ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – THURSDAY JANUARY 5, 2017 High of 85 Low of 74 Slight with wave heights of 1 to 3 feet EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 NEW YEAR’S HONOURS: GOING, GOING, ‘GONG’ SPORTS | PAGE 16 GIROUD CAPS HOT STREAK BY SPEARHEADING ARSENAL COMEBACK 12 DAYS LEFT TO REGISTER TO VOTE ELECTION 2017 Personal Insurance Happy New Year! Have an even happier New Year paying less for more cover with home and car insurance! Fast claims service. Lowest deductibles, low premiums for comprehensive cover and save up to $400 on home and motor cover! Ask BritCay for a quote! BRITISH CAYMANIAN INSURANCE CO. LTD. BritCay House, 236 Eastern Avenue, George Town, P.O. Box 74, KY1-1102 Tel. 949-8699 www.britcay.ky A member of Colonial Group International: insurance, health, pensions, life Call 949-8699 www.britcay.ky cgigrp UK team to reform child abuse unit Police seek help after investigation dubbed incompetent JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Three U.K. child abuse investigators have been recruited to review and reform the po- lice’s Family Support Unit after a judge con- demned its investigation into alleged sexual assault on a child as “grossly incompetent.” The U.K. officers, with extensive expertise in child abuse investigations, will help clear a backlog of cases identified in an internal re- view of the Family Support Unit following the judge’s criticism. They arrived in the Cayman Islands this week and will begin work immediately. The shake-up follows public outcry after it emerged that officers in the Family Support Unit had taken 18 months to follow up on a re- port from an 11-year-old girl who claimed she had been sexually abused by older relatives. The officer who took notes on the girl’s first interview lost those notes, it emerged at trial. Justice Timothy Owen said the “wholly un- explained and inexcusable delays” and the “truly lamentable” quality of the police re- sponse had harmed the chances of justice for both the child and her alleged abusers. Both men were found not guilty in September. The recruitment of outside support fol- lows an internal audit of the Family Sup- port Unit’s cases and procedures by Detective Superintendent Peter Lansdown in the after- math of that case. His audit highlighted other cases in which further investigation was required, according to a statement from the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service. It also revealed “critical risks in the resourcing and rising workload of the FSU,” the statement indicates. Derek Byrne, Cayman Islands’ new com- missioner of police, said, “Clearly, we need to make some fundamental changes in NO ROYAL GONGS FOR CAYMAN Cayman Islands names were conspicuous by their absence on the official New Year’s Honours List for the second year in succession. The awards, which recognize dedicated ser- vice or extraordinary achievement of people in Britain and the Commonwealth, have typically included at least one Cayman Islands resident. Dr. Virginia Hobday was the last to receive a New Year’s honor, being named Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2015 for her services as medical director of Cayman Islands HospiceCare. Charity mara- thon runner Derek Haines, who raised $1 mil- lion for the hospice, and financial services in- dustry leader Dan Scott, picked up awards in the Queen’s Birthday honors list in 2015. There were no awardees in the New Year’s list for 2016, but businessman Charles Wesley Watler picked up an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday list. Nominations for the various awards can be made by anyone in the Cayman Islands either through the Governor’s Office or directly to the Ceremonial and Honours Unit of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in England. Appli- cations are considered by a nominations com- mittee in London which informs the governor. The Governor’s Office confirmed it had not been notified of any Cayman awardees this year and declined to comment on how many nominations, if any, had been submitted. The governor typically awards local badges of honor to coincide with the Queen’s Birthday list. Tennis star Andy Murray and Olympic gold medal winner Mo Farrah led the list of knighthoods in the 2017 New Year’s Honours List. There were also awards for pop-star Vic- toria Beckham, formerly of the Spice Girls, as well as British Antarctic Survey Director Jane Francis and biologist Amanda Fisher. Sellout crowd expected for Pac Man Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao arrives in Cayman on Friday JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Filipino boxing legend and politician Manny Pacquiao flies into Grand Cayman on Friday afternoon for a whirlwind tour of the islands. He will host the Island Rumble boxing night at the Truman Bodden stadium on Saturday, with organizers pre- dicting a sell-out crowd of more than 4,000. The eight-division world champion, widely regarded as one of the all-time greats of the sport, will attend a VIP night and weigh-in at the Marriott Grand Cayman Resort on Friday, par- ticipate in the ground-breaking ceremony for a new boxing gym in Bodden Town and visit Health City Cayman Islands on Sat- urday, and fly to the Brac for a brief visit before heading home Sunday afternoon. Pacquiao touches down at Owen Roberts International Air- port at 12:30 p.m. Friday and will immediately be sped to an official meet-and-greet at the Government Administra- tion Building. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » Maypole dance a garden party tradition Children at the New Year’s Day garden party on the grounds of Webster United Memorial Church in Bodden Town try their hand at maypole dancing. The traditional activity is a favorite at the party, which has been held every year since the 1900s. For more, see District Days page 6. - PHOTO: JEWEL LEVY2 REGIONAL NEWS THURSDAY JANUARY 5, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Daily Matinees Every Day $8.00 Seniors, Mon-Fri Before 6pm Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 640-FILM (640-3456) *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. SATURDAY NIGHT: For your viewing pleasure, minors under the age of 18 will not be admitted to any film starting after 6pm, unless accompanied by their parent. - THURSDAY - ROGUE ONE 3D (PG13) 12:50 2D | 3:05 | 6:50 2D | 9:35 PASSENGERS 3D (PG13) 1:00 | 3:50 2D | 7:00 | 9:40 2D ASSASSIN’S CREED 3D (PG13) 1:20 | 4:00 2D | 7:15 | 10:00 2D FENCES (PG13) 12:25 | 3:30 | 6:35 | 9:40 MOANA (PG) 12:45 | 3:30 | 6:45 | 9:20 SING 3D (PG) 12:30 | 3:45 2D | 7:00 | 9:50 2D RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – His country mired in recession, Brazilian President Michel Temer’s government ordered $400,000 worth of food, including 500 cartons of Haagen-Dazs ice cream and 1.5 tons of chocolat cake, for his official plane trips in 2017 only to cancel the order hours later amid public outrage. The ostentatious shopping list pub- lished Dec. 27 was the latest in a series of seemingly tone deaf decisions that have put his already wobbly government on the defensive, raising questions about whether it can survive the new year. The food flap came a month after Temer, rather than rush to comfort grieving fami- lies, spent days debating whether even to attend the memorial for the victims of a plane crash in Colombia that killed nearly an entire Brazilian soccer team. The missteps have pushed approval ratings for the 75-year-old career politi- cian down to around 10 percent, weak- ening his hand as he fights corruption allegations that could force him from power less than a year after taking office following the impeachment and ouster of his predecessor, Dilma Rousseff. “Temer’s team needs to get out of its comfort zone and see what is happening in the country,” said Carlos Manhanelli, chairman of the Brazilian Association of Political Consultants. “Somebody should have seen that [shopping] list before it went out.” Temer’s struggles come as Brazil faces myriad challenges. The economy has contracted the last two years and is not expected to grow in 2017. Unemploy- ment is at 12 percent and inflation over 10 percent, numbers that translate into daily announcements of job cuts and palpable angst on the streets – things that made his sweets-laden food order particularly galling. The most immediate risk to Temer’s presidency comes from a trial in Bra- zil’s top electoral court, which is looking at alleged illegal campaign financing in the 2014 presidential election, which fea- tured Rousseff and Temer as running mates. If the Rousseff-Temer ticket is annulled, it could lead to new elections. Rousseff and Temer deny wrongdoing. A Temer resignation or ouster would create new turmoil for a country still recovering from the tumultuous ouster of