< Previous20 WORLD&REGIONAL FRIDAY APRIL 28, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Cayman Orthopaedic Group DR. FRANK SMITH, MB, ChB., FRCSC Orthopaedic Surgeon & Reconstructive Surgery will be at #1 Smith Road Plaza Monday, 1st May 2017 to Friday, 12th May, 2017 Please call 945-8380 for appointments Lifeguard Certification Course May 14th-15th | $200 CI Course includes online manual & exam To Register, email or call fitness@fitness.ky 949-8485 Will visit Tropical Optical May 2nd - May 6th, 2017 Yellen may see inflation risk in deficit-busting Trump tax cuts What President Donald Trump gives to the economy with massive tax cuts, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen may be tempted to take away with higher interest rates. With the economy already near maximum employment, the central bank is inclined to use tighter credit to keep the economy from overheating as taxes are reduced and budget deficits increase. Fed officials, who have penciled in two more interest rate increases this year and three next, have said they see possible fiscal stimulus as an upside risk to the economy. That risk is only magnified if Trump relies on more govern- ment debt, rather than off- setting tax code changes, to finance his cuts, as admin- istration officials have indi- cated he might. Trump’s proposal, an out- line of which was announced Wednesday by Treasury Sec- retary Steven Mnuchin and top White House economic adviser Gary Cohn, poten- tially puts the administration on a collision course with Fed officials who have al- most reached their economic goals and are in the early stages of pulling up ultra-low borrowing costs. “The biggest tax cut in history has monetary policy implications,” said Lou Cran- dall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP in Jersey City, New Jersey, alluding to Mnuchin’s description of the plan. “If the package looks like it will increase the def- icit, that will be an argument for more tightening, not less.” Fed policymakers would have welcomed fiscal stim- ulus earlier in the expansion that began in mid-2009, when unemployment was still ele- vated and inflation was well below their 2 percent target. But now, with the jobless rate at almost a 10-year low and price pressures starting to build, they do not see a need for a short-term prod from the federal government. Administration officials have said the president wants to chop the corporate tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent and to levy a 10 percent tax rate on cash that companies have stockpiled overseas. He also intends to slash indi- vidual income taxes, reducing the number of tax brackets to three from seven. How the package is fi- nanced is important for the Fed. If a middle-income tax cut, say, is paired with limits on how much Americans can deduct from their obligations, then the immediate impact on demand and the economy is limited. If it’s not, it’s more likely to give a short-term boost to growth that could lead to a Fed response. Trump’s budget director Mick Mulvaney said last week that the administra- tion’s focus is on promoting economic growth, not on con- trolling budget deficits. “Deficits are not driving the discussion,” Mulvaney, who is director of the Office of Management and Budget, said in a Bloomberg Televi- sion interview on April 21. “Deficits are certainly part of the discussion. But we’re not starting off saying, ‘How do we do something that’s def- icit-neutral?’ We’re starting off saying, ‘How do we get economic growth?’” Mnuchin has insisted that the tax cuts would be fully paid for. But most of that fi- nancing would come from an anticipated rise in economic growth – and the impact that would have on government revenues – and probably not from such changes in the tax code as the elimina- tion of deductions. Mnuchin sees growth accelerating to 3 percent or more from the 2.1 percent it’s averaged during the eight-year eco- nomic expansion. Even some Republican economists are skeptical of that claim. Donald Marron, who served on former Presi- dent George W. Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers, said the administration’s estimate of the favorable feedback ef- fects from lower taxes was “surprisingly large,” although he cautioned he hadn’t seen all the details of the plan. Yellen told lawmakers in February that the central bank would not necessarily respond to a tax cut package with stepped-up increases in interest rates. “Only if we think that it is demand-based and threatens our inflation ob- jective,” would the Fed react with a tightening of mone- tary policy, she said. The trouble is that a big deficit-financed package in- creases the chances of a po- tentially inflationary spurt in demand, said David Hensley, director of global economics for JPMorgan Chase in New York. Of course, it’s far from a lock that Trump’s plans will get through Congress, where deficit hawks and budget procedures could lead to a significant scaling back of the president’s proposals. “The Republicans aren’t really unified behind a big fiscal stimulus,” Hensley said. What’s likely to emerge is a smaller package that lifts gross domestic product growth by about a quarter percentage point in both 2018 and 2019, he said. Fed staffers seem to more or less agree. In December, they lifted their forecast for GDP over the next few years “slightly” to take account of a more expansionary fiscal policy, according to the min- utes of that month’s policy- making meeting. The staff saw the stimulative effects of a changed budget stance “substantially counter-bal- anced” by higher interest rates and a stronger dollar. Yellen and the Fed are in a delicate position. She does not want to be seen as an op- ponent of the president and his plans. But she also wants to avoid a big rise in infla- tion that would damage the economy and tarnish the cen- tral bank’s credibility. “We would like to see fast growth, but we do have to control price inflation,” Yellen, whose term as chair expires early next year, told the House Financial Services Committee on Feb. 15. Trump, who has said he likes low in- terest rates, indicated earlier this month he’s open to re- nominating Yellen. The composition of any tax reform plan also matters for the Fed. If the program induces companies to spend more on factories and equip- ment and in the process lifts productivity, officials have in- dicated that would be good news for the economy and the central bank. Why? Be- cause in that case the faster growth probably would not spur higher inflation. © 2017, Bloomberg German army officer posed as refugee to carry out terrorist attack BERLIN – Police on Wednesday arrested a German army officer sus- pected of posing as a Syrian refugee to carry out an attack that would be blamed on migrants. According to the Frank- furt prosecutors in charge of the investigation, the 28-year-old, whose name was not revealed in accor- dance with local customs, lived an incredible double life: He registered as a Syrian refugee under a false name at the end of 2015 and subsequently claimed asylum in Bavaria, where he was assigned a place in a refugee shelter and even re- ceived benefits. Austrian authorities had temporarily detained him earlier this year when he attempted to retrieve a loaded gun he had hidden in a rest room at Vienna air- port in January. The suspect, who held the rank of a lieutenant colonel, was stationed in France, but he was arrested while undergoing training in southern Germany. He now faces charges of plot- ting a terrorist attack, fraud and violation of gun laws. A suspected accom- plice was also detained fol- lowing a series of raids in Germany, France and Aus- tria. Police found a va- riety of weapons and ex- plosives at the 24-year-old student’s house. Nadja Niesen, spokes- woman of the Frankfurt prosecutor’s office, told re- porters that the 28-year-old army officer was of German origin and did not appear to have any Arabic language skills. “Why this went un- noticed, I’m unable to say,” Niesen said, calling the case “curious.” It was also unclear how much time the man actu- ally spent in the refugee home. “Just because he was stationed in France, it does not mean that he was there every day. He could move freely in his spare time,” a spokeswoman of Germa- ny’s Federal Criminal Po- lice Office told the DPA news service. A defense ministry spokesman said he was aware of the incident, but de- clined to comment further, citing the prosecutor’s on- going investigation. According to Niesen, the two suspects exchanged phone messages revealing “a xenophobic attitude.” This, in combination with the main suspect’s assumed identity as a refugee and the discovery of the weapons, led