ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – WEDNESDAY JULY 25, 2018 High of 90 Low of 79 Smooth to slight with wave heights less than 2 feet. EDITORIAL | PAGE 4 ‘MUM’ STILL MUM ON STATUS OF GOVERNOR CHOUDHURY LOCAL | PAGE 2 RED CROSS SEEKS HELP FOR RENOVATIONS 6 WEEKS OF SILENCE: No word on Gov. Choudhury’s fate BRENT FULLER bfuller@pinnaclemedialtd.com Six weeks after the surprise “temporary removal” of Cayman Islands Governor Anwar Choudhury, there is still no word from British authorities of his fate or the reasons for his sudden departure to the U.K. Cayman Islands leaders were informed on June 12 about the U.K. Foreign and Common- wealth Office decision to withdraw the gov- ernor, just two-and-a-half months into what was supposed to be a three-to-four year term. The temporary removal was announced June 13 by Cayman Premier Alden McLaughlin, apparently without the knowledge of the for- eign office, which later put out a brief state- ment confirming what Mr. McLaughlin had al- ready announced. U.K. officials noted their investigation into Mr. Choudhury would take between four to six weeks. However, when contacted this week, Head of the Governor’s Office Mat- thew Forbes indicated there was nothing fur- ther to announce. “I have no further updates at this time,” Mr. Forbes said. Sources in the U.K. told the Cayman Com- pass that it could take another two to four weeks before any announcement is made about Cayman’s absent governor, partially due to the fact that Mr. Choudhury’s mother passed away earlier this month. Acting Governor Franz Manderson has de- clined to comment on the subject and for- warded a Cayman Compass open records re- quest to the U.K. foreign office. The request seeks a copy of a complaint filed by Mr. Choudhury’s staff in Cayman. The foreign of- fice has said a response to that request could take until early August to produce. Multiple government sources contacted by the Cayman Compass since Mr. Choudhury’s TOURIST WITH GANJA WANTS TO COME BACK Defendant wanted first trip to be memorable, attorney says CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A tourist on his first trip to Cayman spent part of his vacation in Summary Court, where he pleaded guilty on Monday to im- porting ganja. Defense attorney Dennis Brady asked Mag- istrate Grace Donalds not to record a convic- tion in this case. Although the defendant had been here only a short time, the beauty of the island had so impressed him that he would like to come back, Mr. Brady explained. He also asked for a lenient fine so that his client’s limited funds could last for the dura- tion of his stay. “He was hoping for the trip to be memo- rable,” Mr. Brady said. The attorney emphasized that the quantity of ganja was small and had been brought to Cayman by accident, in that it had inadver- tently been left in the backpack the defendant traveled with. Crown counsel Emma Hutchinson did not have a certificate of analysis for the illegal drug, but she did hand up a photo to show the quantity. She said the offense occurred on Saturday, July 21, at Owen Roberts International Air- port, where the defendant had arrived on a United Airlines flight from Washington D.C. Customs officers attending noticed a strong smell of ganja when he approached and they UK accused of ‘double standard’ over same-sex marriage in territories No plans for order in council on issue JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com The British government was accused of a “double standard” in the House of Lords this week for seeking to impose public com- pany beneficial ownership registers on its overseas territories but not taking action to legalize same-sex marriage. During a debate in the House of Lords, Overseas Territories Minister Lord Tariq Ahmad was challenged over the govern- ment’s failure to intervene in territories, including the Cayman Islands, which still outlaw same-sex marriage. Lord Ahmad said government’s policy was to respect the autonomy of its territo- ries and have them set their own policies and legislation. He said the U.K. govern- ment was working behind the scenes with island governments to “encourage and pro- mote equality” but suggested there were no plans for an order in council to mandate equal marriage. Citing the example of Bermuda, where the courts have ordered same-sex marriage be legalized, he suggested progress was being made on the issue without the need for more direct intervention from the U.K. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, standing, far right, addresses the House of Lords in London on Monday on the subject of same-sex marriage in the British Overseas Territories. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 »2 LOCAL&REGIONAL WEDNESDAY JULY 25, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS • Matinees Daily (matinee price before 6pm) • Seniors $8.00, Mon-Fri Before 6pm • Additional charges apply per 3D/VIP tickets Cayman Cinema @cbcinema6cbcinema6 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. - WEDNESDAY - 640-FILM (640-3456) THE EQUALIZER 2 (R) 12:45 VIP I 1:30 I 4:25 I 6:45 VIP I 9:45 HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA 3 (PG) 12:20 3D I 2:40 I 5:00 3D I 7:20 ANT-MAN AND THE WASP (PG13) 3:55 I 9:20 JURASSIC WORLD: THE FALLEN KINGDOM (PG13) 12:50 I 3:40 I 6:50 I 9:40 MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN (PG13) 4:10 I 7:00 I 9:45 INCREDIBLES 2 (PG) 1:00 I 6:35 SKYSCRAPER (PG13) 1:15 3D I 3:40 VIP I 7:20 I 9:40 VIP 10:00 3D Red Cross seeks help for renovations The Cayman Islands Red Cross is hoping for a little help from the community. The Red Cross launched a new campaign, Shelter from the Storm, on Monday in the hopes that it will garner financial support to as- sist with renovations to its headquarters. Officials estimate that the headquarters will need $600,000 to complete its mod- ernization and improvement. Jondo Obi, director of the Cayman Islands Red Cross, and the board are hoping to make improvements to bring the building up to code for accessibility, fire, electrical and plumbing. “Our building has served the Cayman community for over 30 years; it stood strong during and after Hurricane Ivan, and it continues to be the first shelter to open not only during hurricane season but for any disaster,” said Ms. Obi. “It is more than just a building; it is a home for crit- ical services.” The headquarters was completed and officially opened in 1991 at a cost of $200,000 split evenly between the Red Cross and the gov- ernment. Today, it houses the Thrift Shop Community Out- reach program, which pro- vides free items to vulnerable people referred by partner agencies and other govern- ment departments. The building also serves as a hub for other services, including free weekly HIV testing, twice-monthly Dark- ness to Light training ses- sions, meetings, workshops and informational gatherings. “Hundreds of people are coming through our doors every week to access goods, services, information and training,” said Mrs. Obi. “There is always something going on at the Red Cross. “There are several exciting ways in which corporate partners and individuals can help the Cayman Islands Red Cross reach their fundraising goal of $600,000 and support one of the most important humanitarian agencies in the Cayman Islands.” The Red Cross has already been granted planning per- mission to refurbish its head- quarters, and work is ready to begin once the appropriate funding has been secured. “Every dollar counts; whether you are a corporate partner, a private citizen or a group of friends, your dona- tion can have a profound im- pact on countless lives in our community,” Ms. Obi said. To find out more about this project, visit www.redcross.org. ky/more-than-a-shelter/. The Red Cross is seeking help from the community to raise $600,000 to refurbish its headquarters. MAN STABBED AT EVERGLO Police are investigating a stabbing that occurred at the Everglo Bar in Bodden Town in the early hours of Saturday morning. A patron of the bar, who got caught in a struggle be- tween another man and a security guard, was stabbed in his leg with a knife during the affray, police said. The man suffered what police de- scribed as “serious but non- life-threatening injuries.” A 30-year-old man of North Side was arrested in relation to the incident and was later bailed. Police were called to the scene around 2 a.m. A police statement re- lating to the incident read: “It appears that one man engaged in an argument with the security officer working at the establish- ment when the security of- ficer confronted him be- cause he had a knife in his possession. The security officer removed him from the bar and in an attempt to take the knife from the man, both parties began to struggle outside the bar. “A third man, who was a patron at the bar, got caught in the affray and re- ceived an injury