Rousseff. Congress could pick a new president to finish the term through 2018, or new elections could be called. The poll leader for the 2018 elections, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, is himself facing corruption charges. Temer has said he would be ready to “appeal, appeal and appeal again” to stay on. However, analysts say his hand would likely be forced. His approval rat- ings are so low his administration could not survive another blow. Also looming is the so-called Car Wash investigation into a sweeping kick- back scheme at state oil company Petro- bras. Several top politicians and busi- nessmen have already been jailed over the last two years. Details of plea bargains from current and former executives of constructor Odebrecht, one of the main companies involved in the scheme, are expected to become public within the next couple of months. Key ministers and even the president himself could be implicated. “The corruption probe at Petrobras could bring down the very people that put Temer in office and also implicate him,” said Claudio Couto, a political science pro- fessor at Fundacao Getulio Vargas univer- sity in Sao Paulo. “And the electoral court will be watching all that when they de- cide” on the campaign finance allegations. Temer’s hope is for an economic re- covery based on cutting inflation and restoring business confidence. And he’s had some victories, though even those will likely sting low-income Brazilians by squeezing subsidies. Congress approved legislation to limit spending in line with inflation and his administration appears close to low- ering interest rates, some of the highest in the world, which have choked new in- vestment amid the crisis. The general economic climate is so bad that analysts say the urgency to find solutions could help push through Temer’s proposed re- form of the pension system, long un- touchable in Brazilian politics. “Temer’s ability to survive politically has now become intertwined with ap- proving reforms,” said Eurasia, a risk consultancy, in a year-end report. Staying on message, however, will also mean connecting with the average voter, something he has not been able to do. When Temer took power in May, he appointed an all-white, all-male Cabinet, drawing ire in a country where more than half the population identifies as Afro-Brazilian or mixed race. Since then, he has lost six ministers amid corrup- tion scandals. Tone deaf decisions deepen challenges for Brazil’s president Brazil’s President Michel Temer Haiti certifies presidential win for businessman Moise to be sworn in on Feb. 7. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – A businessman from northern Haiti who has never held po- litical office was certified as the official winner of the No- vember presidential election Tuesday following a ruling by an electoral tribunal that found no evidence of large- scale voter fraud. The Provisional Electoral Council published final re- sults showing that Jovenel Moise easily won a first- round victory with more than 55 percent of the votes, the same as the preliminary re- sults that were announced in late November. His nearest challenger, Jude Celestin, had nearly 20 percent. Release of the results came hours after a special electoral tribunal dismissed allegations of massive fraud, announcing that it had found some irregularities in the Nov. 20 election but not enough to affect the outcome based on an analysis of 12 percent of the ballots. Moise, whose business ventures include a large ba- nana farm in the north of the country, pledged on Twitter that the five-year mandate that has been entrusted to him by the Haitian people will be a productive one. A 48-year-old chosen by former President Michel Mar- telly to run as the candidate of his Tet Kale party, Moise defeated 26 rivals in the first round and avoided a runoff. Several rivals chal- lenged the results, but the electoral judges said they found “there was no massive fraud,” according to the elec- toral council. Supporters of Maryse Narcisse, one of the leading presidential candidates rep- resenting the Fanmi Lav- alas party, burned tires and marched in protest of the electoral tribunal decision. But within hours there were many more supporters of Moise celebrating in the streets downtown as word of his victory spread. There were no reports of signifi- cant violence. Authorities annulled an initial October 2015 election that Moise also won after a special commission found evidence of apparent fraud. The country has been led by an interim president since February 2016. Moise is to be sworn in on Feb. 7. President-elect Jovenel Moise talks next to his wife Martine during his first press conference after the announcement Tuesday of his victory in Petion-Ville, Haiti. - PHOTO: AP/DIEU NALIO CHERY PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) – Hundreds of thousands of people in southern Haiti are facing food short- ages three months after Hurricane Matthew de- stroyed crops and livestock in the region, an interna- tional aid organization said Wednesday. A “very poor” harvest is expected over the next two months in the South and Grand Anse departments of the southern Haitian pen- insula, an area where most people depend on subsis- tence farming to survive, Oxfam said in a report calling for more support for a U.N. assistance fund. The U.N. announced it would provide $139 million in assistance to the region, but that program is under- funded by 38 percent, the aid group said. Hurricane Matthew made landfall near Les An- glais on Oct. 4 as a Cat- egory 4 storm, causing widespread damage. The storm destroyed 80 per- cent of crops and much of the livestock in some of the hardest-hit parts of a region considered the breadbasket of the impov- erished Caribbean country. The Haitian government put the death toll at 546. “Hurricane Matthew swept through Haiti in a matter of hours but has created a long-term catas- trophe that will take the country years to recover from,” Damien Berrendorf, country director of Oxfam in Haiti, said in the report. More than 800,000 people are at an “extreme level of food insecurity,” and an estimated 750,000 do not have safe water, ac- cording to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Hu- manitarian Affairs. A “very poor” harvest is expected over the next two months in the South and Grand Anse departments of the southern Haitian peninsula. OXFAM: HAITI FOOD STOCKS LOW IN WAKE OF STORM Homes in Port Salut, Haiti, were destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in October 2016. Three months later, areas in southern Haiti are still experiencing food shortages. - PHOTO: AP/REBECCA BLACKWELL3 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY JANUARY 5, 2017 Coe Wood Beach kiosks torn down JEWEL LEVY jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com Four kiosks on Bodden Town’s Coe Wood Beach have been torn down after being padlocked and unused for four years. Bodden Town MLA Os- bourne Bodden said the huts were “rushed, and ended up being poorly designed and unusable.” Mr. Bodden said he has been working over the past three-and-a-half years at getting the huts removed, but he did not want to move them until designs for replacement kiosks were in place. “I’m looking forward to having these erected as soon as possible and district people having an outlet for their products,” he said. Workers took down the sheds with their rusted zinc coverings over the Christmas holidays and loaded them onto trucks as resi- dents watched. The kiosks, which were completed in late 2012 as part of an effort to revitalize Coe Wood Beach, were in- tended as part of a public facility where vendors could showcase traditional foods, arts and crafts to the public. The plans for the beach ini- tiative included the construc- tion of a boat ramp, sidewalk and parking areas and a sto- rytelling arena. The boat ramp and car park were built in mid- 2012 and officially opened in March 2013. The ki- osks were completed in late 2012, but did not remain in use for long. The opening of the ki- osks was welcomed at the time, with some resi- dents saying they offered a family-friendly spot from which they could better enjoy the beach, as well as a place for them to sell tra- ditional items. After the kiosks were built, however, tensions flared over their use. Unable to decide what to do with the kiosks, government ordered the doors padlocked. Throughout the years, Coe Wood Beach was one of 40 sites on Grand Cayman identified as areas of nat- ural beauty to be protected for public use, according to a 1974 study that served as the precursor to Cayman’s first real development plan of 1977. In that plan, the Coe Wood area was included as one of the ideal sites to be preserved as an open public space. Woman jailed for burglary thanks court CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A woman who was sen- tenced on Tuesday for bur- glary and cocaine-related offenses expressed grati- tude to the court, prose- cuting and defense counsel and probation officers for their help. “God bless you all,” Sarah Elizabeth Day said, after receiving an eight-month prison term and a year on probation. “Thank you all for helping me a lot. I got a lot of chances before and I messed them up.” Earlier, Day said she had been in and out of prison and had been given the op- portunity to change, but she had failed to do so because she was in denial about her drug use. “I am an addict. This I finally accept …. I have hurt many people and I am sorry,” she said. Magistrate Valdis Fol- dats accepted her apology as genuine, but warned that change would not be easy. Day, 43, previously pleaded guilty to entering the Golden Diner restaurant as a trespasser and stealing food valued at $300. Crown counsel Darlene Oko said the burglary oc- curred on April 19, 2015, when the defendant en- tered the School Road prem- ises through a window. The owner arrived around 5:30 a.m. and discovered the back door open. He found Day in the kitchen, putting items into a bag. The owner called po- lice, who arrived almost im- mediately. They found two pink bags and one black plastic garbage bag con- taining foodstuffs, in addi- tion to the bag still inside. One bag also contained a cocaine pipe, which resulted in charges of consumption and possession of a drug utensil, to which Day also pleaded guilty. She also admitted an- other set of the same charges from January 2015. Deducting a full one- third credit for her guilty plea, the magistrate passed a sentence of eight months. He noted she had spent 10 days in a halfway house on a 24-hour curfew, so he de- ducted that time for a final sentence of seven months, 20 days. Other time in cus- tody will also be taken into account, he said. Day told the court she had a job waiting for her. The magistrate com- mented that she had used her time in custody wisely and he wished her well. Workers begin demolishing and removing the beach huts last month. - PHOTO: JEWEL LEVY Magistrate Valdis Foldats accepted her apology as genuine, but warned that change would not be easy.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. ELI LAKE Let’s take a moment to savor what looks to be Henry Kissinger’s final act. The man is 93. At that age, most people are lucky to have enough en- ergy for “Wheel of Fortune” and a few Facebook posts. Not Kissinger. These days, he’s playing the influence game against insiders who hadn’t even been born when he was Richard Nixon’s sec- retary of state Officials with Donald Trump’s transition team tell me Kissinger has spent sev- eral hours since the election advising incoming national security adviser Michael Flynn and his team. He’s also putting his network in place. He recommended his former assistant, K.T. McFarland, to be Flynn’s deputy, and urged Trump to nominate Rex Til- lerson, the chief executive of- ficer of ExxonMobil, as his secretary of state. Kissinger is one of the few people in Trump’s orbit who can get him on the phone whenever he wants, according to one transition adviser. That’s just behind the scenes. Consider that Kiss- inger is also an important validator for Trump in the media. When some Republi- cans questioned Tillerson’s closeness to Russian Presi- dent Vladimir Putin, Kiss- inger defended the pick on “Face the Nation.” Kissinger helped soften the blow of Trump’s phone call with Tai- wan’s president in December before the Committee of 100, which advocates for the U.S.-China relationship. Be- fore that, Kissinger winged his way to Oslo to urge his fellow Nobel laureates to give the next president’s foreign policy a chance. It feels like 1975 all over again. I’m half-expecting to read something in the tab- loids about a Kissinger affair with a Hollywood starlet. It should be said that al- most all recent presidents and secretaries of state at one time or another have consulted Kissinger for ad- vice. But in the Obama years, Kissinger was not that influ- ential. After he co-wrote an op-ed critical of the Iran nu- clear deal, State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf dismissed it as “big words and big thoughts” with few specifics. It’s nonetheless strange that Kissinger would have Trump’s ear. To start, he is the author of many of the policies Trump is hinting he will undo. It’s not just the one-China policy, which for- bids official recognition of Taiwan, even though it allows the U.S. to arm the island. Kissinger is also an architect of arms-control deals that re- cent Trump tweets suggest may be in jeopardy. “Kissinger is apparently willing to advise someone who has publicly ques- tioned the essential building blocks of the international system that Kissinger him- self helped create,” Tim Naf- tali, a former executive di- rector of the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Mu- seum, told me. Then there’s the matter of how Trump won the presidency. Remember his closing argument: “For those who control the levers of power in Washington and for the global special inter- ests, they partner with these people who don’t have your good in mind.” That’s not an unreasonable description of Kissinger’s own consulting firm, which has provided strategic advice to foreign governments and big corpo- rations since 1982. Of course, Kissinger has always contained multi- tudes. For his supporters, he is the American Metter- nich, the 19th-century Aus- trian diplomat and scholar who both shaped and ex- plained the geopolitics of his era. It’s no coincidence that Metternich was a subject of Kissinger’s first book, pub- lished in 1957. Niall Ferguson, the his- torian and Kissinger biog- rapher, put it like this: “The reason Trump has turned to Kissinger is that he rightly sees him as the most bril- liant and experienced geo- political theorist and dip- lomatic practitioner in the United States today, and he realizes he could use Kiss- inger’s advice to sort out his strategic priorities.” This is no doubt music to the ears of the Washington and New York foreign-policy establishment. For idealists on the left and right, how- ever, Kissinger’s influence on Trump is a red flag. For all of his foreign-policy success, Kissinger is also an author of more dubious moments in Cold War history. He helped orchestrate the 1973 coup that toppled Chile’s elected president, Salvador Allende. Kissinger devised the strategy to bomb North Vietnamese Army positions in Cambodia, something he kept from Congress. This his- tory earned Hillary Clinton a rebuke from Bernie Sanders during the Democratic pri- mary, when he questioned the judgment of anyone who would consider Kissinger to be a personal friend. But Kissinger is not just a bête noire for the left. He also clashed with neoconser- vatives when he was Richard Nixon’s national security ad- viser. Democratic Sen. Henry “Scoop” Jackson pushed the Nixon administration to adopt sanctions on the So- viet Union tied directly to its treatment of Jewish dis- sidents. Kissinger famously opposed this policy because it would undermine his own policy to lower tensions with Moscow, known as detente. As Trump prepares to take power, Russia is once again dividing Washington. The Obama administration just last week released a re- port from the FBI and De- partment of Homeland Secu- rity that concluded Russian intelligence services hacked leading Democrats and leaked the information to the press. Trump and his transi- tion team have cast doubt on the intelligence. Kissinger hasn’t weighed in on that. But he has been saying for the past few years that it would be smart to find ways to work more closely with Putin. In a speech in February at the Gorchakov Foundation in Moscow, he said, “In the emerging multipolar order, Russia should be perceived as an essential element of any new global equilibrium, not primarily as a threat to the United States.” This perspective meshes nicely with Trump’s own view that a deal can be done with Putin. Ferguson told me that one of the appeals of Kissinger for Trump is that voters were fed up with the approaches of George W. Bush and Barack Obama to foreign policy. “Kissinger was associated with nei- ther approach, though he was much less openly crit- ical of the former,” he said. “I think Trump is attracted to Kissinger’s reputation as a realist, though – as I have argued – this is rather an inaccurate characterization of him. He surely also ap- preciates the unique net- work of relationships Kiss- inger brings to the table: Think only of his regular meetings with Presidents Putin and Xi.” Delicious. The president- elect who waged a cam- paign against global elites is turning to a man who knows most of them on a first-name basis. It’s an irony