Cayman Compass - 25 July, 2019

ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – THURSDAY, 25 JULY 2019 High of 90 Low of 79 Slight to moderate with wave heights of 2 to 4 feet. WORLD | PAGE 8 MUELLER: I DID NOT CLEAR TRUMP OF OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE LOCAL | PAGE 3 2019 CAYMAN STINGRAY TOURISM AWARDS Regulated in the Cayman Islands as a licensed insurer by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority. Generali Worldwide is a trading name of Utmost Worldwide Limited. Registered Head Ofﬁce address: Utmost Worldwide Limited, Utmost House, Hirzel Street, St Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands GY1 4PA. Regulated in Guernsey as a licensed insurer by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission under the Insurance Business (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2002 (as amended). Incorporated in Guernsey under Company Registration No. 27151. Call us to learn more about our Pop Up Markets at 747-2000. A farmer’s market in your ofﬁce? www.generali-healthcare.com Record stingray count at sandbar JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@pinnaclemedialtd.com A record 115 stingrays were counted in the biannual population survey at the Sandbar. The count continues an encouraging re- cent trend that has seen numbers steadily rising at the popular tourist attraction. The census had dipped to 57 in 2012 but is now more than double that ﬁ gure, according to Jessica Harvey of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation. Harvey said, “It is very encouraging to see so many rays, especially from a tourism perspective.” She said the reasons for the population surge were not clear. The foundation uses a team of volunteers to count the rays at the Sandbar twice every year. Researchers catch the rays by hand, swim them into a salmon net and lift them on board where they are transferred to a paddling pool, while the team takes the vital measurements and checks for tags. One concern ﬂ agged this year was that several rays appeared to have injuries asso- ciated with ﬁ shing. “There were two that had hooks in their mouths and a couple of others had injuries that we believe are caused by hooks.” She said it was possible that the rays were accidentally hooked and cut free by North Sound ﬁ shermen, and urged anglers to take care not to hook the rays, particu- larly at night. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 7 » NEEDS ASSESSMENT UNIT COSTS JUMP, LED BY SCHOOL LUNCHES MARK MUCKENFUSS mmuckenfuss@pinnaclemedialtd.com Although the number of people being helped by the Needs Assessment Unit has not changed signiﬁ cantly, overall costs of the support it provides increased by 26% in 2018. Even more notable is the money spent on school lunch assistance, which more than doubled over the previous year, jumping 134%. Ofﬁ cials at the Needs Assessment Unit said a change in the way families had to apply for school lunch assistance may account for the large increase in expenditures. An email from the unit said, “In the 2016-2017 ﬁ scal year, eligible children were approved to receive assistance with school lunches for one academic term.” After that, families were required to reapply. “After evaluation,” the unit said, “the NAU found that in most cases families were ﬁ nding it challenging to undertake the necessary follow-up.” So in 2018, the qualiﬁ cation period was changed to incorporate the entire school year, FREQUENT FLOODING, CONGESTION STRESSORS FOR RED BAY, PROSPECT KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@pinnaclemedialtd.com Solving the extensive road issues in Pros- pect and Red Bay will come with some growing pains, residents heard at Seafarers Hall during a public meeting Tuesday evening. “There will be a period of some pain, as the work is carried out to affect these changes,” Red Bay MLA and Premier Alden McLaughlin said. “But in the medium to longer term, we are conﬁ dent the situation will become much, much better.” More than 100 residents crowded into the Victory Avenue location on Tuesday to share their concerns about road safety, trafﬁ c con- gestion, ﬂ ooding, and poor connectivity, among other issues. Unaddressed, such issues are only expected PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » Researchers caught the rays in a large net and brought them on board to be examined.2 LOCAL NEWS THURSDAY, 25 JULY 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS BREAKTHROUGH (PG) 1:25 I 4:10 I 7:15 I 10:00 SUN: 4:10 I 7:15 I 10:00 KALANK (PG) 3:10 I 9:00 (SAT ONLY) I 9:30 (NO SAT) SUN: 3:10 I 9:20 LITTLE (PG13) 12:30 I 3:25 (SAT ONLY) I 3:50 (NO SAT) 6:50 I 9:45 SUN: 3:50 I 6:50 I 9:35 10:30 (SAT ONLY) I 4:35 I 7:15 (NO SAT) THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA (R) 1:10 VIP I 4:35 I 7:00 VIP I 10:15 HELLBOY (R) 12:35 (SAT ONLY) I 1:00 I 6:10 (SAT ONLY) I 6:45 SHAZAM! (PG13) 1:30 I 3:40 VIP I 7:15 I 9:30 VIP SUN: 3:40 VIP I 4:40 I 6:40 VIP 8:00 I 9:40 VIP KIDS CLUB: OVER THE HEDGE 10:00 (SAT ONLY) CULTURE AT THE CINEMA: THE TRAGEDY OF KIND RICHARD THE SECOND SAT ONLY: 8:00 • 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. - THURSDAY - 640-FILM (640-3456) CRAWL (R) 4:40 | 7:20 | 10:00 SPIDER-MAN FAR (PG13) FROM HOME 12:45 3D | 3:45 | 6:50 3D | 9:50 VIP | 9:50 TOY STORY 4 (G) 1:30 | 4:00 | 6:30 | 9:00 MEN IN BLACK (PG13) INTERNATIONAL 1:35 | 4:20 | 7:05 | 9:50 THE LION KING (2019) (PG) 12:30 3D | 1:00 VIP | 1:50 | 3:30 3D | 4:10 VIP | 6:45 | 7:00 VIP | 9:30 3D Young violinist embraces Caribbean style Another down week for iguana cullers CONSERVATION COUNCIL LAUNCHES ONLINE TURTLE SURVEY Last week, cullers re- moved 9,011 invasive green iguanas from Grand Cayman, the lowest number in a single week since the culling project began in Oc- tober last year. This is the second week in a row for cullers to set a low mark for iguanas collected. The previous week, they only culled 9,232 iguanas. At the time, the Department of En- vironment attributed the low total to heavy rainfall. So far, a total of 821,689 green iguanas have been disposed of at the George Town landﬁll, according to the latest statistics from the DoE. Cullers are still above the pace needed to reach the target number of culling 1.3 million green iguanas by the end of 2019. Cullers are being paid $4.50 a head, rising to $5 if they meet monthly and an- nual targets, in an effort to wipe out the invasive species in Grand Cayman. The Cayman Islands National Conservation Council has released an on- line survey to encourage as many local residents as possible to weigh in on the Council’s draft sea turtle species conservation plan. The draft species conser- vation plan was approved on 19 June by the Council and was released for public consultation on 3 July, as required under the National Conservation Law. The con- sultation period will run through 