to his leg from the knife. The third party involved was trans- ported to the Cayman Is- lands Hospital where he was kept for treatment.” Diver dies in George Town A female diver died after getting into difficulty off South Church Street, George Town, on Sunday, in the eighth water-related death in- volving a tourist this year. Police received a report of a person in distress shortly after 2:30 p.m. The woman, 64-year-old Peggy Sylvia Michel from New York, was helped back to shore by her dive buddy, who then, along with members of the public, administered CPR until emergency personnel arrived. She was transported to the Cayman Islands Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Ms. Michel’s death marks the eighth water death in 2018 to involve a visitor from the U.S., all of whom were be- tween the ages of 57 and 83. Six of the visitors experi- enced difficulties while they were out on snorkeling or swimming trips; two others involved diving incidents. In addition to the visitor fatalities, another incident reported April 2 involved a 76-year-old West Bay man who had been out fishing when he got into distress. The Royal Cayman Islands Police Service did not record this as a water-related incident. A possible ninth water fatality involves missing swimmer Linvol Smith on Cayman Brac, who disap- peared over a long holiday weekend in May. Mexico sees 16 percent rise in murders in 1st half of 2018 MEXICO CITY (AP) – Ho- micides in Mexico rose by 16 percent in the first half of 2018, as the country again broke its own records for violence. The Interior Department said over the weekend there were 15,973 homicides in the first six months of the year, compared to 13,751 killings in the same period of 2017. The number is the highest since comparable records began being kept in 1997, in- cluding the peak year of Mex- ico’s drug war in 2011. At current levels, the de- partment’s measure would put national homicides at 22 per 100,000 population by the end of the year – near the levels of Brazil and Colombia at 27 per 100,000. Security analyst Alejandro Hope noted “the figures are horrible, but there are some signs that are halfway encouraging.” For example, the growth in homicides seems to be flat- tening out; murders were up only about 4 percent compared to the second half of 2017. “The curve may be flattening out,” Hope noted, though he cautioned it is too early to tell. Some areas, like the northern border state of Baja California, showed big jumps in murder rates, which others saw sharp drops. Baja California, home to the border city of Tijuana, saw 1,463 homicides in the first half of the year, a 44 per- cent increase over the same period of 2017. Authorities have attrib- uted the spate of killings to battles between the Jalisco and Sinaloa drug cartels for control of trafficking routes in Baja California. The state is now Mexico’s second most violent, with a homicide rate for the first six months of the year equivalent to 71 mur- ders per 100,000 inhabitants. By comparison, Honduras and El Salvador – some of the deadliest countries in the world – have homicide rates of around 60 per 100,000. Mexico’s most dangerous state is Colima, on the Pacific coast, which saw a 27-per- cent rise in killings and now has a homicide rate of about 80 per 100,000. The Jalisco cartel is also active there. The central state of Guana- juato, home to the colonial city of San Miguel Allende, saw a 122-percent increase in homi- cides, which were running at a rate of about 40 per 100,000. Authorities say much of the killing is related to gangs of fuel thieves who drill taps into government pipelines. But in Baja California Sur, home to the resorts like La Paz and Los Cabos, a stepped- up police presence appar- ently helped reduce killings. The 125 homicides in the state were less than half the number registered in the first six months of 2017 and a quarter the number in the last half of 2017. Extra police and troops were sent in after warring drug gangs increased killings in the state in 2017. It is hard to tell why growth in homicide rates seem to have tapered off in historically violent states like Guerrero, which is home to more than a dozen gangs and is a main growing area for opium poppies. “The growth in the use of fentanyl could be re- ducing the harvest of opium poppies, and that could be having an effect” on murder rates, Hope said. Farmers in Guerrero say prices for opium paste have dropped to unprofit- able levels because drug car- tels are substituting it for cheaper, easier to obtain syn- thetic opioids like fentanyl. Still, not all of Mexico’s resort areas fared as well as Baja California Sur. The Caribbean coast state of Quintana Roo, home to resorts like Cancun, Tulum and Cozumel, saw homicides rise by 132 percent, to the equivalent of about 35 kill- ings per 100,000. Forensics place evidence numbers near the body of a woman who was found dead Sunday between two cars parked outside a restaurant in Acapulco, Mexico. – PHOTO: AP A 30-year-old man of North Side was arrested in relation to the incident.The islands’ most-trusted news source 3 CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY JULY 25, 2018 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. PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY: Caymanian Compass Limited (a subsidiary of Pinnacle Media Ltd) Compass Centre Shedden Road, George Town SEND US YOUR VIEWS OR NEWS: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman KY1-1108, Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 Email: newsdesk@pinnaclemedialtd.com ADVERTISE WITH US: Telephone: (345) 949-5111 Email: sales@pinnaclemedialtd.com Website: www.caymancompass.com PUBLISHERS DAVID R. LEGGE AND VICKI L. LEGGE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF DAVID R. LEGGE EXECUTIVE EDITOR PATRICK BRENDEL A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will findtheirownway” Today is the anniversary of the sixth week since Governor Anwar Choudhury was summarily sus- pended without explanation from his Cayman posting. The Governor’s Office at that time indicated that a thorough investigation was ongoing and more informa- tion would be forthcoming within four to six weeks. And yet, as a story on Page One of today’s news- paper indicates, Head of the Governor’s Office Matthew Forbes has told the Compass, “I have no further updates at this time.” This is unfortunate because while the U.K. has been silent on this matter of such importance to the people of these islands, our own chattering classes have been doing what chattering classes do: They chatter. Rumors are rampant, the marl road is at rush-hour capacity, and online blogs are clogged with specula- tion. As anyone with communications skills – or even common sense – knows, if you do not fill an informa- tional vacuum with facts, the people will create their own. We would note there is a fine line between official silence and autocratic arrogance. In this absence of any “official statements” what- soever by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, some scenarios are beginning to gain attention. The latest whispers have understandably focused on former governor Helen Kilpatrick, who has returned to Grand Cayman. She has reportedly told friends and acquaintances that her visit is totally unrelated to Governor Choudhury’s absence. And yet, the question on the minds (if not the lips) of many is whether Ms. Kilpatrick is about to settle back into her old seat on the fifth floor of the Govern- ment Administration Building and her former bed at Government House. To be sure, many in the highest echelons of govern- ment here, including Premier Alden McLaughlin and Acting Governor Franz Manderson, were enthusiastic supporters of Ms. Kilpatrick. Indeed, at her going-away party at Government House, each proclaimed she was the finest governor they had ever known. Whether Ms. Kilpatrick would be interested in reprising her former role – or whether it would be proffered should Governor Choudhury’s suspension become permanent – is, of course, unknown. What we do know is that preceding his suspension, a number of employees, both in his office and at his Gov- ernment House residence, had registered unspecified “complaints” about his performance and his behavior, none of which has been made public, subjected to cross- examination or in any way substantiated. We also know that Governor Choudhury had inter- jected himself boldly into what heretofore had been a “no-trespassing zone,” namely the inner workings of the civil service. Governor Choudhury, in scheduled meetings with chief officers – and in casual meetings with private sector leaders – was highly critical of civil service red tape, bureaucratic delays and lack of transparency. He made little attempt, if any, to disguise his displeasure as he demanded increased accountability from those on