investigators to the as- sumption that the two men might have plotted an attack to fuel public resentment against asylum seekers. Au- thorities were not aware, however, of any concrete targets at this point, the spokeswoman added. The bizarre incident comes amid increasing con- cerns about potential se- curity risks posed by the hundreds of thousands of migrants who arrived in Germany since 2015, fol- lowing a string of terrorist attacks. In December last year, for example, a Tuni- sian man, whose asylum request had been rejected, plowed a truck into a Berlin Christmas market, leaving 12 people dead. On Thursday, the German parliament debated a se- ries of new legislative mea- sures designed to counter the threat posed by international terror, including the possi- bility of keeping extremists in check after their release from prison by fitting them with electronic ankle bracelets. The arrest also sheds a spotlight on the cha- otic situation in autumn 2015, when German Chan- cellor Angela Merkel tem- porarily opened the door for refugees, which, critics say, in many cases led to insufficient vetting of the new arrivals. © 2017, The Washington Post Janet Yellen, chairwoman of the Federal Reserve - PHOTO:BLOOMBERG/ANDREW HARRER Yellen and the Fed are in a delicate position. She does not want to be seen as an opponent of the president and his plans. But she also wants to avoid a big rise in inflation that would damage the economy and tarnish the central bank’s credibility.21 WORLD&REGIONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • FRIDAY APRIL 28, 2017 SALE ENDS 6th May $300 OFF up to European Central Bank says economy is ‘increasingly solid’ FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – The European Central Bank kept its stimulus program and interest rates unchanged Thursday even though it con- ceded that the economy of the 19-country eurozone is becoming stronger. While indicators in re- cent weeks have pointed to much faster growth, there was little expectation the central bank would ease off its stimulus programs in the run-up to the second round of France’s presidential elec- tion, in which anti-euro can- didate Marine Le Pen is bat- tling pro-EU front-runner Emmanuel Macron. A Le Pen victory on May 7 could unsettle financial mar- kets since she has advocated taking France out of the shared currency union. ECB President Mario Draghi suggested that the election had no bearing on the bank’s decision and noted that while growth was in- deed improving, inflation re- mains subdued. “We actually don’t do monetary policy based on likely election outcomes,” Draghi said at a news briefing following the deci- sion. “We have not seen suffi- cient evidence to alter our in- flation outlook.” Inflation concerns Draghi said the central bank is not confident that in- flation will rise and stay at the bank’s goal of just below 2 percent. In the year to March, headline inflation was 1.5 percent, with the under- lying rate, which strips out volatile items such as energy, even lower at 0.7 percent. The comments on infla- tion kept a lid on the euro’s value, which was trading 0.3 percent lower at $1.0867, even though Draghi said that recent data showed “that downside risks have further diminished” for the economy. In a statement accom- panying Thursday’s deci- sion, the ECB omitted any hint of when the bank might taper off its extraordinary stimulus program, in which it injects money into the economy through a system of bond purchases. Speculation of a tapering of the program has grown as surveys show the euro- zone economy accelerating sharply this year. That was further evidenced in a survey Thursday from the Euro- pean Union’s executive Com- mission that found economic sentiment in the eurozone near a ten-year high. “It’s true that growth is improving; things are going better,” said Draghi, who described the recovery as “solid and broad” compared with “uneven and fragile” back in 2013. However, the ECB does not seem to want to take any chances especially as unem- ployment remains elevated at 9.5 percent. Its statement repeated past wording that indicates the central bank even “stands ready to increase” stimulus if the outlook for growth and in- flation worsens. Analysts con- sider that wording a way of discouraging investors from speculating about the end of the stimulus – which might prematurely drive up market interest rates, blunting its in- tended benefits. The 60 billion euros ($65 billion) per month in bond purchases push newly printed money into the economy in an effort to boost inflation. The ECB has trimmed the purchases from 80 billion euros a month as of April. But it insists they will continue at least until the end of the year, and in any case until inflation shows signs of turning convincingly upward. Draghi has said they will not be suddenly shut off after that but instead gradu- ally reduced, but has not said when that taper will start. Printing money and adding it to the economy can raise inflation, lower in- terest rates and make it easier for businesses to get the credit. It is considered an extraordinary step under- taken to keep Europe from falling into a chronic spiral of falling prices after the shock of the debt crisis that started in 2009 with financial trouble in Greece. The eventual withdrawal of the stimulus will have a wide-ranging impact on businesses, governments, in- vestors and consumers. An end to the purchases will let longer-term interest rates rise, meaning governments will have to spend a bigger part of their tax revenue on interest costs, while mort- gage payments will tend to rise because of higher in- terest. Higher rates would make it easier in some cases to save for retirements or fund a pension plan, and would make bonds and bank time deposits more attractive compared to stocks. The ECB is lagging far be- hind the U.S. Federal Reserve, which is already raising in- terest rates after the U.S. economy recovered faster from the Great Recession. ECB officials have said they will not start raising bench- mark rates until after the bond purchases end. Several analysts think the central bank will signal in June or July that it is ready to taper the stimulus program. That could lead to an an- nouncement in September on the timing of such a taper. Other measures The central bank’s other stimulus measures include keeping its interest rate benchmark at a record low of zero. That rate largely steers short-term rates and keeping it that low makes it cheaper for banks to borrow money, which in turn would mean lower borrowing costs for businesses. The ECB has also imposed a minus 0.4 percent interest rate on deposits it takes from commercial banks. That is in essence a tax aimed at pushing banks to lend the money to companies rather than leave it at the ECB.ECB President Mario Draghi22 WORLD&REGIONAL FRIDAY APRIL 28, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS BPW Grand Cayman is proud to congratulate BPW member Erika Olde of East End, Grand Cayman for being named to the 2017 Variety’s Power of Women’s: NY Impact List. Variety’s 2017 Women’s Impact Report By variety sta Erika Olde Founder, Black Bicycle Entertainment Last year Olde produced and helped fi nance Hallie Meyers-Shyer’s “Home Again,” starring Reese Witherspoon, which Open Road will distribute; Susanna White’s “Woman Walks Ahead” starring Jessica Chastain; and Whitney Cumming’s “The Female Brain” all through her company Black Bicycle Entertainment. In the midst of producing madness, Olde developed Iris-In, a course for young women at the non-profi t Ghetto Film School. The school, located on both coasts, provides educational opportunities to students passionate about making movies. “Everybody is taught the theory behind what they are studying, but you are not really taught anything about how your business actually operates on a day-to- day level. How much politics are involved, etc. I thought these kids, who frankly may not have as much industry access as some others, could really benefi t from having that practical advice.” We applaud Erika for her dedication to the advancement of women and gender equality through her lm production business Black Bicycle Entertainment and her generous support of educational opportunities for women in the Cayman Islands and abroad. BPW Grand Cayman wishes Erika continued success. United to offer bumped flyers up to $10,000 after video flap DALLAS (AP) – United Air- lines says it will raise the limit – to $10,000 – on pay- ments to customers who give up seats on oversold flights and will increase training for employees as it deals with fallout from the video of a passenger being violently dragged from his seat. United is also vowing to