Henry Kissinger’s former clients likely appreciate. Lake is a Bloomberg View columnist. © 2017, Bloomberg View THURSDAY JANUARY 5, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS When the United Kingdom announced the annual New Year Honours, we eagerly scanned the list of names for Cayman Islands residents … But alas, this year, it seems, was not Cayman’s year. Have heart, readers – not only is our territory’s absence from the Honours list not the end of the world, it is evidence of the merit of residents who have received awards in the past. (In economic terms, scarcity leads to value.) So instead of lamenting Cayman being “left out,” we should take this opportunity to celebrate the residents who have been honored in years past, for example, Dr. Virginia Hobday in 2015 or then- Police Commissioner David Baines in 2014; or going back a bit farther, Cayman’s national heroes Sybil McLaughlin, Thomas Farrington, Sybil Hylton, Ormond Panton, Desmond Watler and William Conolly — who all at some point were appointed to the Order of the British Empire. Fundamentally, these Honours are not “participa- tion ribbons” but recognitions of substantial contribu- tions to society. Cayman can take far greater pride in the Honours that our residents have received in the past, than sorrow in not being included in this particular version of the list. And, after all … there’s always next year. (And the Queen’s Birthday!) New Year’s Honours: Going, going, ‘gong’ 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 EXECUTIVE EDITOR PATRICK BRENDEL A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will findtheirownway” Our written greetings may constitute barely a whisper compared to the raucous crowds who will cheer Manny Pacquiao while he is in the Cayman Islands, but all the same we’d like to offer a hearty welcome to the legendary boxer from the Philippines. The primary reason Mr. Pacquiao will be in Cayman is to host Saturday’s “Island Rumble” boxing event at Truman Bodden Stadium, although he has other items on his agenda, including visiting young “Have a Heart” patients at Health City Cayman Islands. Organizers of Saturday’s event expect more than 4,000 people to turn out for the fights. That’s easy to believe, not just because of the number of boxing fans in Cayman, but the number of “Pacquiao fans” here (and everywhere). Mr. Pacquiao is undoubtedly the biggest international celebrity from the Philippines. His arrival in Cayman, following last summer’s visit by his compatriot, Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach, is a moment of great pride for Cayman’s substantial Filipino community. (As a measure of the importance of Filipino residents to Cayman, consider that in 1995 there were 671 Filipino work permit holders in Cayman; as of the end of 2016, that number had grown to more than 3,000.) When he comes to Cayman, Mr. Pacquiao will join a short list of iconic sports figures who have arrived on our islands, not merely as celebrities unto them- selves, but as representatives of their country’s culture and esteem. On par with Mr. Pacquiao’s visit, we would place previous visits to Cayman from Brazilian football legend Pele and Jamaican megastar sprinter Usain Bolt. Although back in the Philippines Mr. Pacquiao offi- cially holds the office of senator, not diplomat, while he is here in Cayman he will be in the role of ambassador, connecting his country to ours. Welcoming Pac Man: Pugilist and politician Kissinger’s backThe islands’ most-trusted news source 5 Community CALENDAR ■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR is published TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS. It is available to charitable or nonprofit organizations. Items should be submitted at least three working days before publication. Information must include name of sender, signature and contact number. ■ Items may be faxed to 949-2662, brought to the Cayman Compass office on Shedden Rd. or emailed to cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com at least three days in advance of publication. CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY JANUARY 5, 2017 FRIDAY, JAN. 6 EXHIBITION HAPPY HOUR: National Gallery, 5:30-7:30 p.m. A closing celebration of the contemporary art exhibition “Speak to Me.” Organized by the Butterfield Young Patrons Circle, the event features live performances, nibbles and cocktails. Mingle with artists, curators and like-minded individuals. Admission is free and curator-led tours will run every 30 minutes. Email info@nationalgallery.org.ky or call 945-8111. MONDAY, JAN. 16 VOTER REGISTRATION: Caymanians who want to participate in the next general election now have until midnight tonight to register to vote. Contact the Elections Office, second floor Smith Road Center, 150 Smith Road. Check website www.electionsoffice. ky for documents needed or call 949-8047. WEDNESDAY, JAN. 18 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND INVESTMENT: The DCI office, including its Business Licensing Counter on the first floor of the Government Administration Building, will close at 3 p.m. for a staff meeting. The main office will reopen on Thursday, Jan. 19, at 8:30 a.m., and the counter will reopen at 9 a.m. For more information, call 945-0943 or email info@dci.gov.ky. FRIDAY, JAN. 20 CHRISTMAS TREE DISPOSAL: Last day to drop off natural Christmas trees for recycling. Containers to collect discarded Christmas trees are at Ed Bush Stadium in West Bay, George Town cricket field, Spotts dock and the southern entrance to Frank Sound Road. Mulching takes place Jan. 21. For further information, contact DEH’s Solid Waste unit at 949-8793. GENERAL INTEREST IMMIGRATION BOARDS: The Work Permit Board resumes on Jan. 9. The Business Staffing Plan Board resumes Jan. 11. The Cayman Status and Permanent Residency Board resumes on Jan. 12. The Administration, Border Control and Enforcement sections of Immigration will continue functioning as usual while the boards are on leave. IMMIGRATION TRIBUNAL: Members will hold their first meeting of the year on Jan. 12. SINGLE-MEMBER CONSTITUENCIES: The Elections Office invites voters, potential candidates and their agents to learn more about recent changes to the Elections Law that have created 19 single- member electoral districts. Email office@elections.ky to ask questions or request short presentations for groups or organizations. Local media will carry information on upcoming meetings, which will aim to address questions. HUMANE SOCIETY BOOK LOFT: North Sound Road. Open Monday 12:30-4 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday 5:30-7:30 p.m. Volunteers needed for front desk a few hours per week. Email humanesocietybookloft@ candw.ky or call 946-8053. Donations of books, games, CDs, stationery, DVDs, cards, etc., in good condition always needed. RED CROSS THRIFT SHOP: The Thrift Shop opening hours are Tuesday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. Friday hours are 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and closed evenings. Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. SPECIAL OLYMPICS: Volunteers are needed. Tuesdays at the Truman Bodden Complex at 5:30 p.m. for track/field, football and bocce. No experience necessary, just a smile and patience. Wednesdays at Lions Pool 10:15–11 a.m. You do not have to swim, just be able to walk in water chest-deep. Thursdays at First Baptist Church for basketball, 5:30–7 p.m. Saturdays, volunteers needed for Adult Special Olympic swim conditioning at CIS pool 9:30–10:30 a.m. Deck support and in-water swimming assistance needed. For more information, contact Penny McDowall at 516-2578 or pjmcdowall@gmail.com. COMMUNITY CHESS: Tuesdays 5-8 p.m., West Indies Wine Company. Join the Cayman Chess Club for a complimentary chess class and open challenges weekly. Anyone can learn to play and enjoy chess, even beginners. LOST DOGS: The Department of Agriculture and veterinary students of St. Matthew’s University provide an online list of dogs housed at the Department of Agriculture Animal Rescue Shelter in Lower Valley. Anyone missing a dog can check www.smustudents.webs.com. BETHESDA COUNSELLING CENTRE: Caters to all who seek help. Open Monday to Friday 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 68 Mary St. Appointments available Saturdays and late evenings. Center is owned and operated by the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Call 946-6575. ARTISANS MARKET: Camana Bay every Wednesday, noon till 8 p.m. Visual Arts Society artists display arts, crafts, paintings, prints, hand-crafted jewelry and ceramics for sale. Email info@visualartcayman.com. OPEN CANVAS: Wednesdays. Visual Arts Society supports this event at KARoo Restaurant in Camana Bay. 7-11 p.m. No fee, easels provided. Contact info@ongart.com or jar.was@gmail.com. MUSEUM