the government payroll. For the record, officials deny that the governor’s announced intention to disrupt the status quo of the civil service played any role in his suspension. It’s only anecdotal – street-talk really – but more and more, in the absence of a credible explanation from the FCO, we are hearing the refrain, “We want our governor back.” If this sentiment grows, now that officials have missed their own self-imposed deadline to share information on what led to their removing Governor Choudhury, they will have only themselves to blame. ‘Mum’ still mum on status of Governor Choudhury WEDNESDAY JULY 25, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS Great moments in British government Recently, citing bizarre government policies in India, Belgium, Malaysia, Romania, and Spain, I wrote about some “great moments in for- eign government.” Today, we are going to give special attention to the United Kingdom. I’m not claiming there’s an above-average level of government stupidity in the United Kingdom (though that is distinctly possible). Instead, I suspect I simply get exposed to more stories from the U.K. Whatever the reason, let’s start with a report from The Times, concerning an ex- pected ban on plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds in- tended to “curb society’s ad- diction” to disposable prod- ucts. This in addition to plans to require retailers to charge a deposit on plastic bottles and extension of a tax on plastic bags. Apparently, the suppos- edly conservative government in the United Kingdom thinks this type of green virtue sig- naling is a way of wooing the Tories who oppose Brexit. Switching topics, ac- cording to a bizarre story from the BBC, 19-year-old Chelsea Russell, from Liv- erpool, was found guilty of a hate crime after posting a “racist” lyric from a Snap Dogg song on her private In- stagram feed to pay tribute to a boy who died in a road crash. She was sentenced to an eight-week community order, and eight-week curfew and ordered to pay £500 in court costs and an additional £85 victim surcharge. Given my utter lack of cul- tural awareness, I’ve never heard of Snap Dogg. I’m guessing he’s black, but I could be wrong. In any event, this absurd story raises a couple of points. ■■ First, people should have the right to say offensive things. ■■ Second, it appears that there was no offensive intent. ■■ Third, this should not be an issue for government. I’m sure that there’s still real racism in British society. I hope there is widespread scorn for people who practice that odious version of collec- tivism. I also support boy- cotts of private measures to punish unambiguous racists (the ideal goal is to have their minds changed by kindness). Government should only step in when there’s a threat to life, liberty, or property. Sadly, the British government is policing speech, perhaps even speech that should be considered totally benign. As it was noted in a funny-yet-sad item from Libertarian Reddit, arrests for offensive Facebook and Twitter posts have soared in London, but when asked why he allowed the baby blimp to fly during U.S. Presi- dent Donald Trump’s official visit, Mayor Sadiq Khan said, “Can you imagine if we lim- ited freedom of speech be- cause somebody’s feelings might be hurt?” Speaking of things that are funny and sad, a recent column in Reason maga- zine details the latest de- velopment in the battle to leave Brits totally vulner- able to crime: restricting the sale of knives. If you outlaw knives, only outlaws will have knives (in America, we apply that lesson to tanks). And they will also have acid, as was noted on Liber- tarian Reddit. The cops do not have the time and energy to concen- trate on these real crimes. In- stead, they bust a girl for be- nignly quoting a bad word. Or they bust homeowners for harming robbers. Or ha- rass employers who commit discrimination by advertising for “reliable” workers. And apparently Brits also are on guard against the scourge of eggs in the hands of kids. And flour. How embarrassing. Today’s collection is even worse than the ones I shared in February and April. P.S. And let’s not forget the U.K.’s creepy statism and ghoulish government- run healthcare. Daniel J. Mitchell, chairman of the Center for Freedom and Prosperity, is on the Editorial Board of the Cayman Financial Review. LETTER Prioritize safety Good luck to Moses I. Kirkconnell, Minister of Tourism, in his quest to quell beach thefts. Years ago, the beaches of Acapulco, Mexico were guarded with armed po- licemen while tourists were on the beach. Safety and security of vis- itors while in the Cayman Is- lands is paramount and key to the desirability of “Cay- mans” as a world tourist des- tination. Caymanians (and thieves from other Carib- bean countries) are stealing from tourists so they can buy drugs. The prevalent evil in the world and in beautiful places in the world is the drugs trade. More important to quell drugs than beach thefts these days. Nan Socolow DANIEL J. MITCHELL Government should only step in when there’s a threat to life, liberty, or property. Sadly, the British government is policing speech, perhaps even speech that should be considered totally benign.5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY JULY 25, 2018 IMPORTANT NOTICE Name of Financial Institution: RBC Royal Bank (Cayman) Limited Address of Financial Institution: P.O. Box 245 24 Shedden Road Grand Cayman KY Cayman Islands Change of name, if any, of the Financial The Royal Bank of Canada Institution: Royal Bank of Canada The public is hereby given notice that RBC Royal Bank (Cayman) Limited holds the following dormant accounts: The public is also hereby given notice of the following - 1. Unless one or more of the following transactions are effected on a dormant account listed above on or before the 31st December next following, the monies in the dormant account will be transferred to the general revenue of the Islands without further notice - (a) increase or decrease the amount held in the financial institution; (b) present the passbook or other record for the crediting of interest or dividends in respect of the items enumerated in section 4(6)(a) and (b) of the Dormant Accounts Law, 2010; (c) correspond in writing with the financial institution concerning the monies; (d) in the case of a trust, make claim under the trust, or (e) Otherwise indicate an interest in the monies as evidenced by a memorandum concerning the monies written by the financial institution. 2. Subject to the Dormant Accounts Law 2010, on the transfer of the monies in the dormant account to the general revenue of the Islands, the dormant account holder will no longer have any right against the financial institution to repayment of the monies transferred but the dormant account holder will have against the Government such right to repayment of the monies transferred that the dormant account holder would have had against the financial institution. 3. Any interested person should contact the financial institution mentioned above to establish if that person is a dormant account holder Malynda Gibson-Nixon Country Manager, Cayman Islands www.rbcroyalbank.com/caribbean DORMANT ACCOUNTS LAW, 2010 (Section 6) Account Number Date Opened Account Number Date Opened Account Number Date Opened 7252182 27/11/2009 7003296 28/01/2003 1136993 25/09/2007 7000375 09/04/1979 7325616 23/06/1987 7325400 18/01/2008 7316557 26/09/2005 2624054 12/09/2003 2628162 03/08/2006 7333719 7333719 01/02/2010 7358757 7333719 2522191 73337197357874 25540952554095 73337197303647 73337197303324 73337198104283 7333719 7309511 7330145 7320609 7360860 7355779 7323777 7347081 8795270 7334246 7337173 7307697 7307622 7334675 7348048 2002020 8105074 14/06/1990 13/06/1991 14/04/1980 30/07/1999 12/04/2010 27/09/1994 11/05/2004 06/03/1997 06/10/1989 29/08/1996 09/06/1993 21/07/1998 18/02/1983 03/09/2007 05/07/2001 02/12/1988 01/02/2007 28/08/1995 03/09/1997 23/07/2007 22/06/1994 28/07/2010 04/11/2010 ® / ™ Trademarks of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under licence. Three teens in court for GT burglary Two bailed with 24-hour curfew, one remanded CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com Three male teenagers, ap- prehended last Thursday at Smith Barcadere, appeared in Summary Court this week charged with a daytime res- idential burglary in the vi- cinity of South Church Street. Two of them, ages 15 and 17, came before Magistrate Grace Donalds on Monday. Crown counsel Emma Hutchinson said a citizen had phoned police to report a suspected burglary. Po- lice attended the residence and the intruders ran from the scene, toward Grand Old House. Ms. Hutchinson said police gave chase and caught the three defendants at Smith Barcadere. One of the teens told po- lice he had gone there to smoke marijuana. The other said he had gone there for