9 Sept. “It was important to NCC members that we try to reach as many people as possible and seek their views on this conservation plan that seeks to protect Cayman’s iconic marine reptile,” said DoE Director and Council member Gina Ebanks-Petrie. “We will col- late all comments received and use those to inform and amend the plan as we go forward.” “I encourage all of Cay- man’s residents to partici- pate in this survey,” said Minister of Environment Dwayne Seymour. “Sea tur- tles are one of Cayman’s best-known symbols and we should all take an in- terest in this work to help protect them.” The link to the Survey Monkey questionnaire is www.surveymonkey.com/r/ turtleconservationplan. The draft species conser- vation plan itself can be ac- cessed via the DoE website at: www.doe.ky/natl-con- servation-council/proposed- species-conservation-plans/. Hard copies of the draft plan may also be obtained at the DoE ofﬁces, 580 North Sound Road, George Town, Grand Cayman. In the Sister Islands, copies of the draft plan may be reviewed at the local district adminis- tration buildings and at the Cayman Brac Library. Members of the public not using the online survey can still submit their comments on the draft sea turtle species conservation plan in writing to the National Conservation Council email address conservationcouncil@gov.ky, or mail their comments to the Cayman Islands Department of Environment at PO Box 10202, Grand Cayman KY1‑1002, before the expiry of the public consultation period. Arana to perform Thursday at Music at the Library KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@pinnaclemedialtd.com For violinist Nayil Arana, 19, music is a way to connect with culture. Through calypso and Caymanian folk music, he has found a way to bring vi- brance and renewed interest to an instru- ment traditionally associated with clas- sical music. “It’s a different feel from what most violinists usually play, because what I’ve noticed is that a lot of the kids who start playing classical instruments, play clas- sical music and only that,” he said. While classical training can set a foun- dation for young musicians, it can also scare them away in the long run. Arana has noticed that by college age, many of his peers have lost interest in violin. “So pretty early on, I started branching off into other things. I started by playing folk music with the Cayman Islands Folk Singers and from then on I was playing folk music, then pop songs, then calypso music,” Arana said. “Now I’m playing professionally with a local band called Bona Fide. They play music from pop, calypso, ska, reggae, all sorts of genres. So I found a place where I can play whatever music I want and get paid for it too. So that’s always a bonus.” Arana will share his calypso styl- ings Thursday evening at Cayman Arts Festival’s Music at the Library. He will join several other young musicians at the George Town Public Library for what has become a diverse monthly showcase of Cayman’s musical talent. Arana has a long and often self- driven history with music. He began playing violin at age 4, piano at age 6 and cello at age 8. Around age 14, he began producing electronic music for his YouTube channel, Musikage, which now has a following of 63,000 subscribers. His interest in music began at age 4, he said, when his parents took him to a concert at a high school in Belize, where his family is from. The performance cap- tured his imagination and he asked his mother if he could start playing violin. “From there it was history,” he said. Now, music offers an outlet from his professional and academic life. “It’s different than the things I do every day. It’s a more creative outlet, as opposed to computer science and math, which is what I’ll be studying, and ﬁ- nancial services, which is where I cur- rently work. It’s a creative outlet that I can do in my spare time and also earn a little extra,” he said. This fall he will begin studying math- ematics and computer science at the University of Southampton. In a way, these disciplines parallel his approach to music. “With mathematics and computer sci- ence – more quantitative disciplines – it’s about practicing the problems, pattern matching and [it’s] the same thing with music. You have to practice a lot in order to get the intuition of it. The more you practice, the better you become,” he said. Other musicians featured in Thurs- day’s programme include Christopher Scott on piano, Joseph Welcome on harmonica, Beneil Miller on piano, Liz Malkin on ﬂute, Joe Millson on tuba and Heidi Ordaz-Nyack on piano. So- phie McKenzie will present poetry. The show starts at 6pm. For more information, visit www.caymanartsfestival.com. To see video of Arana performing, visit www.caymancompass.com. 0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 700,000 900,000 800,000 Week 1 (Oct. 29-Nov. 3) Pace to reach 1.3 million Week 38 (July 15-20) Iguanas culledTotal culled A sea turtle swims off Grand Cayman. – PHOTO: MATT LAMERS Violinist Nayil Arana ﬁrst developed an interest in music at age 4.3 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS THURSDAY, 25 JULY 2019 T he 2019 Cayman Stingray Tourism awards took place Tuesday evening at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman, hosted by the Cayman Islands Tourism Association. This year’s event, with the theme ‘The Magic of Tourism’, boasted a record number of 89 nomi- nees in 10 categories. From left, CITA President Theresa Leacock-Broderick, Ministry of Tourism Councillor David Wight, Bodden Holdings Ltd.’s Attlee Bodden (who is CITA’s 2019 Lifetime Achievement Recipient), Deputy Governor Franz Manderson and past-CITA President Ken Hydes. Alecia Davis of Luxury Cayman Villas, centre, receives the Rising Star Tourism Award from CITA President Theresa Leacock-Broderick and Jim Mauer of The Westin, Grand Cayman Beach Resort and Spa. CITA board member Danielle Wolfe, left, presents the accommodations manager of the year award to Cashema Rankine of Beach Suites. CITA board member Raymond Hydes, left, presents the restaurant employee of the year award to Laurent Bodden of The Wharf. The Cayman Turtle Centre’s Tim Adam receives the allied/ attraction/transportation manager of the year award from CITA board member Gary Todd. The winners of CITA’s 2019 Stingray Tourism Awards are, from left, Wesley Hepburn, Cashema Rankine, Tony Land, Gay Morse, Barbara MacDowell, Cynthia Rochez, Tim Adam, Alecia Davis, Rebecca Bush and Laurent Bodden. - PHOTOS: MAGGIE JACKSON The Cayman Turtle Centre’s Rebecca Bush receives the allied/attraction/ transportation employee of the year award from CITA board member Gary Todd. Ministry of Tourism Councillor David Wight greets the people in attendance. Cayman Islands Tourism Association President Theresa Leacock-Broderick delivers the welcome address. Gay Morse of Pirates Point