reduce, but not eliminate, overbooking – the selling of more tickets than there are seats on the plane. The airline made the promises Thursday as it re- leased a report detailing mis- takes that led to the April 9 incident on a United Express plane in Chicago. United is not saying whether ticket sales have dropped since the removal of a 69-year-old passenger by three airport security officers, but the airline’s CEO admits it could be damaging. “I breached public trust with this event and how we responded,” Oscar Munoz told The Associated Press. “People are upset, and I sus- pect that there are a lot of people potentially thinking of not flying us.” To head off customer de- fections, United had al- ready announced that it will no longer call police to re- move passengers from over- booked flights, and will re- quire airline crews traveling for work to check in sooner. On Thursday, it added several other new policies including: ■■ Raising the limit on com- pensation to $10,000 for customers who give up their seats starting Friday. That is a maximum – it’s unclear how many, if any, passengers would see that much. The current limit is $1,350. Delta Air Lines earlier this month raised its limit to $9,950. ■■ Sending displaced pas- sengers or crew mem- bers to nearby airports, putting them on other airlines or arranging for car transportation to get them to their destinations. ■■ Giving gate agents an- nual refresher training in dealing with oversold flights. Munoz said he also wants agents and flight attendants to get more help at de-esca- lating tense situations. ■■ While not a factor in this month’s incident, United also said that starting in June it will pay cus- tomers $1,500 with no questions asked if the airline loses their bag. For United, the timing of the viral video could hardly have been worse. The airline struggled badly after a 2010 merger with Continental, en- during several technology breakdowns that angered customers. In the past year, however, the airline has flown more on-time flights and lost fewer bags. It recently rolled out plans for expanding ser- vice this summer. Instead of being com- mended for those signs of progress, however, it has faced more than two weeks of withering criti- cism and mockery. David Dao, the passenger injured when he was yanked from his seat, is almost certain to file a lawsuit. Munoz apologized again and faulted his own initial response, in which he de- fended airline employees and called Dao belligerent. “That first response was insensitive beyond belief,” Munoz said. “It did not rep- resent how I felt,” saying that he got “caught up in facts and circumstances” that weren’t initially clear, instead of expressing his shock. On Thursday, Thomas Demetrio, Dao’s attorney, said in a statement that the policy changes “are passenger friendly and are simple, com- monsense decisions on Unit- ed’s part to help minimize the stress involved in the flying experience.” In Thursday’s report, United provided new de- tails about the incident. It said Flight 3411 to Louis- ville, Kentucky, was oversold by one ticket, but a volunteer gave up his seat. After pas- sengers boarded, four crew members of Republic Airline, which operates many United Express flights, showed up late after their Louisville- bound plane was delayed by a mechanical problem. United said it was a mis- take to let the Republic crew board late, which required removing four paying pas- sengers; calling officers when there was no safety or security issue; and not offering enough money to entice volunteers to give up their seats. “We could have spent a lot of $10,000s and made that thing right,” Munoz said. United said it will reduce overbooking, particularly on flights with a poor track re- cord of finding volunteers to give up their seats, but will not end the practice. Munoz said if airlines cannot over- book there will be more empty seats and fares will rise. Delta CEO Ed Bastian called overselling flights “a valid business process.” Politicians in Washington and elsewhere have called for a ban on overselling flights. Some critics have said air- lines should leave a few seats empty if they think they will be needed by crew members. United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz during a 2016 interview in New York, demonstrates the seating configuration of the carrier’s Polaris service. – PHOTO: AP/RICHARD DREW Vote for a representative that has your best interest at heart. Under my leadership and vision, I will: • Assist Caymanians in securing employment • Focus on education and career development for young people • Work to take care of the elderly • Be a strong advocate for the district and citizen concerns • Promote economic growth through revitalization of Bodden Town ARNOLD T. BERRY Independent Candidate for Bodden Town East Make our island a better place for all to live: Vote #123 WORLD&REGIONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • FRIDAY APRIL 28, 2017 “What will cruise ship passengers learn about my country. What will they remember most and hold with them?” Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association www.caymanislands.ky Essay Contest All Cayman Islands students aged 16 and under are invited to submit an essay on the topic: Tunisia Barnes, Prizes for Junior and Senior Divisions: First Place: US$3,000.00 Second Place: US$1,500.00 Third Place: US$1,000.00 For full contest guidelines and entry forms contact: tbarnes@caymanislands.ky, tel:244-1252 Deadline for submission: 30 June 2017 FIND YOUR The two first place winners will be invited to the FCCA Caribbean Cruise Conference in Merida, Mexico – October 23 – 27, 2017. Central Cayman Islands JOIN ROTARY CENTRAL FOR THE CLUB’S 11TH ANNUAL www.rotarysciencefair.ky Are you a Top Student with unique ideas? Sign up now to showcase your creativity in the 2017 Rotary Science Fair. Compete for Cash and other prizes. Participants are encouraged to register online at www.rotarysciencefair.ky by the 29th April, 2017 29th April 2017 Doors open to the public 10am – 12pm MAJOR SPONSOR: dr. Bill dr. Bill Hrudey hrudey Camana Bay Arts and Recreation Centre at Cayman International School Admission is free. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT & GENDER AFFAIRS Central Cayman Islands JOIN ROTARY CENTRAL FOR THE CLUB’S 11TH ANNUAL www.rotarysciencefair.ky Are you a Top Student with unique ideas? Sign up now to showcase your creativity in the 2017 Rotary Science Fair. Compete for Cash and other prizes. Participants are encouraged to register online at www.rotarysciencefair.ky by the 29th April, 2017 29th April 2017 Doors open to the public 10am – 12pm MAJOR SPONSOR: dr. Bill dr. Bill Hrudey hrudey Camana Bay Arts and Recreation Centre at Cayman International School Admission is free. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT & GENDER AFFAIRS Central Cayman Islands JOIN ROTARY CENTRAL FOR THE CLUB’S 11TH ANNUAL www.rotarysciencefair.ky Are you a Top Student with unique ideas? Sign up now to showcase your creativity in the 2017 Rotary Science Fair. Compete for Cash and other prizes. Participants are encouraged to register online at www.rotarysciencefair.ky by the 29th April, 2017 29th April 2017 Doors open to the public 10am – 12pm MAJOR SPONSOR: dr. Bill dr. Bill Hrudey hrudey Camana Bay Arts and Recreation Centre at Cayman International School Admission is free. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT & GENDER AFFAIRS Central Cayman Islands JOIN ROTARY CENTRAL FOR THE CLUB’S 11TH ANNUAL www.rotarysciencefair.ky Are you a Top Student with unique ideas? Sign up now to showcase your creativity in the 2017 Rotary Science Fair. Compete for Cash and other prizes. Participants are encouraged to register online at www.rotarysciencefair.ky by the 29th April, 2017 29th April 2017 Doors open to the public 10am – 12pm MAJOR SPONSOR: dr. Bill dr. Bill Hrudey hrudey Camana Bay Arts and Recreation Centre at Cayman International School Admission is free. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT & GENDER AFFAIRS Top official’s son calls out his father as Venezuela quits OAS CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – The son of Venezuela’s top human rights official has called on his father to prevent fur- ther deadly bloodshed tied to anti-government street clashes even as officials de- fied international criticism by withdrawing from the Orga- nization of American States. Yibram Saab said in an online video that he at- tended an opposition march Wednesday that was planned to reach the offices of his fa- ther, national ombudsman Tarek William Saab. Police fired tear gas and rubber bul- lets that were blamed for the death of a college student. “This could’ve been me,” said the younger Saab, staring into the camera and pleading with his father to help re- store the constitutional order he said was broken by the Supreme Court’s decision last month to gut the op- position-led congress of its last vestiges of power. “Dad, you have the power to put an end to the injustice that has drowned the country.” In what’s shaping up to be a battle of political kids, Pres- ident Nicolas Maduro’s son responded with a letter saying he regretted his friend’s deci- sion to seek “three minutes of fame” with a video being used as a “trophy of war” by the government’s enemies. “Those who today marched by your side are using your father’s love to ma- nipulate the country,” Nicolas Maduro Guerra wrote. The exchange comes on the heels of a tumultuous day that saw Venezuela’s so- cialist administration follow through on a threat to quit the Organization of American States, accusing the regional group of plotting against it. Maduro’s government an- nounced the decision to with- draw from the OAS after a brief but contentious meeting at the group’s Washington headquarters in which rep- resentatives voted to con- vene a special meeting of the region’s foreign ministers to evaluate Venezuela’s crisis. “Enough of interven- tionist abuses and violation of legality,” Maduro said on Twitter. “Venezuela is the cradle of the Liberators and we will be respected.” The withdrawal an- nouncement drew quick rebuke from Venezuelan opposition leaders. Former congresswoman Maria Co- rina Machado said Maduro’s exit from the OAS “formalized Venezuela’s outlaw status.” OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro earlier had urged re- gional governments to sus- pend Venezuela from the group over what he said were systematic abuses destroying the country’s democracy. Pressure has been mounting for Maduro to schedule delayed guberna- torial elections and free de- tained political activists. Even after four weeks of anti- government demonstrations that have led to29 deaths and 1,300 arrests, the oppo- sition is showing no incli- nation to pull back. Leaders called a march for Thursday to honor Juan Pablo Perna- lete, a 20-year-old accounting student who died Wednesday after being hit by a tear gas canister fired by se- curity forces. Ramon Muchacho, a Ca- racas-area mayor, said at least 22 others were injured, some of them seriously. Else- where, children were evac- uated from a school after being exposed to tear gas. In the evening, government of- ficials reported two national guardsmen were wounded by gunshots in the same part of Caracas where Pernalete was killed earlier. The swell of protests is the most violent seen in Ven- ezuela since two months of anti-government demonstra- tions in 2014 that resulted in more than 40 deaths. Maduro has repeatedly called for re- newed talks between the two sides, but opposition leaders have discarded that as an op- tion after earlier talks col- lapsed in December. One potential bulwark against a further crackdown is Saab. As the theoretically autonomous national om- budsman, it’s his job to de- fend citizens’ rights. His vote on what is known as the Moral Republican Council, a three-member panel charged by the constitution with de- fending Venezuela’s demo- cratic institutions, could also unlock a solution to the cur- rent crisis if he and chief prosecutor Luis Ortega Diaz were to agree to remove Su- preme Court justices for over- stepping their authority. While Ortega, in a surprise move, harshly criticized the high court for violating con- stitutional order, Saab has so far staunchly defended Madu- ro’s actions and dismissed any talk of impeachment. Madu- ro’s opponents have branded him “the dictator’s defender.” “I ask you as your son and in the name of Venezuela, to whom you serve, that you re- flect on the situation and do what you have to do,” the younger Saab said in his video. “I understand you. I know it’s not easy. But it’s the right thing to do.” Yibram Saab said in an online video that he attended an opposition march Wednesday that was planned to reach the offices of his father, national ombudsman Tarek William Saab. Venezuela’s Ombudsman Tarek William Saab24 WORLD&REGIONAL FRIDAY APRIL 28, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS UK police arrest man with knives on suspicion of terrorism LONDON (AP) – Armed po- lice carrying out a counter- terrorism operation Thursday swooped in on a man they said was carrying knives in a bag near Britain’s Parliament and arrested him on suspi- cion of planning terrorist acts. London’s Metropolitan Po- lice said the 27-year-old man was stopped and detained “as part of an ongoing oper- ation” by the force’s counter- terrorism unit. No one was injured in the incident, which unfolded just yards from where an attacker killed five people with a ve- hicle and a knife last month. It sent a jittery jolt through an area that has been on edge since the March 22 attack. Police said knives were recovered during the opera- tion and that there was “no immediate known threat” to the public. The force said the man was being held at a London police station on suspicion of possession of an offensive weapon and on suspicion of the commission, prepara- tion and instigation of acts of terrorism. As armed police blocked off Whitehall, a street lined with government buildings that is the main artery of London’s government district, witnesses reported seeing and a man on the ground surrounded by police. Ian Moss, who was trav- eling on a bus on Whitehall, said the man did not appear to be struggling. “He had po- lice pointing arms at him though,” Moss said. A bearded, black-clad man could later be seen standing on the sidewalk, surrounded by police, before being put into a police vehicle. “I saw the backpack and knives on the floor in the in- tersection in the middle of Whitehall, and a guy being bundled into the car who I believe was the criminal, and a forensics team,” said Helen Chandler-Wilde, a jour- nalism student. After the arrest, forensic officers pored over the scene. A black bag and at least three knives could be seen on the ground. The man was arrested yards from the gates to Downing Street, where the prime minister’s residence is located. Prime Minister The- resa May, who is campaigning in a national election, was not there at the time. May said the arrest “shows that our police and our intelligence and security are on the alert, as they al- ways are, looking to keep us safe and secure. I think we owe a huge debt of gratitude to these people.” Thursday was Parlia- ment’s last sitting day before Britain’s June 8 election. Security has been in- creased around Parliament after an attacker drove an SUV into pedestrians on nearby Westminster Bridge on March 22, killing four, before stab- bing a police officer to death inside the gates of Parliament. The attacker, Khalid Masood, was shot dead by police. Police believe Masood, 52, a British-born Muslim con- vert with convictions for vio- lence, acted alone. Police say there has been a surge in knife crimes in London in the past year. Britain also faces a threat from international terrorism classified as “severe,” meaning an attack is highly likely. Trump greets freed American charity worker in Oval Office WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump met in the Oval Office on Friday with Aya Hijazi, the Egyptian American charity worker whom Trump worked to get released from a Cairo prison, where she spent three years on child abuse and trafficking charges widely seen as false. “We are very happy to have Aya back home, and it’s a great honor to have her in the Oval Office,” Trump said, noting that her brother also attended. Trump and his guest sat in chairs, flanked by a pair of couches. Among those on the couches were Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter; Jared Kushner, the presi- dent’s son-in-law; and Dina Powell, a deputy national se- curity adviser who traveled to Egypt this week. Trump and his aides worked for several weeks with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi to se- cure the freedom of Hijazi, 30, a U.S. citizen, as well as her husband, Mohamed Hassanein, who is Egyp- tian, and four other humani- tarian workers. Trump dispatched a U.S. government aircraft to Cairo to bring Hijazi and her family to Washington. During a briefing for re- porters Friday, Spicer em- phasized that after Trump was briefed on Hijazi’s de- tention earlier this year he directed his administration to work behind the scenes on the issue. During a visit to Wash- ington early this month by Sissi, Spicer said that the issue of Hijazi’s imprisonment was raised by “the team.” “I don’t want to get into it, but