TOURS: The National Museum provides guided tours for students and school groups free of cost. Students will gain an understanding of Cayman’s geological formation, flora and fauna, seafaring and rope-making heritage, political history and more. Contact the museum to book a tour in advance at 949-8368 or email info@museum.ky. CLUBS, ORGANIZATIONS ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: Meets daily to help with drinking problems. For more information, call 926-9044 or visit www.caymanaa.org. NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS: Is available for substance abuse help. Call the info line at 929–NANA (6262). AL-ANON GROUP MEETING: Are you troubled by someone’s drinking? Al-Anon Family Groups can help. Call 928-8843 or email caymanalanon@gmail. com for meeting times. OVERCOMERS OUTREACH: A Christ-centered 12-Step Recovery Group addresses addictions and those affected by them. Meetings at Cayman Islands Baptist Church, Pedro Castle Road, Mondays, 7 p.m. For details, contact Virginia Castillo at 946-2422, or visit www.overcomersoutreach.org. DEMENTIA/ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT GROUP: This group meets on the last Wednesday of each month at the Catboat Club clubhouse, North Church Street. All are invited to attend. For more information, call 924-4170 or email info@adacayman.com. TOASTMASTERS CLUB: Cayman has three chapters of Toastmasters International, geared toward development of public speaking and leadership skills. Grand Cayman club meets at George Town Public Library, 3rd floor, 6-7:15 p.m. every Thursday. Eloquent Speaker club meets 2nd and 4th Tuesday 6:30–7:45 p.m. at Savannah United Church Hall. Eminent Orators club meets 2nd and 4th Monday 6–7:30 p.m. at Cayman Academy Canteen. Contact George R. Ebanks at 916-0687/322-9369 or georger.ebanks@gmail.com. ROTARACT BLUE OF CAYMAN: Meets Wednesdays 6 p.m., at Royal Palms Beach Club, West Bay Road. Contact rotaractblue@gmail.com or check www.rotaractblue.org. LEO CLUB OF GRAND CAYMAN: Meets first and third Wednesdays of the month, 6:30 p.m. at the Lions Community Centre. For more information, contact Secretary Letisha Allen 924-2819. THE LIONS CLUB OF GRAND CAYMAN: Meets every first and third Thursday 7:30 p.m. at the Lions Community Centre. For more information, email LionsClubGCM@hotmail.com. THE LIONS CLUB OF TROPICAL GARDENS: Meet every first and third Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Elizabethan Square (corner unit next to the MLA’s office). Members of the public are invited to attend. ROTARY CLUB OF GRAND CAYMAN SUNRISE: Service club meetings 7 a.m. every Wednesday at George Town Yacht Club, 612 North Sound Road. For more information, check website at www. rotarysunrise.ky or contact info@rotarysunrise.ky. KIWANIS CLUB OF GRAND CAYMAN: Meets first and third Wednesdays of the month, 12:30 p.m., at Britannia Golf Course Restaurant. Projects include promoting well- being of children in the community and schools. For more information, email president@kiwanis.ky or view www.kiwanis.ky. OPTIMIST CLUB: Meets first and third Thursdays at the Hibiscus Conference Room, George Town Hospital at 6:30 p.m. Email optimistcayman@yahoo.com. THE MODEL AIRPLANE FLYING CLUB: Meets Sundays 2 p.m. at the J. Bodden Marlpit/Old Raceway. Call 916–2327 for more information. PARENT AND TODDLER PLAY GROUP: For children from 2 weeks to 4 years. Meets Mondays 9:30-11:30 a.m. in the South Sound Community Centre. Children must be accompanied by parent or helper. Toys, activities, light refreshments provided. $6 per session per family. For information, email sspg@foxwood.ky. HEARTS THROUGH HANDS: Meets Wednesdays 9:30 a.m. to noon at The Family Life Centre, Room 10, Academy Way. Women make crafts for charity and missions. For information, call 946–3067 or 947–1863. THE WOMEN’S HEALTH CENTRE: Breastfeeding Clinics every Thursday 10 a.m.- noon in the Women’s Health Centre. No appointments, no fees. Phone 244–2649. CAYMAN BRIDGE CLUB: Meets Tuesdays 7 p.m. at Comfort Suites, West Bay Road; Fridays, 9 a.m. at the Rugby Club. For further information, contact Helen Haines at 947-3217 or Alex Wood at 947-3693. BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S CLUB: Meets third Wednesday of every month, Governors Square Boardroom at 5:30 p.m. Visit www.facebook.com/ BPWGrandCayman. BREASTFEEDING SUPPORT GROUP: MothertoMother meetings first Tuesday of every month, 3-4 p.m. outside Women’s Health Centre at the Cayman Islands Hospital. Children welcome. Contact Women’s Health Centre at 244-2649. LIFE UNDERWRITERS ASSOCIATION: Advises all members that the monthly meeting luncheon is held on the last Thursday of each month. YBPW: Meets every third Monday of each month at the Woman’s Resource Centre. For more Community Calendar events, visit www.caymancompass.com/events. An exhibition happy hour at the National Gallery from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan 6, will mark the close of the exhibit ‘Speak to Me,’ which features the work of several local artists, including ‘Dreaming’ by Gordon Solomon, above. Admission is free.DISTRICT DAYS 6 District Days Bodden Town THURSDAY JANUARY 5, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS 50 YEARS AGO Breakers’ Lighthouse Club highlighted In the Jan. 4, 1966 edi- tion of the Caymanian Weekly, a precursor of the Cayman Compass, contrib- utor R.M. Walters wrote: “A structure of dignity and grace, Cayman’s unique Lighthouse Club stands im- posingly yet attractively at Breakers, on the Island’s south east coast. “Designed and the con- struction supervised by owner Leon Hull, the building arrests the eye of everyone. Cayman’s own Cedric Levy was building foreman. “It serves as an identifi- cation for ships at night, a guide from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. for teetotallers and also as a comfortable dwelling for the owners. “The club is conve- niently located for club lovers East and North of George Town. “The club is described as a project by the owner and is designed to be and make Caymanians participate in the ‘most exclusive private club in service and mem- bership on the island.’ “Leon Hull was bored with his vacation in the States. A friend recom- mended Cayman’s friendly atmosphere. He came, he saw, he bought lands, he built. He would have pre- ferred to build a castle but as one was already here, he built a lighthouse. “The Lighthouse Club is between a $40- $50,000 investment. “A friendly Cayman/ American varied staff ca- ters to the appetites of cus- tomers [including] Pansy Rankine, waitress, Bill Crouse, manager, Vibert Connor, bartender, and Olcy McField, waitress. “In the future, upstairs will house a small select Gentlemen’s Club. A library and other services will be installed. Discussions and games will be special features. Gambling will be outlawed.” Garden party carries on New Year tradition JEWEL LEVY jlevy@pinnaclemedialtd.com Webster United Memo- rial Church celebrated New Year’s Day with its tradi- tional garden party on Manse Road in Bodden Town. Gauging from the large crowd, it was evident that the event, which offers a chance to relax, enjoy good food and meet up with friends, keeps growing each year. The garden party, a family friendly event, is held on the church grounds with land- scaped gardens and mani- cured lawns where children swing and play games and ev- eryone enjoys the sea breezes. Among the delicacies served were turtle and conch, chicken and beef. Later in the day, pastries, heavy cakes, buns, tarts, custard-top corn bread, banana bread, biscuits and cakes were on sale. Activities included a May- pole dance and locally pop- ular games. In a new twist this year, the Maypole was a hit with youngsters. In years past, it was always the older folks who enjoyed the dance of plaiting colorful ribbons on the pole, accompanied by quadrille music. Visitors snap up delicious treats at the cake stall. - PHOTOS: JEWEL LEVY A group of friends partake in a game of ludie.The islands’ most-trusted news source 7 CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY JANUARY 5, 2017 this area of our law en- forcement work.” The U.K. officers will re- view all open investigations currently assigned to the Family Support Unit. According to a state- ment from the RCIPS, “In the course of this review, estimated to last about three months, cases will be assessed and completed in as timely a manner as possible, and referred to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for charges where appropriate. “The officers will focus on open investigations, and primarily child abuse in- vestigations, but will also be reviewing RCIPS poli- cies and procedures and advising on the implemen- tation of international best practices in this area.” Mr. Byrne said the ar- rival of the officers would coincide