ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – THURSDAY JULY 6, 2017 High of 90 Low of 77 Slight to moderate with wave heights of 2 to 4 feet EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 CUBAN TOURISM’S BIGGEST THREAT: BIG GOVERNMENT WORLD & REGIONAL | PAGE 8 UK POLICE RETRIEVE ALL ‘VISIBLE REMAINS’ FROM FIRE-HIT TOWER Home Options Be insured and be prepared ! Save on your buildings cover and claim a free storm kit or $250gift certificate! The storm kit is free to all new home insurance policy holders. It contains all the essentials, tarpaulin, lantern, first aid kit, 5 gallon bucket and games to see you through if the weather gets rough. Ask for a home insurance quote! Call 949-8699 www.britcay.ky cgigrp BRITISH CAYMANIAN INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED 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 Ltd. : insurance, health, pensions, life RFA Mounts Bay sails to Grand Cayman KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@pinnaclemedialtd.com Grand Cayman’s Gover- nors Beach will transform into a testing ground for di- saster response and recovery Friday and Saturday with the arrival of Royal Navy vessel RFA Mounts Bay. The Cayman Islands will be the first overseas territory vis- ited by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary dock landing ship during its deployment in the Caribbean. The ship is part of the Royal Navy’s ongoing presence in the region and contributes to both disaster recovery and anti-nar- cotics efforts. During the five-day stop- over in the Cayman Islands, starting Thursday, U.K. mili- tary personnel will work with local law enforcement, hazard management workers, the fire service and Northward Prison on disaster relief training. Part of Governors Beach will be closed to the public during the training to accom- modate the landing of heavy equipment, as would occur after a hurricane. Disaster management teams from other overseas territories will be present to learn from the exercise. RCIPS ASSISTS IN UK ‘PONZI SCHEME’ PROBE BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com A local resident was questioned and as- sisted the Royal Cayman Islands Police Fi- nancial Crime Unit in connection with a U.K. investigation into what London detectives al- leged was a 50 million pound Ponzi scheme, police have confirmed. The probe, according to a 2016 statement by City of London Police, began in 2014 and involved victims who invested sums of be- tween “a few thousand pounds to several mil- lion” with a company called CWM. “The City of London Police believe the net of potential victims spreads far wider, run- ning into the hundreds, with the majority being from within the Gurkha and Nepalese community,” the police statement from Feb- ruary 2016 reads. The RCIPS confirmed last week that Cayman Islands resident Jazeb Jones was questioned in connection with the investiga- tion and assisted financial crime officers in their queries. “Working with the Director of Public Pros- ecutions Office, the Financial Crime Unit ini- tially conducted enquiries on behalf of the City of London Police and were assisted in their investigation by the cooperation from [the] individual in question,” police said. “To clarify, he was not arrested.” The U.K. probe came to light in Cayman last summer when more than 300 people sued a British Virgin Islands funds trader, its as- sociated entities and the Cayman-based dms Bank & Trust Ltd., seeking the location and repayment of tens of millions of dollars the plaintiffs believed were going to be invested in foreign currency trades. A writ of summons filed July 11, 2016 with Haines conquers volcano despite rain, mudslides KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@pinnaclemedialtd.com Heavy rain, mudslides and the threat of hot lava did not stop Cayman athlete Derek Haines from fulfilling his promise to climb two volcanoes in Guatemala for charity. Mr. Haines took on the “Volcanoes and Marathons” challenge this year with the mis- sion of climbing the volcanoes and running three marathons to raise $50,000 for the Cen- tral Caribbean Marine Institute. He is now halfway toward his fundraising effort to support CCMI’s interactive classroom initia- tive, “Reefs-Go-Live.” Inclement weather greeted him on his ar- rival to Guatemala on June 29 and forced him to revise his initial plan to first climb Agua volcano, then Acatenango. Mudslides shut down Agua’s trails, so Mr. Haines took on the 13,000-foot ascent of Acatenango. In an email to the Cayman Compass, he said distant booms from neighboring active vol- cano Fuego could be heard as he and his guide made their way through farmland, dense rainforest and piney woods. “From about 10,000 feet, the pines disap- peared and then the scant remaining vege- tation fell away to leave unstable scree that The RFA Mounts Bay vessel is used for disaster response and anti-narcotics efforts. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » Derek Haines poses with the Cayman Islands flag atop Guatemala’s Acatenango volcano with daughter Lizzy Haines and friend Gaby Amado. The active Fuego volcano is seen in the background. - PHOTO: COURTESY OF DEREK HAINES PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL THURSDAY JULY 6, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Daily Matinees Every Day $8.00 Seniors, Mon-Fri Before 6pm Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 BABY DRIVER (R) 12:40 I 2:45 I 7:00 VIP I 9:40 VIP CARS 3 (G) 1:25 I 3:55 I 6:30 I 9:05 THE MUMMY (PG13) 3:40 I 6:50 I 9:30 WONDER WOMAN (PG13) 1:40 I 4:50 I 8:00 DESPICABLE ME 3 3D (PG) 12:30 I 2:00 2D VIP I 4:30 2D VIP 5:20 I 7:35 2D I 9:50 TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT 3D (PG13) 12:40 2D I 4:00 I 7:20 - THURSDAY - 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. *Additional charges will apply per 3D ticket requested. 640-FILM (640-3456) LESF GYM AND SAUNA IS FOR YOU! INFOLIFEEXT@GMAIL.COM “Keep on keeping on”…words to live by. Local groups team with regional body on disaster management The Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce, Hazard Management Cayman Islands and the Cayman Is- lands Tourism Association are teaming up with Carib- bean-Central American Ac- tion to develop disaster recovery plans. The groups signed a “state- ment of purpose” late last month “to make sure that the local community is more pre- pared for any storm-related natural disaster,” according to a press release from the Chamber of Commerce. The statement, dubbed “Collaborating to Develop Di- saster Recovery Solutions,” was written at a disaster management workshop at the Marriott resort in Grand Cayman, part of a series or- ganized by Caribbean-Cen- tral American Action. Wil Pineau, chief execu- tive officer of the Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the Economic Continuity Subcommittee of the Support Services Group for Hazard Management Cayman Is- lands, said, “It is vital that we are prepared for any nat- ural disaster. “We saw the damage that Hurricane Ivan caused and the tireless work needed in the aftermath, so by signing this agreement we hope that we can stay one step ahead at all times to ensure our re- covery efforts are immediate and that we can get commu- nities and businesses back to their normal condition as swiftly as possible.” The Chamber and Hazard Management Cayman Islands hope to strengthen cooper- ation between public agen- cies and private sector indus- tries in the islands’ disaster management system, the Chamber statement notes. Nonprofit organization Caribbean-Central Amer- ican Action promotes private sector-led economic develop- ment in the Caribbean and Central America. Leadership Cayman’s class of 2017 graduates The 2017 Leadership Cayman class have graduated from the Chamber of Com- merce program. Leadership Cayman, which began in 2009, is a six-month program that “enables partici- pants to acquire an in-depth view of social, economic, busi- ness, and political issues; en- hance their leadership skills; and to get involved in com- munity projects,” according to a press release from the Chamber of Commerce. A graduation ceremony