yes, it was brought up,” Spicer said. “We had some obviously very produc- tive and helpful discussions which resulted in her being able to come back to the United States.” Asked specifically what the Trump administra- tion was able to do that the former administration was not, Spicer highlighted the behind-the-scenes activity of the new administration. “I think that the presi- dent and the team worked behind the scenes in a much more productive way maybe,” Spicer said. “One could look at the tactic that was done to achieve the result.” Hijazi, who grew up in Falls Church, Virginia, and gradu- ated from George Mason Uni- versity, was working in Cairo with the Belady Foundation, which she and her husband established as a haven and re- habilitation center for street children in Cairo. The couple and their co- workers had been incar- cerated since May 1, 2014, on child abuse and traf- ficking charges that were widely dismissed by human rights workers and U.S. offi- cials as false. THAI PROSECUTORS TO SEEK ARREST WARRANT FOR RED BULL HEIR BANGKOK (AP) – An heir to the Red Bull fortune failed to show up Thursday to face charges over an al- leged hit-and-run that killed a Thai police officer almost five years ago, as prosecutors declared they would now seek a warrant for his arrest. Prayuth Petchkhun, a deputy spokesman for the attorney general’s of- fice, told The Associated Press that Vorayuth “Boss” Yoovidhya failed to meet a 4 p.m. deadline. His of- fice had said that if Vora- yuth failed to appear, it would send his case to the police on Friday so they can ask the court for an arrest warrant. “If it turns out that he is in Thailand, Thai po- lice can find him and ar- rest him. But if he is abroad we will then begin the extradition process,” Prayuth said. Vorayuth has been a no-show for meetings with prosecutors on several occasions, complaining through his attorney of unfair treatment or citing duties abroad. A recent Associated Press report revealed that he’s been living lavishly, traveling to Formula One races, snow- boarding in Japan and cruising in Venice. The case is one of sev- eral involving the off- spring of Thailand’s elite that have attracted public scorn as examples of judi- cial impunity in which the well-connected are able to avoid or delay justice in way that ordinary Thais would not be able to. On Thursday, pros- ecutors rejected Vora- yuth’s latest request for a delay and said he must show up by 4 p.m. “The suspect must meet prosecutors as scheduled. If he does not, it would mean he has the intention of delaying and evading the case and we will pro- ceed with requesting an arrest warrant from the court,” Somnuek Siangkong, another spokesman for the attorney general’s office, said at a news conference ahead of the deadline. Vorayuth is accused of fleeing the scene of a 2012 crash in his Fer- rari after allegedly hit- ting a police officer on mo- torcycle patrol. Vorayuth has failed to show up when ordered to face criminal charges of speeding, hit-and-run, and deadly, reckless driving. Police say Vorayuth dis- putes the reckless driving charge, claiming the of- ficer swerved in front of him. The speeding charge expired after a year. The more serious charge of hit-and-run, which police say carries a penalty of up to six months in jail, ex- pires Sept. 3. President Donald Trump meets with Aya Hijazi, an Egyptian-American aid worker, in the Oval Office of the White House on Friday. - PHOTO: AP/SUSAN WALSH Vorayuth is accused of fleeing the scene of a 2012 crash in his Ferrari after allegedly hitting a police officer on motorcycle patrol. A forensic officer attends the scene where a man was arrested for possession of weapons (knives) near Britain’s House of Parliament on Thursday. - PHOTO: YUI MOK/PA VIA AP25 WORLD&REGIONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • FRIDAY APRIL 28, 2017 As Trump calls for wall, a look at the world’s barriers (AP) – As President Donald Trump marks 100 days in office, he is vowing to keep his campaign promise to build a wall along the border with Mexico. Despite widespread skep- ticism and Mexico’s re- fusal to pay for the wall, as Trump has demanded, the U.S. government has been soliciting bids and test sec- tions could be built as soon as this summer. Physical barriers are as old as humanity and have proven to be effective over the centuries at protecting borders. But fences can also have unwanted consequences, like destroying city neighbor- hoods, harming the environ- ment and preventing innocent victims from reaching safety. Here is a look at some of the world’s barriers. Some are rather simple, while others are massive enter- prises that cost billions. Gen- erally they have been paid for through standard bud- geting procedures, with none sparking a funding dispute of the kind that has emerged with Mexico. The United States and Mexico A third of the U.S.-Mexico border is already studded with an assortment of fences, but closing off the rest will be no easy task. Much of the border in Texas is blocked by the Rio Grande or other nat- ural barriers, or runs along land owned by private cit- izens, many of whom op- pose the wall. There also is much skep- ticism over whether the fence would stem drug traf- ficking, illegal immigration or gang violence. U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly said wall will rely in part on sur- veillance technology in place of a physical structure. France A concrete wall, half a mile long and 13 feet high, is the finishing touch on an already elaborate defense system against migrants in the northern French port city of Calais. Britain doled out the 2.7 million euros (US$2.9 million) to pay for the edifice along the highway leading to the Calais port, much used by truckers crossing the English Channel. Migrants flocked to Calais for years, hoping to sneak into Britain, often in freight trucks. A huge makeshift camp was dismantled in October, with thousands of migrants bused to special centers. Spain Spain has built 20-foot layered border fences around its two North African en- claves, Ceuta and Melilla, to dissuade migrants, now mostly from sub-Saharan countries, from entering them via Morocco. The fences, along with cooperation between Spain and Morocco, have helped keep out migrants. But rights groups say both Spanish and Moroccan security forces have beaten migrants caught scaling the wall. They also criticize Spain’s use of razor- blade coils – which have caused many injuries – and its expelling those who make it over without letting them apply for asylum. Israel and the West Bank Israel began construction of its 150-mile separation barrier in 2002 in response to Palestinian suicide bomb- ings that killed more than 1,500 people. Israel says the structure is a crucial defense measure. But because it frequently juts into the occupied West Bank, the Palestinians see it as a land grab that impedes their dream of establishing an in- dependent state. Kashmir India needed just two years to build a 340-mile fence along the disputed border area with Pakistan a decade ago. Now a high- tech barrier, it is laced with thermal imaging devices, mo- tion sensors and lighting sys- tems along a mined strip of land between two rows of coiled razor wire. The Indian military calls it an “anti-infiltration obstacle system,” designed to keep Pakistan-based rebels from crossing over in their fight for Kashmir’s independence or merger with Pakistan. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers are deployed on both sides, sometimes standing eye to eye, making it one of the world’s most militarized areas. Cyprus A U.N.