Resort, centre, receives the Diamond Award from CITA President Theresa Leacock-Broderick and Deputy Governor Franz Manderson.The islands’ most-trusted news source 4 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 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 PUBLISHER KATHLEEN CAPETTA EXECUTIVE EDITOR PATRICK BRENDEL A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will ﬁnd their own way” THURSDAY, 25 JULY 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS Fictions Tories want to hear ANNE APPLEBAUM Last week, at one of the last major events of his party election campaign, at the conclusion of his 40-year drive to become leader of the British Con- servative Party and thus prime min- ister of Britain, Boris Johnson made a speech. Unusually for Johnson, who often speaks off the cuff, he brought a prop to the hustings. It was a kipper – a smoked ﬁsh – wrapped in plastic. He held it aloft, to a round of laughter. This kipper, he told his au- dience, came from a kipper smoker on the Isle of Man – an angry kipper smoker. “After decades of sending them through the post like this, he has had his costs massively increased by Brus- sels bureaucrats who are insisting that each kipper must be accompanied by a plastic ice pillow.” He held aloft the plastic ice pillow; more laughter. And then the denunciation: “pointless, pointless, expensive, environmentally damaging”. And the promise: When Britain leaves the European Union after Brexit, “we will bring the kippers back. It’s not a red herring”. What a tour de force! Hilarious! Amusing! And all of it, every word of it, completely untrue. The European Union does not regulate food ship- ments within Britain. The requirement that smoked ﬁsh be packed with ice is a regulation passed by the British gov- ernment. On the following day, an un- amusing, not at all hilarious spokes- woman from the European Commission conﬁrmed, “The case described by Mr. Johnson falls outside the scope of the EU legislation and it’s purely a UK na- tional competence.” It did not matter. In the end, Johnson emerged victorious, capturing 66% of the vote to become Britain’s next prime minister. Though perhaps that slightly mis- states the case: the fact is that the Tory party has chosen Johnson not despite the fact that he is an inventor of elabo- rate and untrue stories about the reg- ulation of kippers, condoms, shrimp- cocktail-ﬂavoured potato chips and much else. They have chosen him be- cause he is an inventor of elaborate and untrue stories. It is ﬁction, not fact, that they now want to hear. And no wonder: In European par- liamentary elections held in May, the Conservatives, one of the world’s oldest and most successful political parties, came in ﬁfth place. Not only did the To- ries lose to their traditional rivals in the Labour Party, they haemorrhaged votes both to the brand-new Brexit Party, which is angry that they have not managed to leave the EU yet, as well to the Liberal Democrats and the Greens, the two clearly pro-European parties in Britain, who are angry that they still want to go. If they repeat that performance at the next British parlia- mentary elections, they might be wiped out together. One solution to that problem could be to actually make Brexit happen. But as I have written before, possibly more than once, Brexit requires Britain to make some stark and unpleasant choices, none of which the Conserva- tive Party has yet proved willing to make. At some point, for example, the next prime minister must choose one of three options. Either the country stays inside Europe’s customs union; or a border is rebuilt between the Irish republic and Northern Ireland; or a customs border is placed, in prac- tice, in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of the country. For different reasons, each one of these decisions would be totally unac- ceptable to at least one loud and po- litically important constituency. The- resa May tried to fudge the choice by putting it off, and that failed. Johnson appears to have no alternative, except to offer, as usual, some happy stories: Britain just needs some ‘can-do spirit’ and everything will be ﬁne. But even if there were no unresolv- able Irish question, Brexit would still be an unsolvable riddle. Unless some- thing changes, there is no workable majority in the House of Commons for any version of Brexit. Not for staying in the European Union, not for leaving with May’s fudge of a deal, and not for leaving without a deal, an outcome that would in any case force Britain, on the day afterwards, to start negoti- ating again with Europe, except from a worse position. Of course it would be possible to decide all of these Brexit dilemmas with some form of democracy, perhaps a general election, a new referendum, or both. But then – and now the circle is complete – you get back to the exis- tential problem for the Tories: They are deeply unpopular, and whatever they propose is likely to lose. Faced with dilemmas like that, would not you prefer a fantasy about a smoked kipper? Or some other amusing story designed to ﬂatter you, to appeal to your down-to-earth British common sense, to make you laugh at those silly foreigners and their pesky ways? Or someone who, if nothing else, is at least ‘optimistic’? Extinction looms. Bad choices are ahead. The forks in the road all seem to lead to disaster. There’s no way out – so let’s at least entertain our- selves while the ship sinks. Applebaum is a Washington Post columnist, covering national politics and foreign policy, with a special focus on Europe and Russia. She is also a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and a professor of practice at the London School of Economics. She is a former member of The Washington Post’s editorial board. © 2019, The Washington Post HOW LONG WILL BORIS JOHNSON’S BREXIT OPTIMISM LAST? British politics has been paralysed for three years by division over whether and how the country should leave the European Union, so it’s tempting to invest hope in a new prime min- ister who promises that his “spirit of can-do” will end the impasse in little more than three months. Unfor- tunately, Boris Johnson, who on Wednesday was to supplant Theresa May at No. 10 Downing Street, hasn’t offered a plausible plan for how he will extract Britain from its prolonged funk – and his record of empty promises on the sub- ject suggest his government, and the country, are headed for more turbulence. Johnson was one of the leaders of the pro-Brexit ref- erendum campaign in 2016, offering wildly unrealistic forecasts of what Britain would gain from a break with Brussels. It was left to the stolid May to negotiate what turned out to be a far more costly and problem- atic deal with EU leaders, which Parliament has voted down three times. Johnson is promising to somehow re- vise the deal – though EU leaders insist they will not