a swim and police some time later asked him to come out of the water. Both denied knowledge of any burglary. Meanwhile, Ms. Hutchinson said, the home- owner had returned to the premises. She provided of- ficers with a preliminary list of stolen items and ad- vised that bedrooms, the living room and an office had been ransacked. The point of entry was identified and a hammer was found inside one of the rooms. Defense attorney Prathna Bodden pointed out that the two defendants had no pre- vious convictions. They each had a parent present in court who would provide a secure address and stand as surety. She pointed out that even if the defendants were guilty, it was not likely they would be sent to prison for a first of- fense, given their age. The magistrate granted bail with conditions that in- cluded a $1,000 surety, the wearing of an electronic monitor, observance of a 24- hour curfew and non-contact with civilian witnesses. The question was raised as to whether the 15-year- old defendant would be dealt with in the Summary Court, as opposed to the Youth Court, but senior at- torneys present indicated that if the defendants were jointly charged, they would be kept together. The matter was set for mention again on Aug. 7. The third defendant, 17, appeared in court on Tuesday. Defense attorney John Furniss applied for bail on the same terms as the first two teens. Crown counsel Greg Walcolm ob- jected, advising the court that this defendant had another burglary charge against him, dating from February. In that incident, the occupant of the home had been present at the time, he said. Mr. Walcolm expressed concern about the recent in- crease in residential bur- glaries, saying the offense could well change the cul- ture of this jurisdiction, with gated communities being one result. The magistrate withheld bail and remanded this de- fendant in custody. He is to be brought to court on Aug. 7 to link up with the other two. Former tennis pro heads to Grand Court SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@pinnaclemedialtd.com Robert Todd Seward, the former manager and head professional at the Cayman Islands Tennis Club, had his theft and forgery case moved from Summary Court to Grand Court on Monday. Mr. Seward has been ac- cused of theft of US$22,856.21 and CI$116,398 from his former place of employment on previous court occasions, but no dollar amounts were mentioned Monday. The case originally con- sisted of 72 counts of charges, such as theft, forgery, obtaining prop- erty by deception, uttering a forged document, converting and transferring criminal property, and concealing or disguising criminal property. That number was condensed to 12 counts and committed to Grand Court Monday. Magistrate Grace Don- alds said that a preliminary inquiry found evidence suffi- cient to continue the case, and Mr. Seward will next appear in Grand Court on Aug. 24. The former tennis pro is prohib- ited from contact with tennis club employees or members as part of his bail conditions. Mr. Seward was ar- rested in January and for- mally charged with the of- fenses in May. MAN ADMITS TO BURGLARY AT EAST END RESORT Defendant requests admission to Drug Rehabilitation Court CAROL WINKER cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A man accused of burglary at Morritt’s Tortuga Resort in East End pleaded guilty in Summary Court on Tuesday. Donald Arlington Miller admitted to entering a guest room as a trespasser with intent to steal on the night of Wednesday, July 4, and stealing a number of items belonging to the guests. Those items included large bottles of vodka, rum and scotch; beers and soda; cheese and muffins; T-shirts, sunglasses and an iPhone valued at US$600. The court had heard at an earlier appearance that the male occupant of the hotel suite heard a noise in the kitchen area and when he went out from the bedroom, he became aware of a person in the premises. That person ran and the guest’s wife phoned the night manager. A security guard checked the area and found Mr. Miller hiding nearby. The defendant also pleaded guilty to consump- tion and possession of ganja that night and criminal trespass at the resort the night before. In court this week, defense attorney Prathna Bodden ad- vised that Mr. Miller wished to apply to be admitted to the Drug Rehabilitation Court. Magistrate Grace Don- alds continued his remand in custody until the next drug court session, set for Thursday, July 26. The former tennis pro is prohibited from contact with tennis club employees or members as part of his bail conditions.The islands’ most-trusted news source 6 WEDNESDAY JULY 25, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS Baroness Elizabeth Barker had questioned how govern- ment could justify imposing beneficial ownership regis- ters, which are not yet es- tablished as an international standard, on its territories but not taking similar action over same-sex marriage. She asked, “The govern- ment refuse to require all the overseas territories to respect the rights of LGBT citizens under the European Con- vention on Human Rights, with which they and we must be compliant. Why the double standard?” Lord Ahmad insisted there was no double stan- dard because the govern- ment had not wanted to im- pose beneficial ownership on the territories either. The re- quirement for an order in council on that issue was in- troduced as an amendment to the Sanctions and Anti- Money Laundering Bill in the House of Commons and was reluctantly accepted by the government after a back- bench rebellion. Lord Ahmad said he had been against the decision. “The noble baroness may recall my vociferous defense, as the minister for the Over- seas Territories, of the au- tonomy of the overseas ter- ritories, believing that it was right that they should con- tinue to take forward the issue of the registers, as they were doing quite progres- sively,” he said. “We would rather not have been in that position. On this issue [same-sex marriage], we continue to respect the autonomy. However, at the same time, I assure the noble baroness that we work very progressively. We have seen in recent developments in places such as Bermuda how the courts domestically are reacting to the importance of progressing this issue.” Lord Michael Naseby, also vice chairman of the all-party Cayman group, said Brit- ain’s territories should be left to deal with domestic mat- ters themselves. “As I understand it, in their view the subject raised by this question is a do- mestic issue. They have elected Members of Parlia- ment. Those parliaments de- bate these issues, and surely it is for those parliaments, which after all represent the people living in those islands, to decide what is appro- priate or not.” therefore checked his lug- gage. A transparent bag con- taining vegetable matter was found in his backpack. The defendant told offi- cers he had the ganja for me- dicinal use, but was not car- rying his medical card. He further explained that he worked at a medicinal mari- juana laboratory which was a licensed facility, and he was a registered dispenser. He had obtained his own marijuana at a dif- ferent facility and used it for back and knee pain, Mr. Brady said. “He came for sea, sand and sun,” the attorney sum- marized, and not to take up the time of customs officers or the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The magistrate invoked a section of the law that pro- vides for no conviction to be recorded, but ordered the de- fendant to pay $500 to cover the costs of prosecution. There was no separate penalty for possession of the ganja, which was ordered to be forfeited to the Crown for destruction. sudden removal indicated that complaints had been made internally within the governor’s office in Cayman and concerned his be- havior while in office. Mr. Forbes has declined to dis- cuss specifics surrounding the allegations. Other media reports in the U.K. stated that Mr. Choudhury “abused” staff and had gotten involved in a “drunken row” with his mother-in-law during his brief time in Cayman. The Compass has been unable to independently confirm those reports. The Compass has at- tempted to call, text and email Mr. Choud- hury since his temporary withdrawal, but has re- ceived no response. Governor Choudhury, 59, arrived in Cayman on March 26, making history as the British Overseas Ter- ritory’s first non-British- born governor and its first Muslim governor. The Bangladeshi-born U.K. diplomat had a far more public persona than previous U.K.-appointed representatives did, advo- cating for monthly meet- ings of the National Se- curity Council, backing the creation of legally rec- ognized civil unions in Cayman, and taking a lead- ership role in Cayman’s discussions with Britain concerning the future of its financial services industry. The new governor had also announced plans to significantly reduce the amount of bureaucracy Cayman residents often have to wade through in dealing with government. Cayman Islands leaders were informed on June 12 about the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office decision to withdraw the governor, just two-and-a-half months into what was supposed to be a three-to-four year term. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 6 WEEKS OF SILENCE: No word on Governor Choudhury’s fate CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 UK accused of ‘double standard’ over same-sex marriage in territories “The government refuse to require all the overseas territories to respect the rights of LGBT citizens under the European Convention on Human Rights, with which they and we must be compliant. Why the double standard?” BARONESS ELIZABETH BARKER Tourist with ganja wants to come back CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Push for more Sister Islands breast cancer support MARK MUCKENFUSS mmuckenfuss@pinnaclemedialtd.com Kathy Kirkconnell, wife of MLA Moses Kirkconnell, is joining the Breast Cancer Foundation of Cayman as a volunteer who will head up a new effort to better serve breast cancer pa- tients and survivors on the Sister Islands. A former nurse and a re- cent breast cancer survivor herself, Ms. Kirkconnell will help in organizing support and awareness campaigns for residents of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, and in co- ordinating services for those in treatment. Chief administrator of the foundation Janette Fitzgerald said providing services to Sister Islands residents typi- cally meant bringing them to Grand Cayman. “It was almost impos- sible,” Ms. Fitzgerald said. “We can talk to people on the phone. We can send money to the store so they can get the drinks like Ensure, when they can’t really eat anything [due to chemotherapy]. Kathy, with her contacts, can help.” Ms. Fitzgerald said there are plans to have a support group of 10 or more people organized within a few weeks. Awareness events will be held twice a year. And she hopes to tap into more local services through Ms. Kirk- connell’s connections with healthcare providers. She said the organiza- tion is planning to send a local resident abroad for a two-week training course in lymphatic massage. Swelling of the arms and legs is a common side effect of che- motherapy, Ms. Fitzgerald said. Relieving that pressure through massage is benefi- cial, but can also be dan- gerous if done incorrectly, she added, emphasizing the need for a certified therapist. “I am so honored to join the Breast Cancer Founda- tion in launching their well- ness and awareness initia- tives on Cayman Brac,” Ms. Kirkconnell said in a news release. “As a recent breast cancer survivor, I can person- ally relate to the challenges encountered during and after breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. “I am eager and thankful for the opportunity to work with the foundation to bring assistance, sup- port and awareness to our small community.” The foundation works to offer services such as pres- sure acupuncture, massage for neuropathy and joint pain (a common side effect of che- motherapy, radiation and breast cancer drugs such as Tamoxifen), dietary ad- vice and assistance, exercise, such as yoga and stretching, lymphoedema checks and treatments when required, special bras and prosthetics, as well as counseling for the patient and their families where required. “Extending our services and support in the Sister Is- lands is a huge leap for the foundation and has been one of our goals for many years,” Ms. Fitzgerald said. She also noted that the foundation’s offices have moved to Grand Harbour, providing more space and the opportunity to offer special- ized support groups. A formal opening of the new offices is planned in the coming weeks. Kathy Kirkconnell, shown here with husband MLA Moses Kirkconnell, will head new support efforts for breast cancer patients and survivors in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. UK’S MAY TAKING PERSONAL CONTROL OF BREXIT TALKS Prime Minister The- resa May is taking control over the U.K.’s Brexit ne- gotiations and will direct strategy from her own office, in a move that reinforces her drive to keep close to the Eu- ropean Union. May shook up her team on Tuesday, sidelining the troublesome ministry that she created two years ago to lead the British withdrawal from the EU. It follows months of tensions between the former Brexit Secretary David Davis, who led the de- partment until he quit this month, and May’s chief Eu- rope adviser Oliver Robbins, who she increasingly turned to for advice. Davis’ replace- ment as Brexit Secretary, Dominic Raab, played down the significance of May’s announcement. Appearing alongside Robbins in front of a panel of lawmakers on Tuesday, Raab insisted the pair were working hard to make sure there’s “one team, one chain of command” in Brexit talks, with May in charge at the top. The pro-Brexit Davis wanted a clean break from the EU and resigned in pro- test at May’s plan to keep EU rules for trade in goods. Robbins, meanwhile, is now more powerful than ever. While he rarely speaks in public, Robbins holds sway over policy behind the scenes. The consolidation of his in- fluence saw sterling climb 0.3 percent and angered Brexit campaigners in May’s ruling Tory party. “I will lead the negoti- ations with the European Union, with the Secretary of State for Exiting the Euro- pean Union deputizing on my behalf,” May told Parliament in a statement. The Cabinet Office, which May oversees and where Robbins works, “will have overall respon- sibility for the preparation and conduct of the negotia- tions,” she said. May’s move came at a critical time in the negotia- tions. With less than three months left to finalize the U.K.’s divorce terms and map out the future trade agree- ment, progress has all but stalled as EU officials waited for the British side to spell out its detailed position. © 2018, BloombergThe islands’ most-trusted news source 7 CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY JULY 25, 2018 Death toll from Greece fires rises to 74 Greece’s fire department said Tuesday the death toll from forest fires that raged through seaside resorts near Athens has increased to 74. More than 180 people are being treated for injuries. The wildfires were fanned by gale-force winds, torching homes, cars and forests. Flooding from Laos hydroelectric dam leaves hundreds missing North Korea said to be dismantling key parts of launch site SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – North Korea appears to have started dismantling key fa- cilities at its main satel- lite launch site in a step to- ward fulfilling a commitment made by leader Kim Jong Un at his summit with President Donald Trump in June. While Pyongyang could be trying to build trust with Washington as they engage in talks to resolve the nuclear standoff, analysts say dis- mantling a few facilities at the site alone would not real- istically reduce North Korea’s military capability or repre- sent a material step toward denuclearization. And they expressed concern that the work is being done without verification. The North Korea-fo- cused 38 North website said commercial satellite im- ages from July 20 to 22 in- dicate the North began dis- mantling key facilities at the Sohae launch site. The fa- cilities being razed or dis- assembled include a rocket engine test stand used to de- velop liquid-fuel engines for ballistic missiles and space- launch vehicles and a rail- mounted processing building where space launch vehicles were assembled before being moved to the launch pad, ac- cording to the report. “Since these facilities are believed to have played an important role in the devel- opment of technologies for the North’s intercontinental ballistic missile program, these efforts represent a sig- nificant confidence building measure on the part of North Korea,” analyst Joseph Ber- mudez wrote in the report. An official from South Korea’s presidential of- fice said Tuesday that Seoul has also been detecting dis- mantlement activities at the Sohae launch site but did not specify what the North was supposedly taking apart. Other analysts said North Korea is giving up little in dismantling the rocket engine test site when it’s clear the country is satisfied with its current design of long-range weapons and could easily build other similar facilities if needed in the future. Adam Mount, a senior de- fense analyst at the Federa- tion of American Scientists, said it’s also troubling that the North has been appar- ently allowed to duck veri- fication by unilaterally dis- mantling parts of its nuclear and missile facilities without the presence of international inspectors. In May, North Korea invited foreign journal- ists to observe the destruc- tion of