-controlled buffer zone and frontier stretches 120 miles from coast to coast across the tiny island, sepa- rating the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north from the inter- nationally recognized south. The division dates to 1974 when Turkey invaded fol- lowing a coup by supporters of union with Greece. The frontier is rarely marked by a physical wall, with the notable exception of the capital, Nicosia, where one runs through the heart of the Old City. At its narrowest point, just a few yards sepa- rate Greek Cypriot national guardsmen from Turkish and Turkish Cypriot troops. Decrepit, crumbling build- ings inhabiting this no- man’s land stand in stark contrast to the trendy bars and coffee shops that have sprouted up nearby. The Korean Peninsula The Demilitarized Zone, a Cold War vestige, was cre- ated in 1953 after the Korean War ended with an armistice. Running from coast to coast, the 2-1/2-mile-wide, 154-mile- long DMZ bisects the penin- sula and forms the de-facto border between the Koreas. Mined on both sides, with a razor-wire fence, tank traps and hundreds of thousands of troops, the DMZ is the world’s most heavily fortified border. More than a million mines are believed to be buried within it. Some 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as deterrence against potential aggression from North Korea. The DMZ also includes the truce village of Panmunjom, which despite animosities is a popular tourist spot drawing visitors on both sides. Kenya and Somalia Kenya decided to erect a wall along its Somalia border after an April 2015 attack by Islamic extremists killed 148 people, most students, at a university. Initially the Kenyan gov- ernment announced a 435- mile wall, but officials say just 18 miles of fencing have been completed. Some doubt whether the wall will be effective given the busy cross-border smuggling trade, which benefits pow- erful officials on both sides. Hungary Hungary built fences along its southern borders with Serbia and Croatia in 2015, when thousands of mi- grants were passing through each day headed to Germany and other destinations in western Europe. Prime Minister Viktor Orban is a staunch oppo- nent of migration, and Hun- gary has been accepting only a few hundred asylum- seekers a year. Human rights groups and U.N. agencies have been crit- ical of the fences and the country’s restrictive asylum policies. There are increasing reports from aid groups about police brutality against migrants being pushed back to Serbia, allegations Hungary denies. Physical barriers are as old as humanity and have proven to be effective over the centuries at protecting borders. Indian Border Security Force soldiers leave for their bunker at the India-Pakistan international border area at Suchetgarh. A police officer, second right, and border guard, right, of Poland patrol with Hungarian policemen along the temporary border fence on the Hungarian-Serbian border near Roszke. - PHOTOS: AP A man walks in front of a wall of barrels and sand bags that blocks a road from the Greek Cypriot-controlled area in the south to the Turkish Cypriot north, in the central divided capital of Nicosia, Cyprus. Trucks drive past a 13-foot-high wall along the road leading to the Calais port, outside Calais, northern France.26 WORLD&REGIONAL FRIDAY APRIL 28, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS YOU’RE CORDIALLY INVITED TO Raul SATURDAY/ 7:00PM April 29, 2017 Refreshments will be provided FORWARD…CHANGE CAYMAN CAN TRUST GUEST SPEAKERS: Dr. Steve Tomlinson and Mr. Orel Prendergast A PUBLIC MEETING FOR Your independent candidate for Newlands! Gonzalez JR. VENUE INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE OF THE CAYMAN ISLANDS Add a Little. It’s a Big deal. In as little as one hour a week, you could positively change a child’s life forever. bbbs.ky | info@bbbs.ky | 923.2471 4,000 Canadian families will soon get paid for doing nothing OTTAWA – The government of Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, is joining the basic-income bandwagon with the launch of a three- year pilot program that will test how paying people an unconditional basic wage works in practice. “Many people are con- cerned about what the world is promising their kids,” Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said at a Monday news conference announcing the three-year experiment. “It’s a world of global com- petition, reduced bene- fits, more and more part- time employment.” Under the plan, Ontario will provide a basic income to as many as 4,000 randomly chosen low-income house- holds in the cities of Ham- ilton and Thunder Bay as well as in the rural commu- nity of Lindsay. The money will be provided to partici- pants whether they work or not, and welfare recipients as well as working poor families will be included. A single person could re- ceive up to 16,989 Cana- dian dollars (US$12,467) per year, while a couple can get up to 24,027 Canadian dol- lars (US$17,617) per year plus 6,000 extra dollars for a person with a disability. To encourage participants to seek paid employment, the recipients would also be able to keep 50 percent of any money they earn from work and would continue to re- ceive child-benefit payments from the Canadian and On- tario governments. The entire program is expected to cost around $150 million. Support from the left and the right The idea of a basic in- come has been around for years in one form or another. It gets surprising support from both the left, which sees it as an extension of the so- cial safety net, and the right, which sees it as a way to es- cape the intrusive, bureau- cratic nature of traditional welfare programs. (The On- tario experiment will com- pare families receiving the basic income payments to a control group that will re- ceive benefits under the cur- rent system.) Finland and the Netherlands are also con- ducting basic-income exper- iments, and a much smaller pilot project is under way in Oakland, California. The idea has also been embraced by tech companies, which worry that increasing automation and the advent of artificial intelligence will someday eliminate millions of jobs. The Oakland project is sponsored by Y Combi- nator, a Silicon Valley start- up incubator. Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington, said he’s sym- pathetic to the basic-income concept “but a skeptic” when it comes to cost. While he be- lieves the idea would be an improvement on the current social safety net, Tanner esti- mates that providing a basic income to everyone in the United States would cost a staggering $4 trillion a year. He says tech industry likes the idea because it fears a political backlash against au- tomation, which could end up leading to “anti-technology legislation.” But Evelyn Forget, an economist at the University of Manitoba who specializes in community health, believes a basic-income program could be affordable, noting that Canada already spends 15 billion Canadian dollars a year on social welfare pro- grams. Forget has studied the effects of an earlier basic-income experiment – a similar pilot program in Manitoba in the 1970s – on the town of Dauphin. She said there was vir- tually no change in the number of hours worked by primary earners as a result of the basic-income project, but that the hours worked by teenage boys declined – and she later found that the high school completion rate for boys rose. Her conclusion was that boys in low-income families who were previously under pressure to quit school and go to work were able to re- main in school because of the support that the basic in- come provided. The Manitoba experiment ended without any follow-up because “gov- ernments changed.” But 40 years later, as society is moving increasingly to- ward a “gig economy,” Forget sees a growing role for a basic income. “Basic income plays a nice job in filling in the gaps and in supplementing low wages,” she said. © 2017, Bloomberg Under the plan, Ontario will provide a basic income to as many as 4,000 randomly chosen low-income households in the cities of Hamilton and Thunder Bay as well as in the rural community of Lindsay. The money will be provided whether they work or not, and welfare recipients as well as working poor families will be included. Kathleen Wynne, the premier of Ontario27 WORLD&REGIONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • FRIDAY APRIL 28, 2017 Grace Christian Academy is offering AP Programming for the coming academic year. 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(AP) – Ann Coulter said Wednesday that she was forced to cancel her speaking event Thursday at the University of California, Berkeley amid concerns of violence but might still “swing by to say hello” to all her supporters. Police and university officials said they were bracing for possible trouble whether Coulter comes to campus or not, citing intelli- gence and online chatter by groups threatening to insti- gate violence. In emails to The Associ- ated Press, Coulter confirmed Wednesday that her planned speech on illegal immigra- tion, followed by a question- answer session, was canceled. But she remained coy about what she might do instead. “I’m not speaking. But I’m going to be near there, so I might swing by to say hello to my supporters who have flown in from all around the country,” Coulter said in an email. “I thought I might stroll around the graveyard of the First Amendment.” Officials at UC Berkeley said last week they feared re- newed violence on campus if Coulter followed through with plans to speak. They cited “very specific intelli- gence” of threats that could endanger Coulter and stu- dents, as Berkeley becomes a platform for extremist protesters on both sides of the political spectrum. Efforts by the university to cancel or