renegotiate – or lead Britain into a “no-deal” exit, which Parliament also has repeat- edly voted against. Johnson maintains that he can overcome the problem that has caused the most unrest in his Conserv- ative Party, which is Brus- sels’s insistence that Britain remain in the EU customs union unless and until a way can be found to estab- lish a seamless border be- tween British Northern Ire- land and the Republic of Ireland, an EU member. But May’s government tried and failed to ﬁnd such a ﬁx, and Johnson does not appear to have any fresh ideas, other than to declare that if the United States could ﬁnd a way to place men on the moon 50 years ago, “we can solve the problem of friction- less trade at the Northern Irish border”. Such rhetoric is typical of Johnson, an intelligent and witty former journalist who is known for improvisation, inattention to detail and fre- quent false statements. In that, and in his populist ap- peals to older Britons who long for bygone days when the country was a world power, the new prime min- ister resembles President Donald Trump. But Johnson has mostly avoided Trump’s hateful appeals to racism and ugly disparagement of opponents; instead, he of- fers an upbeat vision of a country that can rise again if only, as he put it Tuesday, “we … believe in ourselves and what we can do”. Americans can only hope he succeeds, as the con- tinuance of Britain’s polit- ical gridlock will only fur- ther weaken the West at a time when its democratic values are under assault from foreign powers and domestic extremists. Un- like May, Johnson will begin with the support of Trump, whom he has been careful to court. But his hopes of swiftly concluding a free- trade deal with the United States as a complement to Brexit look far-fetched. Like a lot of Johnson’s ideas, a re- vived ‘special relationship’ between London and Wash- ington sounds great; but the path for getting there is hard to discern. © 2019, The Washington Post Americans can only hope he succeeds, as the continuance of Britain’s political gridlock will only further weaken the West at a time when its democratic values are under assault from foreign powers and domestic extremists.The islands’ most-trusted news source 5 Community CALENDAR ■ COMMUNITY CALENDAR is published TUESDAYS and THURSDAYS. It is available to charitable or non-proﬁt organisations. Items should be submitted at least three working days before publication. Information must include name of sender, signature and contact number. ■ Items may be brought to the Cayman Compass ofﬁce on Shedden Road or emailed to cwinker@pinnaclemedialtd.com at least three days in advance of publication. CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY, 25 JULY 2019 SATURDAY, 27 JULY SPORTS & FITNESS EXPO: The Sportista Sports & Fitness Expo takes place from 9am-6pm at the Arts and Recreation Centre in Camana Bay. Exhibitors include gyms, personal trainers, physiotherapy centres, meal preparation centres, dance studios and other athletic clubs. Activities include demonstrations, raffles and a fashion show. PUB QUIZ: Eco Divers Reef Foundation will host its monthly pub quiz at the Hard Rock Cafe at 7pm. Entry is $10 per player, up to six players per team. Afterwards, a raffle will be held, sponsored by Cayman Spirits Company. This month’s questions will feature a ‘Star Wars’ theme. Call Hard Rock at 947-2020 to reserve a table. All funds are used to support the volunteer programme for the Eco Divers Reef Foundation coral management programme. For more information, see the Cayman Eco Divers page on Facebook. BOOK SALE: The Humane Society’s Book Loft will hold a sale outside A.L. Thompson’s from 9:30am to 2pm. Three books for $1. All proceeds go to the animal shelter. CHILDREN’S FUN DAY: Takes place from 2-6pm at the Savannah Playing Field on Pedro Castle Road. Free for children ages 5-11. Activities include bouncy castles, face painting, a magic show and emergency responder vehicles on display, as well as a drum circle. Finger food will be provided. MEN’S FELLOWSHIP: The Grand Cayman chapter of the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International is having its monthly breakfast today at 7:30am, at Aroma (formerly Lola’s) restaurant in Camana Bay. MONDAY, 29 JULY VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL: The Church of God Chapel West Bay will hold a Vacation Bible School, from today through Friday, 2 Aug. The theme is ‘The Mane Event’. 6-8pm. Ages 5-12. Call 928-1506. FRIDAY, 2 AUG. CIMA STUDENT MIXER: The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority is hosting a student mixer today at the Marriott Beach Resort, 3-5pm. This interactive platform will give college- bound students (ages 16–25) a chance to meet potential employers, learn about the importance of the financial services industry and how it contributes to the standard of living in the Cayman Islands. The event will include refreshments, prizes and giveaways. For more information or to RSVP, visit www.cima.ky. CULTURE READING CHALLENGE: The Cayman Brac Heritage House and Cayman Brac Public Library Culture Reading Challenge takes place from 2-15 Aug. Call 948-0563. SUMMER FOOTBALL CAMP: The Sports Department of Cayman Brac hosts a summer football camp 2-5 Aug. from 8:30am to noon for ages 7-16. Call 948-8382. SUNDAY, 4 AUG. ASTRONOMY VIEWING: The Cayman Islands Astronomical Society holds its monthly public astronomy viewing session at 7:30-9:30pm, on the lawn at Pedro Castle, where it will be keeping a close-up view of the waxing crescent moon, Jupiter and Saturn, as well as any shooting stars from the Perseids meteor shower, one of the brighter meteor showers of the year. They occur every year between 17 July and 24 Aug. and tend to peak around 9-13 Aug. Event will be cancelled if there is more than 50% cloud cover. MONDAY, 5 AUG. VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL: The Good News Baptist Church will hold a Vacation Bible School on 5-9 Aug. The theme is ‘Incredible Race’. 6-8:30pm. Ages 4-12. Call 926-3249. WEDNESDAY, 7 AUG. STROKE AND STRIDE: The first of a three-part series of fundraiser races to support young triathletes and community charities will be held today for swimmers and runners. The swim distance increases each week while the run stays the same at 2 miles. Participate in 1, 2 or 3 of the races – individually or as a team. Race 1 is held today and consists of a 400-metre swim and a 2-mile run; Race 2 is on 14 Aug., a 600-metre swim and 2-mile run; and Race 3 is on 21 Aug., an 800-metre swim and 2-mile run. All races begin at 5:45pm at Sunset House. Entry fees are: Individuals, $15 per race/$35 for all 3; Teams, $25 per race/$60 all 3. Triathlon Association Membership required and is available for $15 at registration. YOUNG MEN AT RISK: The Community Affairs Ministry and the Alex Panton Foundation host a presentation on Young Men at Risk from 6:30-8pm at the South Sound Civic Centre. SUNDAY, 11 AUG. ENVIROWALK: The rescheduled EnviroWalk Environmental 5K Walk/ Run, sponsored by Miss World Cayman Islands, F45 and Flowers Bottled Water, will be held at 7am at SafeHaven. The previous planned event was postponed due to the weather. All are invited. Bring your water bottle, hats, sunscreen and comfortable walking shoes. The entry fee is $25 for adults and $12 for those 12 and under. SATURDAY, 17 AUG. CHARITY TRUNK SALE: All registration fees will go to benefit the Cayman Islands Cancer Society. The sale will be held at the parking lot of the CIBC FirstCaribbean Main Street branch. 