with the es- tablishment of a Multi- Agency Safeguarding Hub this month, which will bring together police, so- cial services and other rel- evant agencies. “This will provide us with a good basis for needed changes and im- provements, as will the input of the officers who joined us yesterday,” he said in a statement. “We must respond to the changing needs of the is- lands with proper support for child abuse investiga- tions going forward, which are among the most sen- sitive and difficult for any police service.” The multi-agency unit will work with the Cayman Islands Child Safeguarding Board, which will oversee joint operations between police, the Department of Children and Family Ser- vices and Health Ser- vices Authority coun- seling services. “Having these structures in place will enable faster progress toward a strong child protection regime through timelier interven- tions, and overall, greater prevention of child abuse and the lifelong damage caused by it. This is our ultimate goal,” Commis- sioner Byrne said. Following Justice Ow- en’s verdict in September, police said they accepted the judge’s criticism. At that time, no one had been suspended in connection with the case, though three officers in- volved in the investigation, including two supervisors, were transferred to dif- ferent roles pending disci- plinary reviews. There was no update Wednesday on the status of those reviews. Event organizer Mat- thew Leslie anticipates large crowds at both the airport and the government building. He said he is expecting a sell-out crowd for the main event, the Island Rumble, hosted by Mr. Pacquiao and involving multiple bouts, in- cluding an exhibition from current WBC and IBF Mid- dleweight Champion Luis “Cuba” Arias. Mr. Pacquiao, however, will not be lacing up his gloves for the event. “The difference be- tween Manny Pacquiao hosting and Manny Pacquiao fighting is about $20 million,” said Mr. Leslie. Organizers have not re- vealed how much Mr. Pac- quiao is being paid for the event. He is understood to command fees of around $1 million for such appearances. The headline sponsor for the event, put on by Mr. Les- lie’s promotions company Cayman Mardi Gras, is SDKA Securities, the Cayman Islands arm of SDKA International, a United Arab Emirates-based commodities dealer. Other key sponsors include Health City, Elite Marble and Granite, and the ministries of sports and tourism. Government’s dollar contribution to the event has not been publicly revealed. Mr. Leslie said ringside VIP seats are virtually sold out. “We are excited about the Island Rumble, which will take sports tourism in Cayman to another level,” he said. “We know of 600 people that are flying in for the event, and we are responsible for 140 VIPs that are coming in, where we are making ar- rangements for guests and their entourages. There are a lot of big names coming in, as well as a lot of promoters who will be looking closely at this event and seeing what Cayman is capable of. “Part of the reason we are doing this is to show the po- tential of the island to host these A-list events.” The event will fea- ture white-collar bouts for charity, as well as fights involving amateur boxers from Cayman, the Bahamas, Jamaica, the U.K. and the U.S. General admission tickets for the Island Rumble, priced at $35, are on sale at Foster’s Food Fair stores, Jacques Scott stores, Caybrew (The Brewery), PoPo Jeb’s and from the Boxing Association. Tickets will also be on sale at the gate for $50, depending on availability. MANNY PACQUIAO SCHEDULE FRIDAY ■■ 12:35 p.m.: Mr. Pacquiao ar- rives at Owen Roberts Inter- national Airport ■■ 1:30 p.m.: Official meet-and- greet at Government Admin- istration Building ■■ 6:30 p.m.: VIP weigh-in and cocktail reception at the Mar- riott resort SATURDAY ■■ 10 a.m.: Ground-breaking for new boxing gym in Bodden Town ■■ Noon: Tour of Health City ■■ 7 p.m.: Gates open for Island Rumble at Truman Bodden Stadium SUNDAY ■■ 9 a.m.: Mr. Pacquiao tour of Cayman Brac ■■ 5 p.m.: Mr. Pacquiao departs the Cayman Islands. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Sellout crowd expected for Pac Man UK team to reform child abuse unit CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 The U.K. officers will review all open investigations currently assigned to the Family Support Unit. Car flips on Esterley Tibbetts, driver arrested A car driven by an un- qualified driver ended up on its roof in the central me- dian of the Esterley Tibbetts Highway on Tuesday after- noon after the driver lost control and knocked down a light pole. Police said the driver was later arrested for leaving the scene of the accident and other driving offenses. The car ran off the road just before 4 p.m., smashing into the light pole. No one was injured in the single-car crash, which oc- curred just south of Gover- nors Way, according to police. The cream-colored Toyota Mark II was par- tially blocking the south- bound lane following the crash, police said. When police arrived at the scene, no one was in the ve- hicle and the driver was not present nearby. CUC personnel also at- tended to remove the broken light pole, and the vehicle was cleared from the road. According to an RCIPS statement, “Police conducted enquiries and arrested a man, age 24 of West Bay, for leaving the scene of an acci- dent, driving while not qual- ified, driving without in- surance, using a vehicle with expired registration and using a vehicle without a certificate. “He was taken into police custody and is currently on police bail.” The owner of the car, age 35 of Bodden Town, was warned for prosecution for permitting to drive without being qualified, permitting to drive without insurance, permitting to drive without a certificate of roadworthi- ness, permitting to drive with expired registration and failing to notify authorities of alteration of particulars, police added. A Toyota Mark II lies on its roof after knocking down a light pole on the Esterley Tibbetts Highway on Tuesday afternoon. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY Manny Pacquiao celebrates after defeating Jessie Vargas for the WBO welterweight title in Las Vegas on Nov. 5, 2016. - PHOTO: AP/ISAAC BREKKEN GERMAN POLICE SLAM FAKE NEWS ON NEW YEAR’S VIOLENCE BERLIN (AP) – Reports that migrants had car- ried out arson and large- scale violence during New Year’s Eve celebrations in the German city of Dort- mund prompted a strong denial Wednesday from city police, who called the claims misleading. Several websites out- side Germany carried arti- cles in recent days claiming that a thousand-strong “mob” of migrants had at- tacked police and set fire to a church in the city. The reports, some of which were trending on social media, cited tweets from a local German news web- site, Ruhr Nachrichten, even though they contained no such claims. A spokeswoman for Dortmund police said that about 1,000 people had gathered in a square to celebrate New Year with fireworks – as is cus- tomary in Germany. A handful of officers were injured by flying fire- works but none were at- tacked, she said. The spokeswoman, Nina Vogt, said a firework also struck some netting on scaffolding close to the Reinoldi Church, but the small fire was quickly extinguished. “There’s no indication it was directed there on purpose,” she said. Con- trary to various reports on English-language web- sites, the church is not Ger- many’s oldest. While there were sev- eral arrests and vio- lent incidents in Dort- mund, that was not unusual for a city of al- most 600,000, she said. “New Year’s Eve night really was pretty quiet,” Vogt told The Associ- ated Press. Reports to the contrary “absolutely don’t correspond to re- ality,” she said.The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 THURSDAY JANUARY 5, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS 100-plus injured in NYC train accident New York City authorities said more than 100 people suffered minor injuries when a Long Island Rail Road train hit a bumping block at a Brooklyn station. Fire officials said the crash also damaged a work area beyond the tracks. Trump uses Assange to cast doubt on US intel case on hacking NEW YORK (AP) – President- elect Donald Trump is using WikiLeaks founder Julian As- sange to cast doubt on the U.S. intelligence community’s case that Russia was behind hacking of the Democratic National Committee ahead of the 2016 election. And he is suggesting that the DNC is to blame for the hacking of its computers and emails, including those of top Hillary Clinton adviser John Podesta. Trump continued his tweet storm Wednesday by arguing the DNC did not have a “hacking defense” and ques- tioning why the Democratic Party had not responded “to the terrible things they did and said.” He appeared to be referring to information in the DNC emails that was made