tunnels at its nuclear testing ground, but did not invite outside experts ca- pable of certifying what had been destroyed. “The actions at Sohae are a helpful signal that Pyong- yang wants to continue ne- gotiations, but do not in themselves advance nuclear disarmament,” Mount said in an email. “North Korea still has not disclosed or of- fered to dismantle facilities that produce or store nuclear or missile systems, or the means to transport the mis- siles. So far, the facilities dis- mantled have been peripheral to these core functions.” Lee Choon Geun, a missile expert at South Korea’s Sci- ence and Technology Policy Institute, said the North’s supposed move to dismantle the rail-mounted processing building was the more mean- ingful development as it po- tentially indicated to broader dismantlement activi- ties at the site. “If North Korea goes fur- ther and dismantles the en- tire Sohae site, that would meaningfully reduce the country’s long-range missile capability by eliminating a fa- cility where it could fire mul- tiple ICBMs in succession,” Lee said. “The North can also fire ICBMs from transporter erector launchers, but their technology with these vehi- cles isn’t stable.” However, Mount said the military consequences of a broader dismantle- ment would be “marginal.” North Korea has invested a great deal of effort in en- suring its missiles can be fired from austere locations and doesn’t require a site like Sohae, he said. “Dismantling a test site does not seriously con- strain the existing arsenal or even future designs,” said Mount. “While it would be a significant step for the re- gime to shut down its space launch programs, it has al- ways argued that these pro- grams are distinct from mili- tary ones. Easing the missile threat would require restric- tions on the number, types, or capabilities of missiles or the vehicles that transport and fire them.” After his summit with Kim in Singapore on June 12, Trump said he was told by Kim that the North was “already destroying a major missile engine testing site” without identifying which site. The leaders concluded their summit by declaring their vague aspirational goal of moving toward a nuclear- free Korean Peninsula, but there’s lingering doubts on whether Kim would ever agree to fully give up the nu- clear weapons that he may see as a stronger guarantee of his survival than what- ever security assurances the United States can provide. In late 2017, Kim declared his nuclear weapons and mis- sile program was complete, following a torrent of nuclear and missile tests that included the detonation of a purported thermonuclear warhead and flight tests of three develop- mental ICBMs potentially ca- pable of reaching the U.S. mainland. Kim announced the mission of his nuclear testing site as finished weeks be- fore inviting foreign journal- ists to observe the destruction of the tunnels. BANGKOK (AP) – Massive flooding from a South Ko- rean-constructed hydroelec- tric dam in Laos left several people dead and hundreds missing, state media said Tuesday. Rescue efforts were under way as top govern- ment officials rushed to the site and public appeals were launched for aid. The official Lao news agency KPL said the Xepian- Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam in southeastern Attapeu province collapsed Monday evening, releasing large amounts of water that swept away houses, flooded villages and made more than 6,600 people homeless. A later report on the web- site of the state-run Vientiane Times newspaper, however, said water had overflowed the dam, rather than bursting it. It said the dam was at risk of collapse, and rain and strong winds predicted for the next few days could make the situation worse. It said two people were confirmed dead by Tuesday afternoon from flash floods that affected eight villages, and that the government had declared the flooded area an emergency disaster zone. KPL said the disaster “claimed several human lives” and “left hundreds of people missing,” without pro- viding details. Photos and videos posted on social media showed people sitting on rooftops to escape the surging water, while others were carried to safety or rescued by boat. State media said helicop- ters were also being used to rescue people. The dam was built by a joint venture led by South Korean companies with Thai and Lao partners, and was still under construction. KPL described the portion that reportedly collapsed as a “saddle dam,” which is an auxiliary dam used to hold water beyond what is held by the main dam. South Korea’s Yonhap News agency quoted an un- identified official at SK Engi- neering & Construction, one of the two South Korean partners in the project, as saying rain in the area was triple the usual amount, and one of five auxil- iary dams had overflowed. Many areas of Laos have recently been hit by floods from heavy seasonal rains. Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith suspended his gov- ernment’s planned Cabinet meeting and traveled with fellow ministers and other senior officials to Sanamxay district to monitor rescue and relief efforts, KPL and the Vientiane Times reported. Provincial authorities is- sued a call for emergency aid – clothing, food, drinking water, medicine, cash and other items – from the “party, government organizations, business community, officials, police and military forces and people of all strata.” Laos is one of the poorest countries in Asia. It has tran- sitioned from communism to a market economy but re- mains a single-party state where freedoms are limited. There is virtually no freedom of the press, and foreign re- porters who visit operate under tight restrictions, lim- iting the flow of information. Electricity from several hydroelectric dams provides a large share of Laos’ ex- port earnings, with Thailand being a major buyer. KPL said the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy project cost an es- timated $1.02 billion. Much of the financing came from Thai lenders. According to the website of the company that built and runs the dam, it is ma- jority-owned by SK E&C and Korea Western Power. The Ratchaburi Electricity Gen- erating Holding Public Co. Ltd. of Thailand holds a 25 percent stake and the Lao Holding State Enterprise holds 24 percent. The dam was built to di- vert the Houay Makchanh, Xe- Namnoy and Xe-Pian rivers into reservoirs that feed into a 410-megawatt power plant that is due to begin opera- tions in 2019. Only 10 percent of the power generated was to be used locally, with 90 per- cent exported to Thailand. According to project as- sessment documents, about 30 villages were affected by the project with more than 2,000 people in eight villages resettled. Roughly 10,000 people live in the affected area, with most belonging to ethnic minorities. Analysts say dismantling a few facilities at the site alone would not realistically reduce North Korea’s military capability or represent a material step toward denuclearization. Villagers take refuge on a rooftop Tuesday above flood waters from a collapsed dam in the Attapeu district of southeastern Laos. – PHOTO: AP8 WORLD&REGIONAL WEDNESDAY JULY 25, 2018 • CAYMAN COMPASS Trump considering pulling security clearances of critics Husband of adult film performer Stormy Daniels seeks divorce SAN FRANCISCO TO CONSIDER OUTLAWING PLASTIC STRAWS, STIRRERS KAUFMAN, Texas (AP) – The husband of adult film per- former Stormy Daniels has filed for divorce in Texas. Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said that she had sex with Donald Trump before he be- came president, something Trump has denied. Glendon Crain filed the petition for divorce on July 18 in state district court in Kaufman County, located just southeast of Dallas. In his 13-page divorce petition filed July 18, Crain alleged adultery as grounds for the divorce and seeks sole cus- tody of the couple’s 7-year- old daughter and child sup- port from Clifford, as well as a financial award and dispro- portionate share of the cou- ple’s community property. Daniels’ lawyer Michael Avenatti said in a tweet that Daniels and Crain decided mutually to end their mar- riage and that the “accuracy” of the divorce petition is “ve- hemently disputed.” A woman answering the phone in the Terrell, Texas, office of Crain’s attorney, Rothwell Pool, said he had no comment since the case is currently in litigation. Crain and Daniels married in 2015 and were living to- gether until about two weeks ago, according to the petition. Daniels has said she had sex with Trump in 2006 when he was married, which Trump has denied. As part of their investigation into Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen, pros- ecutors have been examining the $130,000 payment that was made to Daniels as part of a confidentiality agree- ment days before the 2016 presidential election. In April, FBI agents raided