was held at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman on June 24. For this year’s commu- nity project, the class helped transform the garden of Maple House, a residen- tial home for children with disabilities, by introducing new plant life, installing seating areas, repairing di- lapidated swing sets and in- stalling a new jungle gym for younger visitors. The participants also at- tended biweekly lectures on topics including immigration and financial services, where they met and talked with guest speakers, including in- dustry professionals, com- munity leaders and govern- ment officials. “Leadership Cayman has been an incredibly rewarding experience, giving me the op- portunity to learn the inner workings of Cayman,” Keith Jernigan, CEO of the Secu- rity Centre Ltd., said in the press release. “I graduated the program significantly more informed, but more im- portantly, I am motivated to roll my sleeves up and find ways to continue to help the country grow.” Fellow graduate Rosie Dunsford of SteppingStones said, “Several of my col- leagues past and present have been involved in the program and all told me what a wonderful experience it is, and how you develop so much on both a personal and professional level. Al- though I believed them, it is absolutely impossible to un- derstand the full impact of Leadership Cayman until you experience it.” The Chamber of Com- merce announced that appli- cations for the 2018 Leader- ship Cayman class are now open, and encouraged pro- fessionals interested in de- veloping their skills and learning more about the Cayman community to apply. Prospective applicants must be at least 30 years old by Jan. 1 of the program year; be in a middle management po- sition at the applicant’s cur- rent place of work; and have lived in the Cayman Islands for a minimum of 12 months. “The Chamber would like to again congratulate all class members for com- pleting and graduating the programme. Special thanks is also required for the pro- gramme director Faramarz Romer for his tireless efforts during the year,” the Chamber noted in its statement. This year’s graduating members are: Anya Edun of Dart Real Estate; Brendan Barry of Greenlight RE Ltd.; Catherine Healy of Butter- field Bank (Cayman) Ltd.; Darren Jacotine of Carib- bean Utilities Company Ltd.; David Watt of KPMG; Exie Tomlinson-Panton of the Maritime Authority of the Cayman Islands; Gemma Tighe of CML Offshore Re- cruitment; Gianna Bryan of Cayman National Corpora- tion; Janette Goodman of The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman; Jonathan Roney of Intertrust (Cayman) Ltd.; Jyoti Choi of Delta Group Ltd.; Kara Coe of Government Informa- tion Service; Keith Jernigan of The Security Centre Ltd.; Melanie Ebanks-Jackson of Accounting Concepts Ltd.; Michael Treacy of Bould Con- sulting Ltd.; Nathan Smith of 60 Degrees Group SEZC Ltd.; Nicholas McLean of the Ministry of Education, Youth, Sports, Agriculture and Lands; Omari Corbin of RBC Royal Bank (Cayman) Ltd.; Osbert Francis of the Mari- time Authority of the Cayman Islands; Prasana of Walkers; Rachael Gaunt of Department of Education; Rosie Dun- sford of SteppingStones; Roz Griffiths of Chatterbox Ltd.; and Sasha Rochester of the Office of the Auditor General. GOV’T SUPPORTERS STORM VENEZUELA CONGRESS CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) – Pro-government militias wielding wooden sticks and metal bars stormed congress on Wednesday and began attacking oppo- sition lawmakers during a special session coin- ciding with Venezuela’s in- dependence day. Four lawmakers were in- jured and blood was splat- tered on the neoclassical legislature’s white walls. One of them, Americo de Grazia, had to be taken in a stretcher to an ambulance suffering from convulsions, said a fellow congressman. “This doesn’t hurt as much as watching how every day how we lose a little bit more of our country,” Ar- mando Arias said from in- side an ambulance as he was being treated for head wounds that spilled blood across his clothes. The attack, in plain view of national guardsmen as- signed to protect the leg- islature, comes amid three months of often-violent confrontations between se- curity forces and protesters who accuse the government of trying to establish a dic- tatorship by jailing foes, pushing aside the opposi- tion-controlled legislature and rewriting the constitu- tion to avoid fair elections. 14-year-old hurt in bicycle crash A teenage boy was hurt Tuesday after his bicycle collided with a car around 4:30 p.m. on Northward Road in Bodden Town, the Royal Cayman Islands Po- lice Service reported. According to police, “It appears that the cyclist, a 14-year-old male, exited Poplar Street in Northward and ran into the side of the Honda being driven on the main road. The cyclist was knocked from the bicycle and fell to the ground, and the vehicle sustained minor damage to the right side.” The teen suffered head injuries but was expected to recover, after being transported to the Cayman Islands Hospital. CORRECTION In a story titled “Three arrested at weekend motorbike event” that ran on page 2 in Wednesday’s Cayman Compass, the headline should have read “Three arrested outside weekend motorbike event.” The arrests were made on the roads leading to the event, rather than at the event itself. This year’s Leadership Cayman class chose to help Maple House, a residential home for children with disabilities, as its community project.3 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY JULY 6, 2017 Congratulations to our graduating class of 2017!!! Applications are being accepted for the 2017/2018 school year …. Spaces are limited PreK-4 to Grade 12 American-based Curriculum Programming options may include: • Individualized programs in academic areas • Online courses • Vocational courses/ Automotive Please email offi ce@hopecayman.com or call 769-4673 for more information. www.hopecayman.com Hope Academy Parvovirus warning issued following deaths of four dogs JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com An outbreak of the par- vovirus has killed four dogs and caused the temporary closure of the Humane So- ciety in the past month. One dog from Cayman Animal Rescue Enthusiasts (CARE) died last week, two puppies were reported dead to the Humane Society, and five more recovered after being taken to the shelter. The shelter was closed to new arrivals for a few days in order for dogs that had come into contact with the infected animals to be quarantined. Animal welfare charities and veterinarians are asking pet owners to ensure their dogs are vaccinated. Island Veterinary Ser- vices reported 15 cases in the past month, including two dogs that died. Lesley Walker of the Hu- mane Society said outbreaks of the virus, which can lie dormant in the environment for years, are more common during rainy season. She said the shelter had taken in two dogs from West Bay around three weeks ago. One of them tested positive for parvovirus after being in the shelter for three days. “That meant we had to quarantine all the animals that had been in the vicinity of those dogs,” she said. The infected dog was taken to a veterinarian and sub- sequently recovered. Shortly after that, the Humane Society was alerted to a litter of pup- pies in the Swamp area that were seriously ill. Two of them died and the other five tested positive for parvovirus but re- covered after treatment. Lesley Agostinelli of CARE said the charity was called to assist a family in Rock Hole with two sick dogs, that later tested positive for parvo- virus. One of the dogs, Her- shey, died from the virus. The other, Tiny, recovered. “The only way past this disease is to get your pups vaccinated,” she said. “Owners should also make sure their dogs are up to date with their annual shots.” According to CARE, the virus affects dogs’ gastroin- testinal tracts and is spread by direct dog-to-dog contact and contact with contami- nated feces, environments or people. The virus can also contaminate kennel surfaces, food and water bowls, collars and leashes, and the hands and clothing of people who handle infected dogs. Some of