6-10am. Sellers should arrive by 5:30am and be set up no later than 6am. Vendor entry fee is $25. The deadline to register a space is 2pm, Friday, 16 Aug. Call 815-2405 or 815-2407 or email shadden. mclaughlin@cibcfcib.com or joy.anglin@cibcfcib.com to reserve a space. GENERAL INTEREST YMCA SUMMER CAMPS: Camps will take place from 2 July to 23 Aug. across three locations – Field of Dreams, Camana Bay Sports Complex and the Youth Centre at the Cayman Islands Baptist Church in Savannah. For more information, visit www.ymcacayman.ky. On-site registration is open weekdays from 9am to 5pm at the Field of Dreams. The Day Camp team can also be reached at ysummercamp@ ymcacayman.ky. To find out about financial assistance, which is available for families in need, email info@ymcacayman.ky. COUNSELLING SERVICES: The Family Resource Centre and the Counselling Centre have moved. They are now with the Department of Counselling Services at their new home on Mary Street, at 87 West Apollo House. Hours are Mondays and Fridays from 9am to 1pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays 9am to 7pm, and Wednesdays 9am to 4pm. SQUASH CLUB: The Cayman Islands Squash Club hosts a social evening for women on the last Tuesday of every month at 6:30pm, and holds squash beginner lessons for adults every Monday at 7pm. For more information, email info@squash.ky. PIRATES WEEK VENDORS: Food and craft vendors interested in participating in the upcoming Pirates Week Festival can reserve stalls. Food Festival dates are 8, 9 and 11 Nov. A valid DEH Food Handling Certificate must accompany completed application forms. All food vendors must use biodegradable containers and utensils (available from Pirates Week Festival office – limited supply). Space is limited, please register early. Download the application form at www. piratesweekfestival.com/ participate. To learn more call 949-5078 or info@ piratesweekfestival.com. LOCAL HARVEST MARKET: Local farmers sell their produce and farmed goods at Camana Bay on Wednesdays from 10am to 3pm in Heliconia Court (located next to Scotiabank). COMMUNITY CHESS: Tuesdays 5-8pm, 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. ART OPEN CANVAS: At KARoo Restaurant in Camana Bay, Wednesdays 7-11pm. Artists of all levels are welcome to come and enjoy painting and socialising with other artists. Includes use of easels, lights, space and a beverage ticket. No fee. For more information, contact info@visualartcayman.com or jar.was@gmail.com. VISUAL ARTS SOCIETY: Adult Open Studio available to those who want to work independently in an inspiring atmosphere. Wednesdays for adults, 9am till noon. Thursdays Adults and Youth, 10am till noon. Watler House Art Studio, Pedro St. James. Fee is $5/$15 pp for ceramics. $15/$25 pp non-members. Includes use of studio, glazes and ceramic tools. Clay available $30 per bag/fee for kiln usage. To register, call 546-9422 or email info@visualartcayman.com. ART AT THE STRAND: Every Saturday, from 3pm to sunset, the Visual Arts Society hosts a local art market featuring artists displaying arts, crafts, paintings, prints, hand- crafted jewellery and ceramics for sale in front of the Lodge/Eco-Den, who is offering 2-4-1 drinks, pub food and homemade treats, smoothies, and speciality coffees/teas. For more information or to become a displaying artist, email info@visualartcayman.com. SEAFARERS HALL: The Cayman Islands Seafarers Association wishes to inform the community that the hall is now available for rent every day of the week, including Saturdays. THRIFT SHOP: Cayman Islands Humane Society Thrift Shop. Located in Venetia Plaza, next to China Village. The Thrift shop is open Tuesday – Saturday 9am to 2pm. Closed on Sunday and Monday. The phone number is 945-5596 THRIFT SHOP: One Dog at a Time’s New To U shop is now located at JJT Warehouses, Row 2, Unit 2 on Industrial Way. Open Saturdays 8am to 5pm and Wednesdays 10am to 2pm. Variety of items available, including men’s, women’s, children’s and baby clothes, shoes, household, electrical items, CDs, DVDs, books, home furnishings, toys, baby cribs, car seats, dog beds and more. BETHESDA COUNSELLING CENTRE: Caters to all who seek help. Open Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 5:30pm at 68 Mary Street. Appointments available Saturdays and late evenings. Owned and operated by the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. Call 946-6575. HUMANE SOCIETY BOOK LOFT: North Sound Road. Open Monday 12:30-4pm; Tues-Fri 9:30am to 4pm; Sat 9:30am to 4:30pm. Volunteers are needed for front desk a few hours per week. For more information, email humanesocietybookloft@ candw.ky or call 946-8053. Donations of books, games, CDs, stationery, cards, etc., in good condition needed. CLUBS, ORGANISATIONS ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: Meets daily to help with drinking problems. 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-centred 12-step recovery group addresses addictions and those affected by them. Meetings at Cayman Islands Baptist Church, Pedro Castle Road, Tuesdays, 7:15pm. For details, contact Vanessa Gilman at 946-2422, or visit www.overcomersoutreach.org. For more Community Calendar events, visit www.caymancompass.com/events. The Cayman Islands Humane Society will hold a book sale outside A.L. Thompson’s on Saturday morning. All proceeds go to the animal shelter. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAYThe islands’ most-trusted news source 6 THURSDAY, 25 JULY 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS “to improve the client experi‑ ence and, most importantly, avoid children going without school lunches”, ofﬁcials said. The number of stu‑ dents helped, however, only changed by a fraction during the two periods, the data shows, actually dropping from 328 to 325. The original budgeted amount for school lunches in 2018 was $124,000. That number was later revised to $264,000. The actual cost for the year was $251,733. That compares to $161,500 spent in ﬁscal year 2016‑2017, but that ﬁgure is for an 18‑month period. Adjusting that amount to a 12‑month average shows a year‑to‑year increase of $144,026, or 134%. A big jump was also seen in preschool assistance. The number of children assisted rose from 62 in 2016‑2017 to 70 in 2018. But the cost of that support went up 102%, from an adjusted $59,873 to $120,686. Again, ofﬁcials said this might be due to changes made in the application pro‑ cedure, which were similar to the changes in school lunch applications. “This increase is mainly due to families not pre‑ senting in time to request an extension of services and subsequently, the NAU’s de‑ cision to approve this par‑ ticular service for a longer period of time in the 2018 ﬁscal year.” In terms of family assis‑ tance, ofﬁcials said the in‑ creased cost of living in Cayman was largely respon‑ sible for the rise in expendi‑ tures. Poor relief payments went from $550 per month in 2016‑2017 to $650 per month in 2018, an 18% rise. However, the actual ex‑ penditure on payments rose 28%, while the number of people receiving the assis‑ tance ticked up just 5%. That was one of the few increases seen in the number of people helped. The number of families re‑ ceiving poor relief vouchers and rental assistance both dropped slightly. Overall the total number of families re‑ ceiving any type of assis‑ tance rose just 0.5%. Unit ofﬁcials said the in‑ creases reﬂect the economic realities of Cayman. “The increasing cost of living in the Cayman Islands has caused families to rely on more services from the NAU and for longer periods of time,” they said. “Notably, in accordance with recent societal trends, rent, utilities and food are the three areas where the NAU has seen the largest increase in cost over the years.” FY 16/17 (adjusted for 12 months) FY 18FY 16/17FY 18 School Lunch$107,707$251,733Children served 328325 Poor Relief Payments$5,708,600$7,303,355People assisted9991,051 Poor Relief Vouchers$1,962,743$2,327,368Families assisted1,1091,009 Pre-School Assistance$59,873$120,686Children assisted6270 Total spending, all categories$12,353,388$15,561,081 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Needs Assessment Unit costs jump, led by school lunches to worsen. In the next 10 to 15 years, McLaughlin fore‑ cast the population of the Cayman Islands will reach 100,000 people. “We are keenly conscious of the frustrations and in‑ convenience that the pre‑ sent situation causes all of us on this side of Grand Cayman,” he said. The premier was joined by members of the Department of Commerce and the National Roads Authority in outlining several major infrastructure projects in the Prospect/Red Bay area aimed at addressing larger roads problems. Widening of Shamrock Road Work to expand Sham‑ rock Road is expected to start in the ﬁrst half of 2020, explained Tristan Hydes, deputy chief ofﬁcer for the Department of Com‑ merce. While modelling of the roadway is ongoing, the street is slated for widening from four to six lanes from the Red Bay roundabout to the roundabout by Linford Pierson Highway. Part of this plan would in‑ clude expanding the Grand Harbour roundabout to three lanes. A stoplight may also be installed to control the ﬂow of trafﬁc from South Sound Road. Edward Howard of the National Roads Authority added that incorporating safety elements, such as a centre turn lane and bicycle lanes, will also factor into the street’s redevelopment. Expansion of East-West Arterial The connector road that currently runs from Pros‑ pect to Hirst Road is sched‑ uled for extension. That work could begin in late August or early September. As part of the plan, a new roadway would expand from Hirst Road to Lookout Road in Bodden Town. An existing strip of the East‑West Arterial, from Poindexter Drive to the Red Bay Roundabout, is also scheduled for upgrades. The ﬁrst lane of the road will be widened and more shoulder will be incorporated. The idea, Hydes explained, is to encourage more trafﬁc to ﬂow onto the arterial rather than using Shamrock Road. Community park Six parcels of land have been purchased by govern‑ ment between Victory Av‑ enue and Prospect Drive to develop a community park, McLaughlin said, adding that planning for the project is at an advanced stage. A steering committee, including mem‑ bers of the Prospect Red Bay Community Group, will guide the park’s development. The park has received a $150,000 donation from Fred Whittaker and members of the Lions Club of Grand Cayman, McLaughlin added. The rest of the funding will come from government. Plans for the park include a parking area, walking track, basketball court, a sand area and play equipment for children, cabanas for par‑ ties, and bathroom facilities, Hydes said. Other, smaller lots in the Prospect/Red Bay area could be developed into parks and green spaces as well. Selkirk Drive An announcement that garnered extensive applause was the plan to build a con‑ nector road between Sel‑ kirk Drive and Bimini Drive. Planners hope the new road will ease stress on residents of Selkirk Drive who are not currently able to make right‑ hand turns off their street. During morning commutes to George Town, for ex‑ ample, they must ﬁrst turn left and ﬂip around at the next roundabout, increasing commute times and road congestion. McLaughlin said building the connector road to Bimini Drive had been delayed in the past due to difﬁculty negoti‑ ating with land owners. “We have taken the deci‑ sion to compulsorily acquire that piece of land,” he said. “Once government owns it, we can then do what we need to do with it.” Drainage Poor drainage and fre‑ quent ﬂooding on Selkirk Drive were also a point of discussion. Hydes said plan‑ ners are currently looking at the issue and hope to start work on improving drainage in October or November. Drainage in general was a major issue voiced by Pros‑ pect and Red Bay residents. Several complained that ﬂooding and drainage issues became worse after the de‑ velopment of Grand Harbour. Prospect MLA Austin Harris pointed out that the high water table in the area exacerbates drainage issues. While new drains are being planned for several streets, including Raven Avenue and Selkirk Drive, plan‑ ners explained that a number of factors can delay such works, including placement of utilities and budgets. “Like drains, we don’t have the capacity to give everyone a street light,” Harris said. “We can’t give everyone a drain. It’s simply not practical.” Several audience members questioned if the Grand Har‑ bour canal system could be used for drainage. Howard said the Depart‑ ment of Environment pre‑ fers that water from road‑ ways not ﬂow into canals and thus the ocean. McLaughlin also pointed out that canals are private property. He added, however, that government can work around such restrictions. “If we have to compulso‑ rily acquire canals, we will do that,” McLaughlin said. “We’re going to do what we have to do to ﬁx it.” Complete streets and larger trafﬁc issues Minister of Planning and Infrastructure Joey Hew touched on the islandwide