Cohen’s home, office and hotel room as part of a probe into his business dealings and in- vestigators were seeking re- cords about the nondisclosure agreement that Daniels had signed, among other things. In May, Rudy Giuliani, one of Trump’s attorneys, said the president had repaid Cohen for the $130,000 payment to Daniels, contradicting Trump’s prior claims that he did not know the source of the money. Transparency groups and Democrats have argued that the secret efforts to silence Trump accusers, including the payment to Daniels, should be investigated by the Federal Election Commission as po- tential violations of campaign finance laws, which require disclosure of campaign ex- penditures. Trump’s attorneys have argued that any pay- ments to accusers would have been made regardless of his presidential candidacy, and that no violation occurred. SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – In a bid to further cut down on waste, eco-conscious San Francisco is expected to join Seattle in outlawing plastic straws used to suck down Mai Tais and slurp up bubble tea. The proposal, to be taken up by the Board of Supervi- sors on Tuesday, also would make the novel move to ban vendors from using takeout containers made with fluo- rinated chemicals. Wash- ington’s governor recently signed legislation approving a possible ban to go into ef- fect in 2022, but San Fran- cisco’s January 2020 dead- line would be earlier. The legislation pro- hibits eateries from using plastic anti-splashers, stir- rers and other plastic items that environmentalists say are too small to be recy- cled properly. Retailers would no longer be able to sell the items starting July 2019. In addition, food and drink vendors would be allowed to dispense cutlery, napkins, condiments and lids only on request or through self- serve stations. People with disabilities have spoken out against the plastic straw ban, saying customers with mobility is- sues rely on the tubes to drink and paper or metal straws aren’t always ap- propriate. But businesses in politically progressive San Francisco appear to be largely in support, with Supervisor Katy Tang an- nouncing the legislation at a popular bubble milk tea shop in May. “It’s a movement not just happening in San Francisco but nationally and interna- tionally,” said Peter Gallotta, spokesman for the city’s De- partment of Environment. “The larger elephant in the room is the single-use dis- posable culture we find our- selves in, and straws are the epitome of this unnecessary daily waste.” The Washington, D.C.- based Plastics Industry As- sociation issued a statement Monday saying a better so- lution is to expand recycling technology. “Regardless of what a straw is made of, we can all agree that it should not end up as litter,” it said. Seattle is believed to be the first major U.S. city to shun plastic straws when its ban went into effect this month. Since then, the world’s largest coffee shop and hotel chains – Star- bucks and Marriott – an- nounced they too would move away from plastic straws and stirrers. WASHINGTON (AP) – Presi- dent Donald Trump is con- sidering revoking the secu- rity clearances of six former top national security offi- cials who have been critical of his administration, a move that opponents and experts say would be an unprece- dented politicization of the clearance process. White House press secre- tary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that the presi- dent is “exploring the mech- anisms” to strip clearance from former CIA Director John Brennan, as well as five other former officials who have held some of the most sensitive positions in gov- ernment: former FBI Director Jim Comey; James Clapper, the former director of na- tional intelligence; former CIA Director Michael Hayden; former national security ad- viser Susan Rice; and An- drew McCabe, who served as Trump’s deputy FBI director until he was fired in March. The leaders have served in both Democratic and Re- publican administrations, in- cluding Trump’s. Sanders accused the of- ficials of having “politicized and in some cases monetized their public service and se- curity clearances” by making “baseless accusations” that the Trump administra- tion had improper contact with Russia or was influ- enced by Russia. “The fact that people with security clearances are making these baseless charges provides inappropriate legiti- macy to accusations with zero evidence,” she said. Sanders did not cite spe- cific comments made by any of the officials. But the pres- ident has been seething over the backlash to his meeting last week with Russia’s Vlad- imir Putin and the ongoing investigations into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 elec- tion, whether his campaign aides were involved in the effort and whether he ob- structed justice. Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff of California, a ranking member of the House Intel- ligence Committee, tweeted that “politicizing secu- rity clearances to retaliate against former national secu- rity officials who criticize the President would set a terrible new precedent.” “An enemies list is ugly, undemocratic and un-Amer- ican,” he added. The threat to deny the of- ficials access to classified in- formation marks the latest escalation in the president’s ongoing war with the mem- bers of the U.S. intelligence community. It came hours after Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky tweeted that he would be meeting with Trump to discuss re- voking Brennan’s clearance for his scathing criticism of the president’s performance at the summit with Putin. Former CIA directors and other top national security officials are typically allowed to keep their clearances, at least for some period, as a courtesy and so they can be in a position to advise their successors. At least two of the former officials, McCabe and Comey, do not currently have secu- rity clearances. Experts appeared split on whether the president has the authority to unilaterally terminate a security clear- ance but said such a move would be unprecedented and ill-advised. “Legalities aside, it seems like a terrible mistake to use the security clear- ance system as an instru- ment of political vendettas,” said Steven Aftergood at the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Gov- ernment Secrecy. While standing next to Putin, Trump last week openly questioned his own intelligence agencies’ con- clusions that Moscow tried to tip the scales of the 2016 election in his favor and seemed to accept Pu- tin’s insistence that Russia’s hands were clean. Brennan slammed those comments as “nothing short of treasonous” and accused Trump of being “wholly in the pocket of Putin.” Paul, in turn, called Brennan “the most bi- ased, bigoted, over-the- top, hyperbolic sort of un- hinged director of the CIA we’ve ever had” in an inter- view on Fox News. Clapper, reacting to the White House talk of revoking clearances, said on CNN that Trump’s idea was “kind of a petty way of retribu- tion, I suppose, for speaking out against the president, which I think, on the part of all of us, are borne out of genuine concerns about President Trump.” Hayden tweeted Monday that revoking his security clearance would not “have any effect on what I say or write.” And former Brennan deputy chief of staff Nick Shapiro said Brennan “hasn’t made one penny off of his clearance” and “doesn’t need a security clearance to speak out against the fail- ings of Trump.” Melissa Schwartz, a spokeswoman for McCabe, tweeted that his security clearance was deactivated when he was terminated, per FBI policy. “You would think the White House would check with the FBI before trying to throw shiny objects to the press corps,” she wrote. In his 13-page divorce petition filed July 18, Crain alleged adultery as grounds for the divorce and seeks sole custody of the couple’s 7-year-old daughter and child support from Clifford. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks during the daily press briefing Monday at the White House in Washington. – PHOTO: AP Stormy Daniels San Francisco is considering joining Seattle in banning plastic straws, along with coffee stirrers and cup pluggers, as part of an effort to reduce plastic waste. – PHOTO: AP9 WORLD&REGIONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY JULY 25, 2018 Israel shoots down Syrian jet; Syrian forces reach Golan BEIRUT (AP) – Israel shot down a Syrian fighter jet it said had breached its air- space on Tuesday while ad- vancing Syrian government forces retaking territory from rebels reached the Golan Heights frontier for the first time in seven years. The Israeli military said it monitored the advance of the Syrian Sukhoi fighter jet and shot it down with a pair of Patriot missiles after it pen- etrated Israeli airspace by about 1.2 miles. Syria’s military, how- ever, said one of its jets was targeted by Israel over Syrian territory as it flew sorties against Islamic State militants. Syrian forces have been battling rebels and IS mili- tants at the frontier with Is- rael for weeks in a campaign to restore President Bashar Assad’s rule over south- western Syria. On Tuesday, government forces reached the border fence where a U.N. peace- keeping force is deployed at the edge of the Israeli-occu- pied Golan Heights. It was the first time Syrian govern- ment had managed to retake the area since 2011, when an uprising swept through Syria against Assad. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in 1967. The U.N. deployed peace- keepers between the two sides in 1974. Israel’s military has been on “elevated alert” along the frontier because of activity on the Syrian side of the fence, said military spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus. Israel has warned Syria through various channels not to violate the 1974 agreement that established the demilita- rized zone, he added. Minutes before the re- ported downing of the jet, Syria’s state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV was broadcasting footage from the fence demarcating the U.N. buffer zone between Syrian and Israeli forces in the Golan Heights. A U.N. ob- server post could be seen just on the other side of the fence. The camera showed an Is- raeli post 440 yards away. Israel’s military said the Syrian jet took off from the T4 air base, which Israel is believed to have attacked ear- lier this year. The plane flew toward Is- rael at “relatively high speed” before breaching the coun- try’s airspace, said Conricus. He said it was unknown if the plane deliberately crossed into Israel. The plane crashed in the southern part of the Syrian Golan Heights, he said. Israel had no reports on the condi- tion of the pilot. The Syrian Observa- tory for Human Rights monitoring group said one pilot was killed and that the condition of the other was unknown. Syrian rebels surren- dered their last pockets in the southwestern Quneitra and Daraa provinces last week, leading thousands of opposition fighters, their families and other civilians to evacuate to the rebel- held province of Idlib in northern Syria. According to the Observa- tory, some 9,500 people have been bused from southwest Syria to Idlib. It is unlikely they will be able to return to their homes in the near-term. The U.N. has condemned such arrangements as forced displacement, a war crime. Over the weekend, res- cuers from the Syrian Civil Defense – also known as White Helmets – and their family members were evacu- ated through Israel to Jordan, after they were promised asylum in Canada and Eu- ropean nations. The White Helmets have been a target of the Syrian government, which accuses them of staging poison gas attacks and participating in terrorism, claims which have not been proven. Government forces are now concentrating their fire on one remaining enclave not yet in their hands – a sliver of land along the Golan Heights frontier that is held by the militants linked to the Is- lamic State group. CHARGES OF RIGGING, INTIMIDATION MAR PAKISTAN CAMPAIGN ISLAMABAD (AP) – As Paki- stan prepares to make his- tory Wednesday by electing a third straight civilian government, rights activ- ists, analysts and candi- dates say the campaign has been among its dirtiest ever, imperiling the coun- try’s wobbly transition to democratic rule. The campaign has been characterized by “bla- tant, aggressive and un- abashed attempts to ma- nipulate” the outcome, with media being silenced and the intimidation of candi- dates, according to Paki- stan’s Independent Human Rights Commission. At the center of most allegations is the pow- erful military establish- ment, along with its intel- ligence agency, known by the acronym ISI. The manipulation is seen as seeking to pre- vent the Pakistan Muslim League, the party of dis- graced Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, from re- turning to power, while giving a shot at running the country to former cricket star Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI. The rancorous cam- paign and charges of ma- nipulation have polarized Pakistanis, and which- ever party loses is likely to cry fraud. “Whatever way elec- tions run, I see a lot of in- stability,” said Ayesha Sid- diqa, a defense analyst and author of “Military Inc.,” about the massive fi- nancial holdings of Paki- stan’s military. The military has ruled the country of more than 200 million people – di- rectly or indirectly – for most of its history. Succes- sive attempts at protracted democracy have been inter- rupted by military coups, the last one in 1999. Pakistanis went to the polls in 2008 and elected their first civilian govern- ment in 12 years. “This is quite a schizo- phrenic moment for Pak- istan’s democracy,” said Moeed Yusuf, associate vice president of the Asia Center at the Washington-based U.S. Institute of Peace. “On the one hand, you have completing 10 years of uninterrupted democratic rule …. On the other hand, you’ve got all sorts of alle- gations of pre-poll rigging and manipulation.” The left-leaning Paki- stan People’s Party was propelled to victory in 2008 by sympathetic voters fol- lowing the death of their leader Benazir Bhutto, killed by militant radicals she had vowed to eradicate. Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League, or PML-N, won in 2013, but he fell out with the military after questioning its links to some militant groups and seeking to make it subservient to parliament. He was ousted last year after leaked docu- ments from a Panama law firm revealed he and his family had undis- closed assets abroad. He was found guilty of cor- ruption, banned from poli- tics for life and sentenced to 10 years in jail, where he is appealing his convic- tion. His brother, Shahbaz Sharif, took power. “The shadow of the military looming over the election amplifies the continued struggles of de- mocracy in Pakistan,” said Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Pro- gram at the U.S.-based Wilson Center. “Allegations of army meddling and the fact that troops will be de- ployed on mass levels on election day make it crystal clear that this election pro- cess is not entirely a ci- vilian-led process.” Congo confirms end of latest deadly Ebola outbreak KINSHASA, Congo (AP) – Con- go’s latest outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus is over, the health ministry announced Tuesday, after a 42-day ob- servation period with no new confirmed cases recorded. There were 54 Ebola cases, including 33 deaths, in the outbreak that was de- clared in early May in north- west Equateur province, the ministry said. Health officials said a quick international response and vaccinations of more than 3,300 people were major fac- tors in containing the out- break, Congo’s ninth since the hemorrhagic fever was first identified in 1976. “Although the scale of the crisis we were facing was un- precedented, the speed and ef- fectiveness of the response put in place by the government and its partners were also ex- ceptional,” Health Minister Dr. Oly Ilunga Kalenga said. The outbreak posed a se- rious challenge when it spread to the city of Mban- daka and its more than 1 million people. The other initial cases were in remote, hard-to-reach rural areas without basic infra- structure such as electricity, making the vaccination effort more challenging. “From the start, we had prepared for the worst of scenarios,” the health min- ister said. “And our fears were quickly confirmed with the confirmation on Wednesday, May 16 of the first cases of Ebola in the city of Mbandaka.” The city sits on the Congo River upstream from the cap- ital, Kinshasa. There were con- cerns the virus would spread not only within the country but to neighboring coun- tries including Central Af- rican Republic. International organiza- tions will remain in Congo for follow-up and monitoring. The World Health Organi- zation, which played a major role in the outbreak response and delivery of the vaccines, congratulated Congo. “The outbreak was con- tained due to the tireless ef- forts of local teams, the sup- port of partners, the generosity of donors and the effective leadership of the ministry of health. That kind of leader- ship, allied with strong col- laboration between partners, saves lives,” said the WHO di- rector-general, Dr. Tedros Adh- anom Ghebreyesus. Syria’s military, however, said one of its jets was targeted by Israel over Syrian territory as it flew sorties against Islamic State militants. Congolese health officials prepare to disinfect people and buildings at the general referral hospital in Mbandaka, Congo in May 2018. – PHOTO: AP Pakistani soldiers guard polling material assigned to staff at a distribution center in Islamabad, Pakistan, Tuesday. – PHOTO: APNext >