the signs of parvovirus in- clude lethargy, loss of ap- petite, abdominal pain and bloating, fever or low body temperature, vomiting and se- vere, often bloody, diarrhea. Most deaths from parvo- virus occur within 48 to 72 hours following the onset of clinical signs. CARE advises pet owners to contact their veterinarian immediately if their dog displays any of the listed symptoms. Some PR applicants delay litigation BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Although six people have sought a court’s review to date, several other permanent residence applicants have de- layed decisions to sue the government over its failure to hear their applications in a timely manner. One firm representing a number of applicants seeking the right to remain in Cayman for the rest of their life said many of its clients are taking a “wait and see” approach. “A number of persons who had given instructions to proceed have, with our en- couragement, taken a step back,” said HSM Chambers partner Nicolas Joseph. “For that to last, however, many such persons are expecting to receive some indication as to when … their applications are likely to be heard.” Mr. Joseph said the law firm is advising that only those residency applicants who are being “particularly disadvantaged by the on- going delays” proceed with court action. Some applications date back to 2013 Between 900 and 1,000 permanent residence applica- tions are awaiting a hearing before the Caymanian Status and Permanent Residency Board, some of which were filed as early as October or November 2013. The board began hearing the applications in mid-June after a two-and-a-half year delay as a result of legal un- certainties over how points were being awarded. The first round of perma- nent residence applications was heard on June 22, when one out of the 10 bids before the board was approved. Five applicants were de- nied residency status and two other applicants with- drew their papers, board chairman Waide DaCosta said in a press release issued by the government Ministry of Immigration. Two other applications were deferred pending more information from the applicants. “The early number should serve to assure the public that permanent residence ap- plications are being carefully considered and that there will be no mass grants,” Pre- mier Alden McLaughlin said last month. “Only those ap- plications that meet the re- quirements in legislation are being approved.” The government is now hearing the residency appli- cations in the order in which they were received. Those filed in October 2013 will be heard first, followed by No- vember 2013 and so on. Mr. Joseph said the gov- ernment appears to be re- fusing to expedite any resi- dency application, even those from applicants who face “adverse consequences” from further delays. “The failure to exercise any discretion in relation to the order in which applica- tions are dealt with is, we believe, in and of itself un- reasonable and grounds for legal challenge,” he said. The law firm gave several examples of how delays in hearing a residence applica- tion could negatively impact an applicant: ■■ An inability to expand business, especially in instances where share- holders are concerned about the ability of se- nior management staff at a company to re- main in Cayman ■■ Deprivation of citizen- ship rights for children born more than a year after their parent or par- ents applied for residence ■■ The inability to seek promotion or alter- native employment ■■ Mounting damages re- garding uncertainty re- lated to application delays. Uncertainty in- cludes inability to make plans regarding a child’s schooling, job searches and pension refunds. Animal welfare charities and vets are warning pet owners to ensure their dogs are vaccinated. Sid contracted parvovirus but survived after treatment, and is now up for adoption at the Humane Society. Hershey was one of the dogs that died from the recent parvovirus outbreak. Tiny contracted parvovirus and survived. Vets are warning dog owners to ensure their pets are vaccinated.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. THURSDAY JULY 6, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS WASHINGTON — The Bronx, the only one of New York City’s five boroughs that is on the American main- land, once had a sociolog- ical as well as geographical distinction. In the 1930s it was called, as Daniel Pat- rick Moynihan noted, “the city without a slum.” It was “the one place in the whole of the nation where commer- cial housing was built during the Great Depression.” In the third quarter of the 20th cen- tury, however, there came, particularly in the South Bronx, social regression that Moynihan described as “an Armageddonic collapse that I do not believe has its equal in the history of urbanization.” Of the several causes of descent, there and elsewhere, into the intergenerational transmission of poverty, one was paramount: family disin- tegration. Some causes of this remain unclear, but some- thing now seems indisput- able: Among today’s young adults, the “success sequence” is insurance against poverty. The evidence is in “The Mil- lennial Success Sequence” published by the American Enterprise Institute and the Institute for Family Studies and written by Wendy Wang of the IFS and W. Bradford Wilcox of the University of Virginia and AEI. The success sequence, previously suggested in re- search by, among others, Ron Haskins and Isabel Sawhill of the Brookings In- stitution, is this: First get at least a high school diploma, then get a job, then get mar- ried, and only then have chil- dren. Wang and Wilcox, fo- cusing on millennials ages 28 to 34, the oldest members of the nation’s largest genera- tion, have found that only 3 percent who follow this se- quence are poor. A comparably stunning 55 percent of this age co- hort have had children be- fore marriage. Only 25 per- cent of the youngest baby boomers (those born be- tween 1957 and 1964) did that. Eighty-six percent of the Wang-Wilcox millennials who put “marriage before the baby carriage” have family incomes in the middle or top third of incomes. Forty- seven percent who did not follow the sequence are in the bottom third. One problem today, Wilcox says, is the “soul- mate model of marriage,” a self-centered approach that regards marriage primarily as an opportunity for per- sonal growth and fulfillment rather than as a way to form a family. Another problem is that some of the intelligen- tsia see the success sequence as middle-class norms to be disparaged for being middle- class norms. And as AEI so- cial scientist Charles Murray says, too many of the suc- cessful classes, who followed the success sequence, do not preach what they practice, preferring “ecumenical nice- ness” to being judgmental. In healthy societies, basic values and social arrange- ments are not much thought about. They are “of course” matters expressing what so- ciologists call a society’s “world-taken-for-granted.” They have, however, changed since President Lyndon Johnson proclaimed “uncon- ditional” war on poverty. This word suggested a fallacious assumption: Poverty per- sisted only because of hith- erto weak government re- solve regarding the essence of war — marshalling mate- rial resources. But what if large causes of poverty are not matters of material distribution but are behavioral — bad choices and the cultures that produce them? If so, policymakers must rethink their confidence in social salvation through economic abundance. Reversing social regres- sion using public policies to create a healthy culture is akin to “nation-building” abroad, an American under- taking not recently crowned with success. Wang and Wilcox recommend education focused on high-level occupa- tional skills, subsidizing low- paying jobs, and “public and private social marketing cam- paigns,” from public schools to popular media, promoting marriage toward the end of the success sequence. Success is, of course, more complex than adherence to the sequence. Much cultural capital often is unavailable to poor people. In J.D. Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy,” his memoir of his rise from Appalachian poverty to Yale Law School, he recounts his experience in the recruiting process with prestigious law firms, during which he learned, among many other things he did not learn at home, “use the fat spoon for soup” and “your shoes and belt should match.” These may seem trivial matters; to upward mobility, they are not. Much more important, however, is the success se- quence. In Nathaniel Haw- thorne’s day, as in ours, it was said that problems were so daunting that old princi- ples must yield to new real- ities. Perhaps, however, un- fortunate new realities are the result of the disregard of old principles. Hawthorne recommended consulting “re- spectable old blockheads” who had “a death-grip on one or two ideas which had not come into vogue since yes- terday morning.” Ideas like getting an education, a job and a spouse before beget- ting children. George Will’s email address is georgewill@washpost.com. © 2017, Washington Post Writers Group. Southwest Airlines’ announcement that it is scaling back service from the U.S. to Cuba prompted the usual hand-wringing about U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies and their effects around the globe. In reality, President Trump’s minor changes to the previous U.S. administration’s travel rules have little to do with American travelers’ lack of enthusiasm for visiting our northern neighbor. Cuba’s ponderous gov- ernment bureaucracy bears the lion’s share of blame for the lack of resources and substandard infrastruc- ture that has dulled American travelers’ interest – offering a cautionary tale that the Cayman Islands should heed. Southwest is dropping service to the Cuban cities of Varadero and Santa Clara, while keeping its twice- daily flights to Havana from Fort Lauderdale-Holly- wood and Tampa airports. (The airline is seeking per- mission to add an additional daily run between Havana and Fort Lauderdale.) In a statement, Steve Goldberg, senior vice presi- dent of ground operations, said a company perfor- mance analysis “confirmed that there is not a clear path to sustainably serving these markets, particularly with the continuing prohibition in U.S. law on tourism to Cuba for American citizens.” There may be some truth to the idea that more Americans would travel to Cuba if they were legally allowed to just relax on the beach with a mojito in hand (under Mr. Trump’s new rules, as it was under the previous Obama administration, the U.S. allows only “purposeful travel” to Cuba – educational trips, visits to family, humanitarian missions, etc. – not tourism). But the larger issue is that many Americans don’t want to go to Cuba, anyway. At least one recent survey found U.S. travelers’ interest in Cuba already was waning just a year after travel restrictions were eased. In 2017, 76 percent of Americans reported being unlikely to plan a trip to Cuba – a 6 percent increase over the previous year, according to the survey pub- lished by travel insurance provider Allianz Global Assis- tance in May. Among the concerns reported by survey respon- dents were: safety; lack of information about Cuba’s travel experiences; poor travel infrastructure; and subpar internet/mobile connectivity. Cuba has been able to attract only meager foreign investment since the government began encouraging private enterprise in 2011. Even after foreign invest- ment rules were further “relaxed” by the Cuban gov- ernment in 2014, it has been preposterously diffi- cult for foreign investors – from any country – to gain traction in the country’s rich market. Simply put, Cuban government regulations and cumbersome pro- cesses have sandbagged efforts to boost trade and support private investment. Most Cubans, long reliant on small government sub- sidies and remittances from relatives overseas, don’t have the collateral to make the large investments nec- essary to bring the country’s travel infrastructure up to a standard that international tourists expect. The clearest path for progress is for heavy-handed govern- ment bureaucrats to get out of the way – jettisoning price controls and other unnecessary regulation – to allow private enterprise (both domestic and interna- tional) to thrive. To anyone wishing to convince the ruling Commu- nist Party of Cuba of that economic reality, the best we can say is, “Buena suerte.” In a global economy, businesses can operate wherever they want in the world – including in Cayman (or Cuba), but they lean toward places that are, not surprisingly, business-friendly. Nothing kills free enter- prise faster than bureaucratic red tape – Cuba’s No. 1 national resource. Ultimately, Cuba will make its own decisions. But there’s a lesson for us at home: Cayman must be careful not to go down the same road by allowing bloated bureaucracy and proliferation of regulations to bog down the creative essence of entrepreneurship and investment. Cayman cannot afford to jeopardize our country’s hard-earned reputation for being safe, stable and business-friendly. Nor can we afford to pay lip service to the ideal of free markets while implementing rules, regulations and policies that make it more difficult for business to thrive (such as a bottlenecked system for work permits, or fooling around with foreign workers’ pensions). Executives, investors and workers are human beings, after all, and if any government makes it too difficult to operate there, they won’t put up with it. They’ll go where they are wanted, appreciated and more likely to be rewarded for their efforts. Cuban tourism’s biggest threat: Big government The sequence that leads to success 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 find their own way” But what if large causes of poverty are not matters of material distribution but are behavioral — bad choices and the cultures that produce them? GEORGE F. WILL GEORGE The islands’ most-trusted news source 5 CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY JULY 6, 2017 It’s my It’s myIt’s my It’s myIt’s my “PRESS PLAY” Y SUMMER BREAK CAMP! JOIN THE ADVENTURE AT OUR SAVANNAH LOCATION! Dates: 17 July - 25 August Fee: $140 per week When: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (pre/post camp available 7:30 a.m. - 5:45 p.m. for additional fee) Ages: 5 - 12 (ask about our CIT Programme for 13 - 17 year-olds) Contact: ysummercamp@ymcacayman.ky 345-929-1850 www.ymcacayman.ky s my “PRESS PLAY” Y SUMMER BREAK CAMP! JOIN THE ADVENTURE AT OUR SAVANNAH LOCATION! 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. (pre/post camp available 7:30 a.m. - 5:45 p.m. for additional fee) 5 - 12 (ask about our CIT Programme for 13 - 17 year-olds) INSPIRING YOUTH | BUILDING CHARACTER | STRENGTHENING COMMUNITY It’s my Character development… it’s not just kids play!The islands’ most-trusted news source 6 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. THURSDAY JULY 6, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS THURSDAY, JULY 6 BOOK SIGNING: Local author George Chollette will read from his new book, “New Name In Glory: The George Chollette Story,” and sign books at Books & Books in Camana Bay. 6 p.m. FRIDAY, JULY 7 GARAGE SALE: Boatswain Bay Presbyterian Church – Women’s Group will hold a garage sale, 5-8 p.m. TUESDAY, JULY 11 MOONLIGHT & MOVIES: “Happy Feet” (2006, PG) will show at Camana Bay’s Gardenia Court. Free. 7 p.m. JULY 23-28 GOSPEL MEETING: West Bay Church of Christ presents “Jesus Is The Answer” with guest speaker J.K. Hamilton from Mountain View Church of Christ in Dallas, Texas. Sunday at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday to Friday at 7:30 p.m. SUMMER CAMPS, VBS YOUTH RUGBY: July 4-7. For ages 6-16. Half day, 8 a.m. to noon, $125. Full day, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. $250, includes lunch. Venue is CRFU/Beach. Contact edward.westin@ caymanrugby.com. YOUTH SERVICES UNIT: Two camps offered. Learn to Cook, July 4-7. Ages 11 to 17. John Gray High School Cooking Classrooms. Cost is $50. Teen Summit – Coat of Arms, July 10-14. Ages 13-17. Visit iconic sites and take part in competitions to foster civics and celebrate diverse culture. Cost is $50. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at UCCI. To register or for more information, contact James Myles, 943-1127 or james.myles@gov.ky. VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL: The West Bay Wesleyan Holiness Church invites children from ages 3 to 12 to attend. July 3-7, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Call 949-3394 or 925-2004 for more information. TEEN CHALLENGE: Red Bay Church of God (Holiness) holds a Teen Challenge, Rome, Paul and the Underground Church, for ages 13-19, July 3-7, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Bible lessons, games, snacks, and lots of activities. All free. For more information, call 925-2509 or 326-7867. MULTI-SPORT CAMP: The Camana Bay Sports Complex is offering young athletes a chance to improve at multiple sports, including volleyball, basketball, tennis, swimming and football. July 4-7, 10-14 and 17-21. Ages 6 to 14. Cost is $125 for week 1 and $150 for weeks 2 and 3. Call 640-4000 or email camps@camanabay.com. VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL: Calvary Baptist Church holds Vacation Bible School for children ages 4 to 17. July 17-21. 8:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Bible stories, music, games, puppets, crafts and snacks. Call 949-0629. MUSIC CAMP: Cayman Music School is offering a camp for kids of all ages in ear training, instrument mastery, talent shows and more. Children will perform a musical recital at the end of each week. Ages 5 to 12. Cost is $55 per day or $250 per week. July 4-28, 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Call 938-3838 or email info@ caymanmusicschool.com. LEARNING CABOOSE: Offered through Church of God Chapel, July 3-28. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For ages 5 to 13. Cost is $250. Activities include arts and crafts, glass bottom boat, fishing, sports. Call 929-9222 or 949-1794. SUMMER SCHOOL PROGRAM: Light of the World Christian Fellowship is offering tutorial programs in Literacy and Mathematics this summer with side focus on arts and crafts, educational games and field trips. Lunch and two snacks served daily. July 4-28. 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Call 926-1541 or 947-1949. KIDS ABILITY: Preschool and Kindergarten Readiness for ages 2.5 to 4.5. 8:30- 11:30 a.m. July 4 to Aug. 11. $275 per week. Social skills camps for ages 5 to 7, 7-11. Weekly themed camps, July 4 to Aug. 11. Also baby play times. Contact info@kidsability.ky. IMMERSE: The Cayman Islands National Museum on the waterfront is holding a camp to brief children on the region’s rich maritime history. Cost is $100. Ages 9 to 11 for session running from July 17-21; Ages 12 to 14 for session running from July 24-28. VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL: Red Bay Church of God (Holiness) holds Vacation Bible School for ages 3 to 12. July 10-14. 6:30-9 p.m. Lots of fun activities, crafts, Bible lessons, snacks and prizes. All free. For more info, call 925-2509 or 326-7867. ACTING CAMPS: Organized by Cayman Drama Society at Prospect Playhouse. 8 to 11 years, July 24-28. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. $300 the week. 12-16 years, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. $325 for the week. Email training@cds.ky to book. HORSE CAMP: Coral Stone Stables, West Bay. For ages 7 to 16. July 4-28. 8 a.m. to noon. $250 per week; $50 per day. Children must be physically fit; no experience necessary. Contact Noland at 916-4799 or coralstonestables@gmail.com. VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL: Wesleyan Holiness Church holds Vacation Bible School. July 4-7. 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Ocean scene, a live pirate that visits every night, a treasure hunter, puppets and lots of children. Call 949-3394. GENERAL INTEREST HUMANE SOCIETY THRIFT SHOP: The shop has moved to Venetia Plaza, next to China Village. The thrift shop is open Tuesday to Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed on Sunday and Monday. Phone 945-5596. DVDL REPLACES TEMP PLATES: The Department of Vehicle and Drivers’ Licensing is replacing all Temporary Registration Plates. Customers who have been contacted by the department are asked to collect their new registration plates. They are reminded to bring the temporary registration plates, windshield coupon (if not expired) and log book. CONTRACTORS REGISTRATION: The deadline for residential and building contractors is June 30; trade contractors’ deadline is Aug. 31. 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. Owned and operated by the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Call 946-6575. 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. 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. Contact Penny McDowall at 516-2578 or pjmcdowall@gmail.com. OPEN STUDIO: Every Thursday 10 a.m. till noon and every Monday 1-4 p.m. at Watler House Studio on grounds of Pedro Castle. Offered by Visual Arts Society to adults/youth who want to work independently in an inspiring atmosphere. Contact info@visualartcayman.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. 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. 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 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. For more Community Calendar events, visit www.caymancompass.com/events. There will be penguins aplenty at Camana Bay’s Gardenia Court when ‘Happy Feet’ features in Moonlight & Movies on Tuesday, July 11. - IMAGE: WARNER BROS. PICTURESThe islands’ most-trusted news source 7 CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY JULY 6, 2017 caused the hiker to frustratingly slide back down with every footstep. The wind became stronger and the tem- perature dropped, but the climbers were well equipped for all eventuali- ties,” Mr. Haines said. Four-and-a-half-hours’ work fi- nally led the group to a view of vol- canic peaks and plumes of smoke rising above the clouds. Despite sore knees and legs, Mr. Haines next climbed the ac- tive Pacaya volcano, replacing rain- swept Agua on the itinerary. Pacaya erupted as recently as this year. In 2010, it forced evacuations because of lava flow. “It is considered too dangerous because of eruptions and gasses to climb to the rim, and climbing higher than about 7,000 feet is forbidden. The lava flows from the recent erup- tions were clearly seen stretching down the volcano sides and into the farmlands below,” Mr. Haines said. On the edge of the mountain, Mr. Haines took a break to roast marsh- mallows over a hot vent with fellow hikers. A strong thunderstorm then forced the party to retreat to Antigua city. “Our guides were excellent, infor- mative and [one] says he is going to donate to the cause. I have always been met with friendship and hos- pitality in Guatemala and this was no exception. May I thank those who have already donated to the ‘Volcanoes and Marathons’ appeal. We are about halfway to target,” Mr. Haines said. The Reefs-Go-Live program will en- able scientists to broadcast live from Little Cayman’s ocean floor to class- rooms across the islands. CCMI Di- rector Carrie Manfrino said the initia- tive will enable the institute to better connect with children in Cayman and foster interest in the environment. In April, Mr. Haines took second place in his age group in the chal- lenging Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, mar- athon. He will later run a marathon in San Francisco and then in Grand Cayman to complete the challenge. Governor Helen Kil- patrick said when a di- saster strikes, response must be rapid. “An operation of this kind allows us to test our ability to deploy im- mediate help at short notice and be prepared well in advance of any major disaster. We apol- ogise for any disruption to the public on Gover- nor’s Beach during these dates and ask for your understanding, given the importance of this ex- ercise,” she said in a press release. the Cayman Islands Grand Court alleges the money was used instead to pay off pre- vious investors with BVI- based CWM Ltd. and its as- sociated companies, and to cover company expenses and sponsorship agreements, or to “pay for