is‑ sues with trafﬁc congestion, particularly for cars travel‑ ling from the eastern dis‑ tricts to George Town. “On the issue of trafﬁc, as we all know, there is no one ﬁx. We have to look at this in a very holistic manner. We cannot continue to simply build roads, so we have to look at things like public trans‑ port,” he said, adding that a mass public transportation study has been budgeted. Hew threw his support behind a proposal from MLA Harris to place limits on ve‑ hicle imports through meas‑ ures such as restricting the age of imports and requiring those who import multiple vehicles a year to take out a business licence. He expected to announce soon an initiative to en‑ courage the purchase of bi‑ cycles and electric vehicles as part of larger goals to re‑ duce emissions. All new street designs will also include bicycle and pe‑ destrian access, he added. Frequent ﬂooding, congestion stressors for Red Bay, Prospect CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Minister of Planning and Infrastructure Joey Hew, Premier Alden McLaughlin and Prospect MLA Austin Harris speak to constituents during the meeting Tuesday night. - PHOTOS: KAYLA YOUNG More than 100 Prospect and Red Bay residents crowded into Seafarers Hall for the public meeting Tuesday. SOURCE: NEEDS ASSESSMENT UNITThe islands’ most-trusted news source 7 CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY, 25 JULY 2019 Another ray had a wound that was suspected to be a result of a spearﬁshing in- cident. Harvey said she was still seeking to conﬁrm if that was the case. Any type of ﬁshing for rays is illegal under the Na- tional Conservation Law. The rays face other threats, though, which cannot be controlled. One had injuries from a shark bite. “It had healed quite well,” said Harvey. “They are pretty resilient.” The research team also in- cludes a vet, who performs an ultrasound on each of the female rays. During the census, which took place from Friday to Sunday, they found more than 50% of the fe- males of reproductive age were pregnant. The foundation and the Department of Environment have previously highlighted concerns about the handling of rays by tour operators at the Sandbar. New rules, proposed through the Na- tional Conservation Council, seek to make it possible for guides who break the han- dling guidelines to have their licenses revoked. Harvey said the founda- tion had met with tour guide operators and produced a video demonstration of how to safely handle the resi- dent rays without harming them. She believes standards are improving. Record stingray count at sandbar CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Ron Kipp, tourism icon, dies MARK MUCKENFUSS mmuckenfuss@pinnaclemedialtd.com Ron Kipp, one of the big- gest promoters of Cayman Is- lands diving over the years, has died. He was 79. Kipp, who died on Monday after a long illness, was the owner of Bob Soto’s Diving for two decades. He was known as a dedicated promoter of diving here in Cayman, throughout the Car- ibbean and worldwide. He not only marketed diving, but helped to organise the industry by creating a local scuba diving association and, eventually, helping to establish the Cayman Island Tourism Association. Tourism Minister Moses Kirkconnell called Kipp an “icon of the industry, globally recognized and known”. Cayman’s dive industry, Kirkconnell said, beneﬁtted from Kipp’s business ex- pertise. He used that ex- pertise to beneﬁt other dive operators. “He was one of the initial founders of the old Cayman Islands Sports Operators As- sociation,” said Rod McDo- wall, operations manager for Red Sail Sports and one of Kipp’s early employees. Part of what the associa- tion did, McDowall said, was establish standards for the industry, which meant con- vincing all the operators to work together. “It was a pretty difﬁcult thing to do,” he said, but it paid off. “Those standards were adopted throughout the Caribbean.” It was part of the reason Kipp was inducted into the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame, which is based in Cayman, in 2012. Among his many other awards, he was one of the honourees at 2017’s Heroes Day celebra- tion. A graduate of the Uni- versity of Tulsa and a US Air Force veteran, Kipp spent the ﬁrst part of his career on the business side of IBM. His stepdaughter Kristin Emond said Kipp caused a stir with one of his bosses in 1980 and was told he’d be transferred. Instead, she said, he quit. He had been introduced to diving in 1971 and had been certiﬁed as an instructor. When he heard that Bob Soto was selling his dive busi- ness, Kipp and his soon-to-be second wife Kathleen moved to Cayman and bought it. He ran the outﬁt until 2001 when he sold it. Along the way, Kipp helped turn a shallow spot in North Sound frequented by stingrays into one of Cay- man’s most popular tourist destinations, Stingray City. In his 2013 book, ‘From “Big Blue” to the Deep Blue,’ Kipp recounted how Pat Ken- nedy, one of his boat cap- tains, and Jay Ireland told him about the spot in 1987. Divers loved the experience. At Kipp’s invite, Skin Diver magazine did a piece on it, drawing international atten- tion. Kathleen Kipp trained stingrays to swim through a hoop. “I marketed the hell out of it,” Kipp wrote in the book. “And visitors to Grand Cayman have been enjoying it ever since.” “Ron was a marketing ge- nius,” said Suzy Soto, Bob So- to’s wife. “He did Scuba Bowl in September when it was slow season.” September and October were typically dead months for diving operators, Emond said, but Scuba Bowl changed that. Kipp worked with Cayman Airways and the Holiday Inn to put together attractive dive packages. “Multiple dive operators would bring people down from around the world,” she said. “You had 15-20 boats pulling up to the Holiday Inn to take people diving.” At the annual Diving Equipment and Marketing Association’s convention, Kipp corralled all of the Cayman operators into a Cayman pavilion, where eve- ryone dressed as pirates. His work drew wide- spread attention in the in- dustry. There are pictures of him and Kathleen with Jacques Cousteau. “Jean-Michel Cousteau was here at the house all the time,” Emond said. When ‘The Firm’ was shot in Cayman in the early 1990s, Kipp helped with ﬁnding lo- cations and as an advisor on the diving scenes. He was Gene Hackman’s double and took cast members diving in their off hours. “It thrilled him to have Tom Cruise having a drink at our house,” Emond said. Not everything always ran smoothly, however, she said. Kipp also ran a glass-bottom boat tour, which frequently got guests closer to the water than they might have expected. “The glass-bottom boat sinking off the Lobster Pot was a regular part of my childhood,” Emond said. Brad Nelson, who worked for Kipp from 1988 until 2001, owns Cayman University Di- vers. He says it’s the only dive operation