delay the event dealt a blow to Berkeley’s image as a bastion of toler- ance and free speech. Chancellor Nicholas B. Dirks sent a letter to the campus Wednesday saying the university is com- mitted to defending free speech but also to protecting its students. “This is a university, not a battlefield,” Dirks said in the letter. “The university has two non-negotiable commit- ments, one to Free Speech the other to the safety of our campus community.” Berkeley’s reputation as one of the country’s most lib- eral universities, in one of America’s most liberal cities, has made it a flash point for the nation’s political divisions in the era of Donald Trump. Earlier this month, a bloody brawl broke out in downtown Berkeley at a pro-Trump pro- test that featured speeches by members of the white nation- alist right. They clashed with a group of Trump critics who called themselves anti-fascists. Similar violent clashes also erupted at the same site, a public park, on March 4. In February, violent pro- testers forced the cancella- tion of a speech by right-wing writer Milo Yiannopoulos, who like Coulter was invited by campus Republicans. The Berkeley College Re- publicans and the Young America’s Foundation, a conservative group that had helped book Coulter’s campus speaking events, both pulled their support Tuesday citing fears of violence. They blamed the university for failing to ensure protection of conservative speakers. Efforts by the university to cancel or delay the event dealt a blow to Berkeley’s image as a bastion of tolerance and free speech. Ann Coulter A protester speaks during a press conference held by the Berkeley College Republicans in Sproul Plaza on the UC Berkeley campus on Wednesday. The event was held to discuss the cancellation of speaker Ann Coulter’s appearance on campus. - PHOTO: DAN HONDA/BAY AREA NEWS GROUP VIA AP28 ENTERTAINMENT FRIDAY APRIL 28, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS LIBERTY Compliance & Training Presents.. 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CTS comprises Cayman Islands specific content, and is highly interactive, using real-life case studies, scenario-building and problem solving exercises to ensure attendees experience both a high level of engagement and a deep understanding of the complex issues that must be addressed by today’s compliance officers. Liberty Consulting Ltd. (345) 525 5010 Demme’s eclectic career followed a nonstop rock ‘n’ roll beat NEW YORK (AP) – Through Jonathan Demme’s free- wheeling filmmaking life sounded a steady rock ‘n’ roll beat. Music was his first love and his first credit. Long be- fore he was an Oscar-win- ning director, he was music coordinator for a little- seen 1970 thriller called “Sudden Terror.” And Demme’s death Wednesday morning at the age of 73 means that the final scenes he shot in his adven- turous, hopscotching ca- reer were musical, too. His last full-length documentary was a Justin Timberlake con- cert film. The last scene of his final feature, “Ricki and the Flash,” was Meryl Streep, as an aging rocker, bringing down the house with Tom Petty’s “American Girl.” Few filmmakers have been so drawn to the marrying of music and image the way Demme, a self-avowed “fa- natical rock ‘n’ roller,” was. He stuffed 49 songs into “Something Wild.” Springs- teen’s “The Streets of Phila- delphia” gave his “Philadel- phia” its melancholy heart. And, of course, his seminal Talking Heads concert film, “Stop Making Sense,” deftly captured the swell of David Byrne’s art-funk spectacular. Demme, and his films, were never so alive as when the music was playing – and playing loud. “I’ve come to believe, and I kind of felt this when we did ‘Stop Making Sense,’ that shooting live music is kind of like the purest form of film- making,” Demme told The Associated Press last year. “There’s no script to worry about. It’s not a documentary, so you don’t have to wonder where this story is going and what we can use. It’s just: Here come the musicians. Here come the dancers. The curtain goes up. They have at it and we get to respond in the best way possible to what they’re doing up there.” The filmmaker died Wednesday morning of com- plications from esophageal cancer in his New York apart- ment, surrounded by his wife, Joanna, and three chil- dren, said Demme’s publicist, Annalee Paulo. Demme broke into mov- iemaking under the B-movie master Roger Corman in the early 1970s, and his prodi- gious, wide-ranging body of work always kept the agile curiosity of a low-budget in- dependent filmmaker. His ca- reer spanned documentaries, screwball comedies and tales of social justice. Yet his most famous films were a pair of Oscar-winners. “The Silence of the Lambs,” the 1991 thriller starring An- thony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter and Jodie Foster as an FBI analyst, earned him a directing Oscar, as well as best picture. He followed that up with “Philadelphia” (1993), with Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, the first major Hollywood film to con- front the AIDS crisis. It re- mains a landmark film in the portrayal of gay life and injustice, subjects Hollywood has previously largely turned a blind eye toward. Hopkins, Foster and Hanks all earned Academy Awards for their performances in those films. Demme’s sensi- tive, alert eye help produce countless other acclaimed performance, too, from Mel- anie Griffith (“Something Wild”) to Anne Hathaway (“Rachel Getting Married”). “Just as passionate about music as he was about art, he was and will always be a champion of the soul,” said Foster. Hanks called him “the grandest of men.” “Jonathan taught us how big a heart a person can have, and how it will guide how we live and what we do for a living,” said the actor. Martin Scorsese, in re- membering “my young friend,” praised Demme’s use of music, from Buddy Holly to Miklos Rozsa. “His pic- tures have an inner lyricism that just lifts them off the ground – even a story like ‘The Silence of the Lambs.’” If there was one com- monality in Demme’s varied filmography, it was music. He made films with Neil Young, the Pretenders and Robyn Hitchcock. (He also memorably documented Spalding Grey performing a monologue in “Swimming to Cambodia.”) “I can’t play any instru- ment and I have a hideous voice,” Demme said. “But I’ve discovered that when I shoot music, I actually feel like I’ve become part of the band.” JFK diary sells for $718,000 BOSTON (AP) – A diary kept by a young John F. Ken- nedy during his brief stint as a journalist after World War II in which he reflected on Hitler and the weak- ness of the United Nations sold for more than $700,000 on Wednesday. Boston-based RR Auc- tion said the diary sold for $718,750, far exceeding the pre-sale estimate of $200,000. Joseph Alsop, a JFK collector from Bev- erly, outbid one other live and six telephone bidders in a packed house for the 61-page diary. Alsop, 71, plans to add it to his per- sonal collection, auction officials said. The diary is mostly typed but includes 12 handwritten pages. It was written in 1945 when the 28-year-old Kennedy was a correspon- dent for Hearst newspapers and traveled through a dev- astated Europe. The diary’s new owner is the nephew of Joseph Alsop V and the son of Stewart Alsop, two brothers and in- fluential columnists during the Kennedy presidency. “I’m happy to own it,” said Alsop, who was 16 when he met Kennedy at his uncle’s home in 1960. “I think it’s a wonderful ob- ject and a tribute to Ken- nedy’s development as an individual. He displays a remarkable degree of in- sight into world affairs at a very young age.” Kennedy gave the diary to Deirdre Henderson, a re- search assistant in his cam- paign office in the late 1950s who now lives in the Boston area. In the diary, Kennedy re- flected on his time in a gutted Berlin and even saw Hit- ler’s bunker, speculating that he was not killed. He wrote that Hitler “had in him the stuff of which legends are made.” But Henderson said in an interview last month that should not be misinter- preted as sympathy for the German dictator. “He said that in reference to the mystery surrounding him and not the evil he repre- sented,” Henderson said. Kennedy expressed doubt about the effectiveness of the fledgling United Nations, questioning whether it “will prove effective in the sense of its elaborate mechanics being frequently employed or vitally decisive in deterring war or peace.” In 1992, director Jonathan Demme, left, with actors Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins at the Academy Awards. All three won top honors for ‘The Silence of the Lambs.’ – PHOTO: AP/REED SAXONThe islands’ most-trusted news source 29 SportsNEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • FRIDAY APRIL 28, 2017 NBA fines Rockets owner $100,000 Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander has been fined $100,000 by the NBA for confronting a referee during live game action. The incident occurred Tuesday during the Rockets’ 105-99 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Totti out to ‘destroy’ Lazio in what could be his last derby MILAN (AP) – Roma great Francesco Totti is out to “de- stroy” Lazio in what could be his last derby. Totti’s contract runs out at the end of the season and the 40-year-old forward is likely to retire and move up- stairs into a director’s role at the club where he has spent his entire career. “It’s a different match to all the others,” Totti said. “It’s a team you always try to de- stroy on the field but with the maximum respect. “For the city, for the curva, for the fans, you always try to give 101 percent. It’s a match you always want to win.” Roma won the last derby 3-2 last month but still lost to Lazio in the two-legged Italian Cup semifinals. Totti played less than 10 minutes in each match. That semifinal defeat still hurts Roma and its fans, which are likely to fill the Stadio Olimpico again after ending a 14-month protest fol- lowing the removal of deeply unpopular security barriers. “It will be like all the other derbies, a must-win match,” Totti said. “It’s important be- cause we all remember how the last one finished. We have to get our revenge.” Sunday’s match is also crucial for the battle for second place in Serie A and automatic entry into the group stage of the Champions League. Roma is currently second, four points ahead of Napoli, which visits Inter Milan on Sunday. The team which fin- ishes third has to go into a playoff for Europe’s premier club competition. Roma has a more difficult run-in than Napoli. After the derby, it next faces AC Milan and Juventus before ending its season against Chievo Ve- rona and Genoa. Napoli plays Cagliari, Torino, Fiorentina and Sampdoria. “It will be a very impor- tant derby for the standings and we will try everything to have a great game to bring home the three points,” Totti said. “We are going through this battle for second se- renely and calmly, also be- cause now we have a four- point advantage on them. “There are only a few matches left until the end of the season, even if three out of five are very difficult on paper. We will try everything to finish second.” Lazio is fourth, seven points behind Napoli. Totti has been playing for Roma for 25 years – remark- ably more than 28 percent of the club’s existence – since making his debut in the final stages of a 2-0 win at Brescia on March 28, 1993. Totti, who also won the World Cup with Italy in 2006, could have won more than the solitary Serie A title, two Italian Cups and two na- tional Super Cups he claimed with Roma, but he rejected offers of more money and glory to remain with his childhood club. His face adorns murals and posters across Italy’s capital, where he is loved by Roma fans and respected by supporters of Lazio, despite his antics against them. Totti has scored 11 times against Lazio and often cel- ebrates these extra-special goals with T-shirts made for the occasion. One famously said, “I have purged you again,” while he revealed another reading simply “Game Over” after a vic- tory in May 2015. He hit the headlines in January of that year when he scored the second of two goals against Lazio and, in a pre-planned celebration for becoming the all-time leading scorer in the derby, grabbed his phone off Roma’s goal- keeping coach and took a selfie under the Curva Sud with thousands of adoring fans in the background. In the Eternal City, Totti is Roma’s eternal leader – first made captain in 1998 when he was only 22. Nike alluded to his “King of Rome” nickname at a pro- motional event on Wednesday to unveil new gold-colored boots to mark the Roma cap- tain’s 25 years at the club. Totti, who was greeted by about 200 chanting fans, was instructed to sit on a throne with the steps leading up to it bearing the names of the seven kings of ancient Rome, with his name placed on the final step. “I have nothing to do with these kings,” Totti said. “I prefer to be judged than to judge.” LeBron not slowing down as playoff minutes increase INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) – Except for his backped- aling hairline, LeBron James shows no visible signs of age. At 32, still in his prime, and still at the top of his game, he’s defying time. “Benjamin Button,” Cava- liers coach Tyronn Lue called him, referring to the fictional character who ages backward. LeBenjamin? Following a regular season in which he averaged more minutes per game (37.8) than any player, James logged 43.7 per game during Cleve- land’s tougher-than-it-looked sweep over the Indiana Pacers in the first round of the playoffs. And as James and the defending champions await either Toronto or Mil- waukee in the second round, James is taking advantage of the downtime. Not that he might need it. Lue spent much of the season defending his use of James, who in all honesty is really the one in control of when he sits or does not. At this point, Lue has given up worrying about resting the superstar. “I don’t understand why people make a big deal out of his minutes,” Lue said Wednesday. “He had a week off before the series started. We won four straight games and then he had a week off again. So next he might play 48 minutes …. Bron today just said he feels worse when he doesn’t play.” James was not available for interviews as the team gathered for the first time in two days at Cleveland Clinic Courts, and it’s likely that he will not speak to the media until the Cavs have a second- round opponent. But as has been the case for months, James’s playing time was one of the prime topics presented to Lue, who believes that the four-time MVP’s heavy workload during the regular season is what enables him to play at such high levels in the postseason. Consider that James av- eraged 32.8 points, 9.8 re- bounds and 9.0 assists, shot 54 percent from the field, went 9 of 20 on 3-pointers and led the Cavaliers to the biggest second half comeback in league history during the series against Indiana, and it’s easy to see why Lue wants to move past the minutes chatter. “With him playing the minutes he played during the course of the regular season, it has helped him in the play- offs,” Lue said. “Now he is able to play those 42, 43 min- utes. Because he’s used to it. His body can take it, so, I’m not worried about what out- side people say.” Unlike the regular season, when brutal travel schedules, back-to-backs and stretches of three games in four nights can wear players down, the postseason allows for re- covery. Lue also thinks too many teams are allowing outside pressures to influ- ence how they use players. “Teams are suffering,” he said, “because they listen to what the media is saying about guys playing minutes” and “some teams should play some guys more minutes, and it would’ve been dif- ferent (playoff) series.” James has ramped up his minutes nearly every post- season. Now in his 12th playoffs, he averaged 39.1 minutes last year and has only twice averaged less than 40 per game. Lue trusts that the three- time champion knows how far to push himself without reaching his breaking point. “He knows his body better than anyone,” Lue said. “He said he feels great and he feels worse when he doesn’t play, so we’ll see how that works out.” As for the rest of the Cav- aliers, Wednesday included some competition in the team’s weight room on an aerobic conditioning machine while the team’s in-house DJ from Quicken Loans Arena spun music. After the vig- orous workouts, yoga mats were dragged onto the court and the facility’s lights were dimmed for some stretching and decompression. Namaste, NBA-style. The Cavs had a similar, one-week break between the first and second rounds last season. Kyrie Irving said it’s imperative to make the most of it. “The mental prepara- tion and physical prepara- tion starts now and hasn’t stopped,” he said. “Took a brief day off or two and now just get back to work and get ready for whichever team we’re getting ready for. The work never stops.” Sunday’s match is also crucial for the battle for second place in Serie A and automatic entry into the group stage of the Champions League. Roma’s Francesco Totti, left, and Lazio’s Lucas Biglia vie for the ball during a match on March 1. Totti, 40, is likely to retire when his contract runs out at the end of the season. - PHOTO: AP/GREGORIO BORGIA LeBron James at 32 is still in his prime, and still at the top of his game. - PHOTO: AP/DARRON CUMMINGSNext >