the lifestyle” en- joyed by CWM’s chief ex- ecutive, Anthony Constan- tinou, and others. A significant portion of the funds invested in the scheme, now the subject of the City of London Po- lice investigation, were de- posited into the accounts of dms Bank & Trust Ltd., a Cayman Islands Class B (not locally operating) bank, the investors allege. Most of that money cannot be accounted for, the lawsuit claims. Five other international invest- ment banks had funds de- posited from the investment scheme, but they were not named as defendants in the lawsuit filed in the Cayman Islands Grand Court. “Of the circa £50 million received in the dms Bank & Trust accounts from inves- tors, only about £1.2 mil- lion remains in the CWM BVI account and approxi- mately £100,000 in the Trea- sure Trove account [Treasure Trove was one of the com- panies Mr. Constantinou owned, court records state],” the writ alleges. Dms founder Don Seymour has previously said that the claims against his company’s bank were all denied and would be “vigor- ously defended,” but he did not comment regarding the writ of summons. Although CWM and its associated companies were not previously identified in court records, dms sued the former managing director of its bank, Jazeb Jones, in 2015 for entering into an “in- appropriate” business rela- tionship with two bank cli- ents and receiving “excessive gifts” in exchange. The CWM investors’ July 11, 2016 lawsuit surmises that Mr. Jones’s two cli- ents were either BVI-based CWM and Mr. Constantinou, or CWM and Treasure Trove Ltd., a company Mr. Constan- tinou owned. The company, based in the Seychelles, has been dissolved. Dms Bank & Trust Ltd. held millions of dollars in funds for both en- tities, the lawsuit claims. It is alleged by the inves- tors that Mr. Jones must have known about the “dishonest, fraudulent, illegal or com- mercially unacceptable con- duct” by CWM, and that he attempted to cover his ac- tivities by communicating privately with Mr. Constan- tinou and/or an associate of Mr. Constantinou’s, in- stead of using dms company communications. The alleged Ponzi scheme According to the Cayman lawsuit, CWM presented it- self as a “substantial and reputable organization,” em- ploying a number of staff members who worked from the Heron Tower in the City of London. It had high-profile spon- sorship agreements including deals with the 2015 London Boat Show, the Honda Mo- toGP racing team and the west London Chelsea Foot- ball Club, which touted CWM as its “online Forex trading partner.” CWM and a handful of related companies signed agreements with investors that promised annual returns of between 4 percent and 8 percent from foreign currency trading activities, the lawsuit states. CWM pledged that in- vested funds would be segre- gated and held in trust to be used “only for the purpose of FX [foreign exchange] trading on behalf of the [investor].” It was a sham, the inves- tors allege in the lawsuit. “CWM did not, in fact, en- gage in any foreign currency trading on behalf of its cli- ents,” the lawsuit states. “Al- though CWM appeared to have trading desks at its of- fice in London which were shown to potential investors to encourage them to invest, no trading took place and the trading screens ran only demonstration software.” “The evidence suggests that representatives of CWM targeted hundreds of mem- bers of the Gurkha and Nep- alese community and then exploited them in order to defraud millions of pounds,” according to City of London Police Detective Chief In- spector Dave Manley. RFA Mounts Bay sails to Cayman Haines conquers volcano, despite rain, mudslides CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Derek Haines, daughter Lizzy Haines and friend Gaby Amado stop in a lava field in Guatemala. - PHOTO: COURTESY OF DEREK HAINES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 RCIPS assists in UK ‘Ponzi scheme’ probe CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Arab states angry over Qatar’s dismissal of their demands CAIRO (AP) – Four Arab na- tions seeking to isolate Qatar over its alleged support for extremist groups were an- gered Wednesday by what they said was a “negative” re- sponse by the tiny Gulf nation to their demands for ending the crisis roiling the region. Doha’s response, they said, was “not serious” and betrayed Qatar’s “failure” to realize the gravity of the situation. The announcement fol- lowed a meeting by foreign ministers from the four na- tions – Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain – in Cairo, shortly after they said they had re- ceived Doha’s reply. The four accuse Qatar of supporting terror groups and also of maintaining close relations with Shiite power Iran – Saudi Ara- bia’s nemesis. They also say Qatar must stop meddling in their affairs. Egypt’s foreign minister, Sameh Shukri, told reporters Qatar’s response to the Arab states’ 13-point list of de- mands was “negative on the whole.” It did not “lay the foundations for Qatar’s aban- donment of the policies it pursues. It’s a position that does not realize the gravity of the situation,” he added. The ministers did not say what their next steps would be – that, they explained, would be announced after further consultations. They will meet next in Bahrain, but date has yet to be set. “We hope wisdom will prevail and Qatar will even- tually make the right deci- sions,” added Shukri, who said the four nations were acting against Qatar within the boundaries of interna- tional law, as well as the in- terest to safeguard regional and international security. Some of the rhetoric by the four ministers, however, was clearly belligerent. The Emirati Foreign Min- ister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said Qatar was only interested in “destruction, in- citement, extremism and ter- rorism,” rather than in good neighborly relations. Shukri said Qatar’s pol- icies could not be allowed to continue and vowed that Egyptian blood would not be shed in vain, a reference to deadly attacks by mili- tants on Egyptian army and security forces. Cairo has long accused Qatar of sup- porting extremists and pro- viding refuge and finan- cial backing for the Muslim Brotherhood, a group Egypt outlawed and branded a terrorist organization shortly after the military in 2013 ousted President Mo- hammed Morsi, a Broth- erhood member. Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, second from left, UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, left, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, right, and Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa, second from right, meet Wednesday to discuss the diplomatic situation with Qatar. - PHOTO: APThe islands’ most-trusted news source 8 THURSDAY JULY 6, 2017 • CAYMAN COMPASS Five detained after anti-terror raids Authorities have detained four people for questioning following a half dozen anti-terror raids in Brussels. At the same time, on the outskirts of Lille in northern France, one man was detained in another major anti-terror operation, French media reported. UK police retrieve all ‘visible remains’ from fire-hit tower LONDON (AP) – All “visible human remains” have been recovered from London’s fire- gutted Grenfell Tower, but the “catastrophic” damage means months of grim work will be needed before the full death toll is known, British police said Wednesday. Three weeks after a blaze tore through the high-rise apartment building, the Met- ropolitan Police force said 87 “recoveries” of human re- mains have been made, but may not be from 87 dif- ferent people. Police and forensic an- thropologists plan to sift through 17 tons of debris on each of the building’s 24 floors in search of more human remains, Commander Stuart Cundy, who is over- seeing the police response to the disaster, said. The meticulous task will take “many months,” he said. Police say 80 people are either dead or missing and presumed dead, but only 21 have been formally identified. Officers believe no one sur- vived from 23 of the build- ing’s 129 apartments. Cundy said special- ists had “forensically recov- ered the last of the visible human remains from Gren- fell Tower” and taken them to a mortuary. “Until formal identifi- cation has been completed to the coroner’s satisfac- tion, I cannot say how many people have now been recov- ered,” he said. Both the local government that owned Grenfell Tower and Britain’s central govern- ment have struggled to re- spond to accusations that they were slow to grasp the magnitude of the June 14 tragedy – the country’s dead- liest fire in more than a cen- tury – and flat-footed in their response. The British government said Wednesday that it is sending in outside experts to help oversee recovery efforts amid the strong criticism of the local council’s work. Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said an indepen- dent task force will help local officials deal with the “longer- term recovery.” The government’s move falls short of meeting de- mands by local residents and the mayor of London that the council be removed from run- ning Kensington and Chelsea, London’s wealthiest borough. Kensington and Chelsea Council has faced anger for its slow response to the fire, as well as over alleged cost- cutting during the renova- tions that covered the tower in flammable aluminum clad- ding. The composition of the exterior panels helped fuel the fire’s rapid spread. Residents have com- plained about confusion and delays in getting assistance and finding new places to live. Opposition politicians have demanded to know why most displaced resi- dents still are staying in ho- tels or hostels despite the government’s promise that all would be offered homes by Wednesday. Housing Minister Alok Sharma said 139 families have been offered tempo- rary homes and only 14 have accepted so far. Some sur- vivors were still hospital- ized and others were not yet ready to make decisions about their long-term fu- ture, Sharma said. “We have to respect the pace at which the families want to move,” he told law- makers, adding that “one of the big issues holding people back is the lack of trust” in authorities. His voice breaking, Sharma said Grenfell res- idents had suffered “un- imaginable pain.” “This is a tragedy that should never have happened,” he said. “We are determined to do all that we can to make sure something like this never happens again.” Merkel stands by suggestion Europe cannot rely fully on US BERLIN (AP) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel stood by her suggestion that Europe can no longer en- tirely rely on the U.S. and de- clared Wednesday that Ger- many and China can work together to help calm the world’s problems. Merkel is hosting the Group of 20 summit Friday and Saturday in Hamburg. The gathering should make for a challenging combina- tion of world leaders, with President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan among those attending. Welcoming Chinese Presi- dent Xi Jinping to Berlin on Wednesday, Merkel said their pre-summit meeting was “a good opportunity to expand and broaden our extensive strategic relations.” “It is a great pleasure for us to welcome you here today at a time of turmoil in the world, when China and Ger- many can make a contribu- tion to calming down this turmoil somewhat,” Merkel said. She didn’t elaborate. The G-20 summit comes amid unease in Europe about the Trump adminis- tration’s “America First” ap- proach to trade and other issues. After her last en- counter with Trump in late May, Merkel said, “The times in which we can fully count on others are somewhat over, as I have experienced in the past few days.” Asked in an interview with weekly Die Zeit pub- lished Wednesday whether she would repeat that com- ment, she replied: “Yes, ex- actly that way.” “It is, for example, open whether we can and should in the future rely on the U.S. investing so much as it has so far in the United Na- tions’ work, in Middle East policy, in European secu- rity policy or in peace mis- sions in Africa,” Merkel was quoted as saying. She conceded that “we re- ally don’t have a legal claim to the Americans commit- ting themselves everywhere in the world.” “The U.S. will probably not engage in Africa to the extent that would be neces- sary, particularly since they barely have oil interests any more in Africa and the Arab world,” she said. Merkel also held a pre- summit meeting last week with the event’s European participants, who under- scored their backing for the Paris accord to combat climate change. Merkel reiterated that the Trump administration’s de- cision to withdraw from the Paris agreement was “ex- traordinarily regrettable” and noted that many U.S. states and cities want to continue participating. The chancellor also pointed to a broader differ- ence between Germany and the U.S. administration on globalization. “While we seek chances to cooperate for everyone’s ben- efit, globalization is seen in the American administration as a process which isn’t about win-win situations, but about winners and losers,” she said. The British government said Wednesday that it is sending in outside experts to help oversee recovery efforts amid the strong criticism of the local council’s work. DUTCH TO TRY SUSPECTS IN MALAYSIA FLIGHT DOWNED IN UKRAINE PARIS (AP) – Any sus- pects in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight 17 over Ukraine in 2014 will be prosecuted in the Nether- lands, the Dutch government announced Wednesday. Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said in a state- ment that the decision was made by the coun- tries jointly investigating the crash – Australia, Bel- gium, Malaysia, Ukraine and the Netherlands. The statement says the countries will continue to cooperate on the prosecu- tion and that it will cover all 298 victims, who came from 17 countries. Most were Dutch citizens. An international crim- inal probe concluded last year that the missile that destroyed the passenger jet was fired from rebel-con- trolled territory by a mobile launcher trucked in from Russia. Russia has denied any involvement, and de- nounced the conclusions as politically biased. The Dutch Foreign Min- istry did not identify even- tual suspects to prosecute. Investigators last year said they had pinpointed 100 people they want to speak to who are believed to have been involved in trans- porting the Buk missile launcher or its use. Russia did not immedi- ately respond to Wednes- day’s announcement. The Russian government could refuse to extradite any of its citizens for eventual questioning or prosecution. Malaysia had pro- posed setting up an inter- national court to try those responsible for the plane’s destruction, but Russia vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution in favor of a tribunal. The Boeing 777, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was blown out of the sky on July 17, 2014, in eastern Ukraine amid fierce fighting between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian troops. German Chancellor Angela Merkel In this June 16 file photo, emergency workers walk on the roof of the fire-gutted Grenfell Tower in London. - PHOTO: AP9 WORLD&REGIONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY JULY 6, 2017 May’s hard-line Ulster friends aren’t likely to soften Brexit Arlene Foster was a small girl when the Irish Repub- lican Army shot her father, a part-time policeman in Northern Ireland. She was a teenager when a bomb exploded underneath her school bus. Another one ripped through her home town of Enniskillen. Almost three decades later, Foster, 47, is now leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, which holds the bal- ance of power in the U.K. Parliament and agreed last week to support Prime Min- ister Theresa May. As talks to leave the European Union in- tensify over the summer, the lingering sectarian divide she represents in the prov- ince does not bode well for advocates of a Brexit deal that keeps Britain in Europe’s single market. The DUP’s new-found influence following last month’s election raised spec- ulation that May will soften her stance on exiting Eu- rope’s customs union given how reliant Northern Ireland is on open trade with the Irish Republic to the south. Foster has said she wants a “sensible” Brexit