public and led to the resignation of the DNC chair- woman and other officials. “Julian Assange said ‘a 14 year old could have hacked Podesta’ – why was DNC so careless? Also said Russians did not give him the info!” Trump tweeted early Wednesday. It was a striking spectacle for the incoming president to give credibility to Assange, whose organization has been under criminal inves- tigation for its role in clas- sified information leaks. As- sange has said his source for the hacked emails WikiLeaks published during the cam- paign was not a govern- ment, but his assertion has left open the possibility they came from a third party. The American intelligence community and Republi- cans and Democrats on Cap- itol Hill insist that Russia was behind the hacks, but Trump has repeatedly dis- missed that allegation, chal- lenging the intelligence ex- perts who will help him make the weightiest possible decisions once he becomes president Jan. 20. Trump has insisted that the government does not really know who’s behind the attacks. He has said he will release more in- formation this week. In a series of tweets Tuesday and early Wednesday, Trump wrote without evidence that the timing of an upcoming intel- ligence briefing on suspected Russian interference in the 2016 election had been de- layed. “Perhaps more time needed to build a case. “Very strange!” he wrote, using quote marks around the word “intelligence.” Trump’s tweets, in line with repeated criticism of his nation’s intelligence leaders, caused confusion among in- telligence officials, who said there was no delay in the briefing schedule. The fresh clash came as Trump took further steps to fill his Cabinet and key White House positions, with his at- tention shifting toward the challenges of governing. Trump’s plans for re- pealing President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law are expected to be the focus as Vice President-elect Mike Pence and secretary of state choice Rex Tillerson meet with top Republicans on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Pence issued a direct chal- lenge to Washington Republi- cans Tuesday: “The president- elect has a very clear message to Capitol Hill. And that is, it’s time to get to work.” Trump signaled he would not bless all of the GOP’s pri- orities on Capitol Hill, openly questioning the timing of the House Republican push to gut an independent ethics board just as the new Con- gress gathered. The House GOP later dropped the effort. The president-elect prom- ised late Tuesday to hold his first formal news conference since his Nov. 8 election vic- tory next week in New York. He has already waited longer than any other president- elect in the modern era to hold his first exchange with journalists. Most have held such events within days of their elections. It was unclear if the news conference would be the venue for his delayed an- nouncement on how he plans to avoid potential conflicts of interest involving his busi- nesses after taking office. Transition officials said mul- tiple topics could be covered, but would not specifically say whether they included Trump’s businesses. Trump was supposed to detail the arrangements at a mid-De- cember news conference, but postponed the event. His Cabinet nearly full, Trump also picked a handful of new White House aides. Trump hired Rick Dear- born as a deputy chief of staff and Marc Short as White House legislative di- rector. Both previously served in chief of staff positions on Capitol Hill. The new hires were confirmed by two people familiar with the de- cision, who insisted on an- onymity because they were not authorized to discuss the hiring process publicly. Trump spent time inter- viewing prospects for the Department of Veterans Af- fairs as well, including Leo MacKay, a senior executive at a military contractor who pre- viously served in the VA under President George W. Bush. India’s polls seen as referendum on Modi’s note ban India’s Election Commis- sion announced poll dates for five states – including Uttar Pradesh, a politically cru- cial election that will gauge the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the wake of his disruptive cash ban move. Uttar Pradesh, a bell- wether state of 200 million people that sends more rep- resentatives to India’s upper house than any other region, will vote in seven phases be- tween Feb. 11 and March 8, chief election commissioner Nasim Zaidi said Wednesday. Punjab – an agricultural state of about 27 million people – will go to the polls on Feb. 4 while three other states will also vote in this phase. All results will be an- nounced March 11. The raft of state polls will be the first political test following Modi’s overnight move on Nov. 8. to outlaw higher denomination bank notes and invalidate 86 per- cent of India’s circulated cur- rency. The anti-corruption measure has dented eco- nomic growth and forced millions into lengthy bank queues, although it remains broadly popular. “The upcoming elections in five Indian states in early 2017 will be a key litmus test for the popularity of Modi and the BJP, particularly fol- lowing the highly contentious demonetization program,” said Rajiv Biswas, Asia-Pa- cific chief economist at IHS Global Insight. “If the BJP is unable to win the UP state election, this will be a very ominous portent for the BJP.” The fierce campaigning – already under way with Modi recently addressing a huge rally in Uttar Pradesh – is likely to distract the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party from further reform efforts, said Capital Economics’ analyst Shilan Shah in a Jan. 3 re- search note. The election re- sults could also affect Modi’s broader political momentum as he seeks a stronger po- sition in the parliament’s upper house, or Rajya Sabha, ahead of the next general election in 2019. A good showing in Uttar Pradesh is vital for the BJP, which currently has a ma- jority in India’s lower house of parliament. The state, which has the biggest legis- lature, sends more represen- tatives than any other to the upper house – where Mo- di’s party does not have a majority, leading to stalled reform efforts. Modi’s move to eradicate 500 ($7.3) and 1,000 rupee notes has resonated well with the masses despite the government’s “disastrous transition management,” said Jan Zalewski, a Singa- pore-based Asia analyst with Verisk Maplecroft. It is also likely to damage the cam- paign spending of the BJP’s political rivals, he said. However, Zalewski said the results in Uttar Pradesh are unlikely to have much ef- fect on the vote in 2019. He noted the BJP did poorly in the 2012 legislative elections but won the vast majority of the state’s seats in the gen- eral election of 2014. Other smaller states will also choose their state gov- ernments in the current phase of polls. Uttarakhand will vote on Feb. 15, Ma- nipur will vote in two phases starting on March 4 and Goa will vote on Feb. 4. Raghbendra Jha, an eco- nomics professor at Austra- lian National University, also stressed that “local elections are often contested on local issues,” and state results may not tell observers much about the national poll in 2019. © 2017, Bloomberg The raft of state polls will be the first political test following Modi’s overnight move on Nov. 8. to outlaw higher denomination bank notes and invalidate 86 percent of India’s circulated currency. Assange has said his source for the hacked emails WikiLeaks published during the campaign was not a government, but his assertion has left open the possibility they came from a third party. U.S. President-elect Donald TrumpWikiLeaks founder Julian Assange Indians stand in a queue outside a bank in New Delhi, India. As Friday’s deadline for depositing old 500- and 1,000-rupee notes draws to a close, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has called the demonetization drive a great success in drawing out tax dodgers and eliminating graft. – PHOTO: AP/ALTAF QADRI9 WORLD&REGIONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY JANUARY 5, 2017 Condolences can be registered at: www.churchillsfuneralhome.com We have been asked to announce the passing of Mr. Godfrey Vernold McLean of Newlands, Grand Cayman, who passed away on Tuesday, December 13, 2016. A Thanksgiving Service will be held on Friday, January 6, 2017 at 1:00p.m. at The Cayman Islands Seafarer’s Association, Victory Avenue, Prospect. Viewing will be from 12:00-12:45p.m. Interment follows at Prospect Cemetery. We have been asked to announce the passing of The Family Of The Late Condolences can be registered at boddenfuneralservices.com & Bodden Funeral Service Facebook page. Ardyth Elizabeth Smith regret to announce her passing on Saturday, 31 December 2016. A Funeral service will be held at 2:00 PM Thursday, 5 January 2017 at the Elmslie United Memorial Church. Viewing