confirm any civilian casual- ties in the clashes. The fighting comes as Macedonia is grappling with its deepest political crisis since its independence from former Yugoslavia in 1991. The government and the op- position have accused each other of planning to desta- bilize the country to take or preserve power, and some an- alysts fear leaders on both sides are ready to provoke ethnic clashes as leverage. Kumanovo is an ethni- cally mixed town located about 25 miles northeast of the capital Skopje, near the border with Kosovo and Serbia. The region was the center of hostilities between ethnic Albanian rebels and government forces during the ethnic conflict in 2001. That insurgency, in which about 80 people were killed, ended after six months with a Western-brokered peace deal that granted more rights to ethnic Albanians, who make up about a quarter of the country’s 2 million people. About two weeks ago, authorities said a group of about 40 people wearing UCK uniforms attacked a police watchtower in Gosince on Macedonia’s northern border with Kosovo and briefly cap- tured four Macedonian police officers. Authorities described that incident as “very serious” and said Macedonia was the “target of a terrorist attack.” On Sunday, the Macedonian government de- clared two days of mourning for those killed in the clashes and President Gjorge Ivanov called for a National Security Council meeting. National flags were flying at half-mast and sports events and political gather- ings have been canceled. EU Enlargement Commissioner Johannes Hahn expressed “deep concern” at the sit- uation unfolding in the Kumanovo region. “I urge all actors for ut- most restraint. Any fur- ther escalation must be avoided, not the least in the interest of the overall sta- bility in the country,” Hahn said in a statement. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir in Paris on Friday. President Obama wants to reassure Arab leaders that an emerging deal with Iran will not further destabilize the Middle East when officials from Persian Gulf nations meet with Obama this week at Camp David. - Photo: AP A couple from Kumanovo, Macedonia, cross into Serbia from Macedonia at the Presevo border crossing on Sunday. Serbian authorities have stepped up border control with Macedonia, apparently fearing a possible spillover of tensions. - Photo: APNext >