and a “fric- tionless border,” but the re- ality is that her party and its supporters backed leaving the EU and their allegiance to the U.K. is staunch. “The DUP was hard-line Brexit before, during and after the referendum,” said Nicholas Whyte, a visiting professor at Ulster Univer- sity. “They care about their base, like all political par- ties, and their base voted for Brexit. They want a hard Brexit, and there is zero sign of a change in attitude.” The Brexit referendum carved up Northern Ireland between “Remainers” and “Leavers” just as it did in the rest of the U.K. The differ- ence is that it also split the province along the sectarian lines that still exist almost 20 years since the Good Friday Agreement largely ended the violence that killed thou- sands in tit-for-tat murder. Northern Ireland voted to stay in the EU by 56 per- cent to 44 percent. That was because of strong support among Catholics rather than the Protestants who back unionist parties like the DUP, according to John Garry, pro- fessor of political behavior at Queens University in Belfast. Catholics voted to stay by 85 percent, while Protestants voted to leave by 60 per- cent, Garry said. Three quar- ters of DUP voters opted to leave, he said. The division was evi- dent again this week with Sinn Fein, which represents nationalists who want a united Ireland, and the DUP at odds over a deal to save their power-sharing agree- ment in Belfast. Sinn Fein wants Northern Ireland afforded special status after Brexit. DUP law- makers reject that, and want to exit the customs union. The EU’s chief Brexit ne- gotiator, Michel Barnier, is warning customs controls may have to be reintroduced. Northern Ireland re- mained part of the U.K. when the rest of Ireland gained in- dependence from Britain in 1922, and border controls largely fell away in the 1990s. The concern in Foster’s home region of Fermanagh, whose biggest town is Enni- skillen, is that duties will in- crease the cost of trade and hurt the livelihoods of the hoteliers and farmers that make up the backbone of the local economy. In the short term, the 13 percent drop in the pound against the euro since the Brext vote a year ago has helped. The slump in the currency is “the best thing that could happen to us, to be honest,” said Michael Beare, who runs the Finn Lough resort in Fer- managh, where euro-spending guests from the Irish Republic now account for 70 percent of bookings versus 15 percent the year before. “The cheaper pound makes us cheaper and more competitive.” Fermanagh’s 60,000 pop- ulation is sprinkled between majority Protestant areas in the north of the county and nationalist areas in the south. As a whole, the region opposed Brexit. During the “Troubles,” more than 100 people were killed in the area sur- rounding Enniskillen, mainly British soldiers by the IRA. The most infamous incident was in 1987, when an IRA bomb killed a dozen people commemorating Britain’s war dead on Remembrance Day in an attack that became known as the Poppy Day Massacre. Thirty years on, much of the bitterness is gone and it’s hard to find the flags and other visible sectarian sym- bols that are apparent else- where in Northern Ireland. Paul Robinson, a local DUP councilor and farmer in the area where Foster’s fa- ther was attacked, is confi- dent there would be no re- turn to the past. Brexit will mean a “hard- ening of the border on a po- litical level,” he said. “But eco- nomically I don’t think it will harm farmers at all. It’ll work out alright.” © 2017, Bloomberg Hong Kong’s Lam has veiled dig at predecessor in unity call Hong Kong’s new leader distanced herself from her predecessor’s fraught rela- tionship with lawmakers, vowing better communica- tion as she sought to break years of political deadlock. Five days after becoming the city’s first female chief executive, Carrie Lam went before the Legislative Council on Wednesday promising more frequent meetings with lawmakers. Hong Kong’s former No. 2 said her gov- ernment would lobby the chamber’s 70 democrati- cally elected members di- rectly to ensure their con- cerns were heard. “I am a bit saddened seeing the internal conflicts and scuffles in the past few years,” Lam said in a rare public critique of her ally and former boss, Leung Chun-ying. “Seeing the poor administrative-legislative relationship and the lack of trust between officials and lawmakers slow down the speed of policy imple- mentation, I am concerned, but not disheartened.” Lam delivered the olive branch days after President Xi Jinping presided over her inauguration on the 20th an- niversary of Hong Kong’s re- turn to Chinese rule on a promise of a “high degree of autonomy.” Xi – making his first visit since mass pro-de- mocracy protests in 2014 – warned Saturday that chal- lenges to China’s sovereignty wouldn’t be tolerated. Lam’s speech to law- makers was more accom- modating and represented her most substantive at- tempt to differentiate herself from Leung, whose five-year term was marred by legis- lative gridlock and increas- ingly radical protest move- ments. Her challenge will be wooing his critics without running afoul of China’s Li- aison Office, which demo- crats have accused of med- dling in local affairs. “Even before she assumed office, she tried to make peace with legislators and other po- litical parties in Hong Kong to offer something new to society rather than adopting the C.Y. Leung approach,” said Chung Kim-wah, a po- litical scientist at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. “The question is whether the Li- aison Office is willing to step back and stop interfering.” Lam’s first appearance at the legislature was largely orderly, despite pro-democ- racy lawmaker “Long-hair” Leung Kwok-hung being re- moved for rowdiness. Her predecessor’s question-and- answer sessions were often interrupted by opposition lawmakers chanting slo- gans, throwing objects and staging walkouts. Lam, 60, a one-time co- lonial civil servant who was preparing to retire before Leung decided not to seek a second term, has pledged to focus on healing political di- vides. China’s support helped her overcome a more popular challenger in March to win an election by a committee of 1,200 political and busi- ness elites dominated by Bei- jing loyalists. “At a time when some citi- zens are feeling anxious and confused, my top priority is to unite the society,” Lam said. “Therefore, connecting all parts of society exten- sively would be an impor- tant job for me and my ex- ecutive team.” Lam is seeking an early victory in the legislature, where the pro-democracy opposition blocked many of Leung’s most ambitious pro- posals including a China- backed overhaul of the elec- toral process. She started by proposing a HK$5 bil- lion (US$640 million) edu- cation fund, which includes converting contract teachers to full-time positions and paying annual subsidies of HK$30,000 for students who are funding their own under- graduate education. The proposal appeared to enjoy across-the-board sup- port. Wu Chi-wai, chairman of the opposition Democratic Party, said the move showed Lam’s willingness to engage with stakeholders and “could improve the administrative- legislative relationship.” The test for Lam will come should she attempt to push through proposals that touch on more controversial issues, such the national security legislation sought by Chinese authorities. She’ll also have to deal with rising tensions as the courts proceed with cases that could result in the ouster of as many as 10 pro- democracy lawmakers. Legislator Alvin Yeung, leader of the opposi- tion Civic Party, said he was withholding judgment on Lam for now. “I adopt a wait-and-see attitude,” Yeung said. “It is now premature to make judgments without seeing any concrete policies being put forward.” © 2017, Bloomberg Carrie Lam, Hong Kong’s chief executive, speaks during a question-and- answer session in Hong Kong on Wednesday. - PHOTO: BLOOMBERG A former customs control point sits boarded up at the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, near Dundalk in Ireland. Border controls largely fell away in the 1990s. - PHOTO: APNext >