will be from 1:30 PM prior to the service. Interment will follow in Dixie Cemetery. Eurozone inflation spikes to highest in more than 3 years LONDON (AP) – The deflation bugbear that the European Central Bank has battled for the past couple of years ap- pears to have been seen off, at least for now. Consumer prices across the 19 countries that use the euro grew in December at their fastest rate since Sep- tember 2013, official figures showed Wednesday. A surge in oil prices, trig- gered by the recent decision by crude-producing countries to cut output, contributed most to the near-doubling in the annual inflation rate to 1.1 percent from the previous month’s 0.6 percent. Though higher infla- tion can eat into consumer spending, it can also help push up wages and stimulate economic activity in a region that has largely stagnated. As such, the figures are likely to provide some re- lief to policymakers at the European Central Bank who have used a range of stim- ulus programs to get infla- tion back toward their target of just below 2 percent, con- sidered most suitable for a healthy economy. With the inflation rate still short of that target, the cen- tral bank is unlikely to give up on stimulus anytime soon. Though the ECB can argue that its policies, which have included cutting in- terest rates and injecting billions into the financial system, have shored up the economy, the main contrib- utor to the December spike in inflation was out of its con- trol: energy prices. Eurostat, the European Union’s statistics agency, said energy costs were up 2.5 per- cent in the year to December compared with a 1.1 percent drop in November. In De- cember, the price of crude oil rose above $50 a barrel – from below $30 a year ear- lier – after the OPEC oil cartel and other nations agreed to cut output levels. When energy costs are excluded, inflation remains muted. The core rate, which strips out the volatile items of alcohol, energy, food and tobacco, rose to only 0.9 percent from the previous month’s 0.8 percent. That suggests that high unem- ployment in many parts of the eurozone following the region’s debt crisis continue to weigh on wage demands and consumption. “Despite headline inflation returning to an upward trend we expect that the ECB’s preference will be to main- tain the policy course … and ‘look through’ energy-influ- enced price developments in coming months,” said Cathal Kennedy, European econo- mist at RBC Capital Markets. In the near-term, higher headline inflation could weigh on economic ac- tivity if wages do not keep up, as people’s income will not go as far. However, a steady level of inflation is considered good for an economy as it can drive up wages and promote innovation and investment by firms. It can also reduce debt levels for firms and countries in real terms. That’s certainly a better prospect than prices falling over a sustained period, a phenomenon known as defla- tion that has haunted Europe in the past few years. Lower prices may sound good and have in fact been a boon to European con- sumers recently as they were due to the slide in oil prices – money saved filling up a car or on home heating could be spent elsewhere. The problem arises when a fall in prices endures. That can choke the life out of an economy if consumers put off purchases in the hope of future bargains. It can erode profits and make govern- ments’ debts appear greater. Deflation has proven diffi- cult to reverse, as evidenced by the case of Japan over the past couple of decades. Ben May, lead euro- zone economist at Ox- ford Economics, conceded that higher inflation could weigh on eurozone eco- nomic activity in coming months, while noting that it may “trigger some posi- tive developments” such as higher wages in economies like Germany where unem- ployment is low. “We think that the eu- rozone economy is now in a strong enough position to weather this shock,” he said. “Indeed, the region may now be in a position where a period of moderate infla- tion is more desirable that a further sustained bout of ‘noflation.’” A separate survey Wednesday provided evi- dence that the eurozone economy gained momentum at the end of 2016. According to research firm IHS Markit, eurozone busi- ness activity grew in De- cember at its fastest pace since May 2011. A surge in oil prices, triggered by the recent decision by crude-producing countries to cut output, contributed most to the near- doubling in the annual inflation rate. Crab boats tied up as strike extends along US West Coast SEATTLE (AP) – Dungeness crab could be harder to come by if hundreds of fishing boats remain tied up at docks from California to Wash- ington state by a dispute be- tween crabbers and seafood processors over the price of the sought-after crustaceans. Crab fleets that have been fishing in parts of Or- egon and near San Fran- cisco are now anchored, and other vessels in Washington state and northern California have opted not to go out as their season gears up, said John Corbin, a commercial crab fisherman in Warrenton, Oregon, and chairman of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission. “We have about 1,200 boats that are tied up and are willing to stay tied up until processors bring the price back to $3 (a pound)” from the latest offer of $2.75, Corbin said Tuesday. At Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, crab pots re- mained stacked up along the docks during what typi- cally would be a busy season. From Half Moon Bay, Cali- fornia, to Westport, Wash- ington, crabbers said they would stay put. Larry Andre, a commercial crab fisherman in Half Moon Bay who had been fishing since November, said he sup- ports the strike. “We’re tying up be- cause they’ve asked us – other ports – to support them,” Andre said. It does not sound like much, but a quarter drop in price is a lot when thou- sands of pounds of crab is involved, he said, adding that the situation is a lot harder on those who have not yet started crabbing. The commercial Dunge- ness crab season along the West Coast opened in waves this year, and crabbers had been getting $3 a pound, Corbin and other fishermen said. In some parts of Wash- ington, Oregon and Cali- fornia, crabbing was delayed as state officials tested for domoic acid to ensure crabs were safe to eat. Just before Christmas, Pacific Choice Seafood in Eureka, California, dropped the price to $2.75 a pound to local fishermen, said Ken Bates, vice president of the Humboldt Fisher- men’s Marketing Associ- ation. Dungeness prices could go lower in following seasons if that lower price holds, he worried. “When Pacific Group de- cided in Humboldt County to reduce the price, they fig- ured that this place would fold,” Bates said. “It didn’t. Fisherman didn’t go fishing for that price.” Pacific Choice Seafood and Oregon-based Pacific Seafood, which owns Pacific Choice, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Corbin said other pro- cessors have joined in of- fering $2.75 a pound. The 25- cent price difference could mean about $7,000 to $10,000 a boat for smaller opera- tions, Bates said. Strikes have happened be- fore as Dungeness crab fish- ermen and seafood proces- sers haggle over the opening price of the sweet crustacean. It remains unclear what im- pact it will have on supply. Tribal fleets in Wash- ington state continue to crab, and crabbing is happening in Puget Sound as well. So there is some crab on the market. “There’s going to be some fresh crab in Wash- ington state, but not big vol- umes like what you’ll see when the whole coast opens up,” Corbin said. Bill Currie, a crab fish- erman based out of West- port, Washington, said he’s watching to see what others do when the crabbing season north of Long Beach kicks off Wednesday. Fishermen will be allowed to set gear ahead of a Jan. 7 start. “If everybody stays, I’ll stay. I’m not going to be going out,” Currie said. He said a $2.75 per pound price seems reasonable, though $3 would be better. Mike Shirley, who buys crab wholesale from fish- ermen at facilities in Oregon and Washington, said “until this dispute is resolved, we’re standing united with the whole process and not buying any kind of crab.” “This doesn’t just affect one side, it affects everybody,” said Shirley, who co-owns Garibaldi Landing Fishermen and Ilwaco Landing Fish- ermen, which offers commer- cial seafood offloading, pro- cessing and other services. About 20 employees are at home as a result, he said. “I hope we get this set- tled, and everybody can get back to work,” Corbin said. “It will definitely put a pinch on supply eventually, but we hope it doesn’t go on forever here. It’s getting to be a matter of principle at this point.” Crab pots sit on a processing pier and the back of a boat at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco on Tuesday. – PHOTO: APNext >