in the world where divemasters can talk with the divers underwater. “It was all inspired by Ron Kipp,” Nelson said. Kipp, he said, was a se- rious businessman. “But he had a good sense of humour and he was a fun guy,” he added. Red Sail’s McDowall re- called how Kipp worked hard to forge a cohesiveness among his staff, whether an organised group event or casual drinks after work. “He made a conscious ef- fort to make sure they were doing things together,” Mc- Dowall said. Emond said her father would not accept no for an answer. “He told me no is a nego- tiating point,” she said. “He taught me you can ﬁght with someone and still love them and respect them. He fought with everyone. He would force feed you into doing his will and, at the end, he would buy you a drink and call you his friend.” That drive lasted until the end, she said. “My dad couldn’t die until I had my tree trimmed,” she said. “He was after me for six weeks to trim the tree outside my window. Twenty- seven minutes after it was trimmed, he died.” Besides his wife and step- daughter, Kipp is survived by three sons from his ﬁrst mar- riage, Stephen Kipp, of Cali- fornia, Thomas ‘Brad’ Kipp, of Ohio, and Jeffrey Kipp of Colorado. NEW COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER FOR MINISTRY OF COMMERCE The Ministry of Com- merce, Planning and Infra- structure has announced the appointment of Alethia Lambert as communica- tions and public affairs manager, effective 2 July. In her new role, Lambert will be responsible for de- veloping and managing the communications initiatives within the ministry and as- sisting its relevant depart- ments and authorities to publicise programmes and activities through tradi- tional and new media. Lambert has more than a dozen years of ex- perience in communica- tions, including with the United Nations Develop- ment Programme Jamaica Ofﬁce, United States Em- bassy Kingston Ofﬁce, Ja- maica’s National Irrigation Commission, HEART Trust National Training Agency, and the Jamaica Informa- tion Service. She is a graduate of the University of the West In- dies, Mona campus, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Literature, and Baruch College, City University of New York, with a Master of Arts in Corporate Communica- tions. In addition, she has completed studies in law at the University of London and the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica and is a qualiﬁed attorney-at- law, called to the Jamaican Bar in 2011. Lambert has taught courses in public relations, social media management and law at several tertiary level institutions including the University of Tech- nology and University of the Commonwealth Carib- bean in Jamaica. Minister Joey Hew said, “The ministry is making every effort to improve the ﬂow of information be- tween its agencies and var- ious internal and external stakeholders. We want to facilitate participation, in- crease service delivery and build accountability and trust. Ms. Lambert brings enthusiasm and solid ex- pertise in the area of com- munications and we feel conﬁdent she will add value to our team.” Lambert said she looks forward “to promoting the programmes and initiatives of the Ministry in a timely manner so the public will be armed with accurate information to make in- formed decisions”. This image from Ron Kipp’s Facebook page shows Kipp, left, and his wife Kathleen. The research team counted and tagged stingrays at the sandbar for three days from Friday to Sunday.The islands’ most-trusted news source 8 THURSDAY, 25 JULY 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS Heat wave threatens ﬁre-damaged Notre Dame The chief architect of France’s historic monuments said Wednesday he’s afraid that the heat wave sweeping Europe could cause the vaulted ceilings of ﬁre-ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral to collapse. Specialists are working to stabilise the cathedral’s structure before reconstruction work begins. Mueller: I did not clear Trump of obstruction of justice EU braces for Boris Johnson as UK leader – and Brexit BRUSSELS (AP) – Brussels is bracing for Boris and Brexit. Three decades ago, jour- nalist Boris Johnson wrote stories for London’s Daily Telegraph playing up stere- otypes about bumbling bu- reaucrats in the European Union wasting money and tying up UK businesses in red tape – articles the Eu- ropean ofﬁcials deemed to be so false that they coined the word ‘Euromyth’ to de- scribe them. Now he is becoming Brit- ain’s prime minister, set to lead the country out of the EU, and Johnson showed last week that little has changed. Brandishing a kipper at a campaign rally, Johnson al- leged the EU had forced ﬁsh- ermen to plastic-wrap the British smoked ﬁsh delicacy in a special pillow of ice, pushing up costs and dam- aging the environment in an- other example of Brussels’ ‘regulatory overkill’. The EU quickly said the allegation was false: The wrapping was a UK national regulation outside of the bloc’s scope. Johnson’s allegation was similar to what he and other like-minded British journal- ists in Brussels wrote in the early 1990s. Back then, Euro- pean ofﬁcials sought to de- bunk their stories that said things like all EU manure had to smell the same, or that it would outlaw excessively curved bananas. Johnson even returned to the banana ban theme during the Brexit referendum campaign three years ago. The EU parliament’s chief Brexit ofﬁcial, Guy Ver- hofstadt, last month called Johnson “a man who con- tinues to dissemble, exag- gerate, and dis-inform the public about Brexit”. “Reality does not square with Johnson’s ensorcelling combination of false prom- ises, pseudo-patriotism, and foreigner bashing,” he added. On Tuesday, EU Commis- sion Vice President Frans Timmermans noted that Johnson had been ambivalent about Britain leaving the EU before he threw his weight behind the Brexit campaign. “I would just suggest that you look at what he has been writing over the years. He took a long time de- ciding whether he was for or against the EU,” Timmermans said, adding: “The world’s politics is rife with ‘colourful’ people these days, so if you can’t deal with them, there’s not much you could do.” Despite the disparaging comments on both sides, both Johnson and the EU will now have to work together on Brexit. He has committed to taking Britain out of the EU on 31 Oct. “do or die”. In po- litical terms, that most likely means with or without a deal to soften the economic im- pact of the divorce Johnson and his prede- cessor, Theresa May, are both Conservatives, but he vehe- mently opposes the EU di- vorce deal that she struck with the EU. Under the plan, Britain must pay a depar- ture fee of 39 billion pounds (US$48 billion), and adhere to its guarantees to avoid a hard customs border on the frontier between EU member Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK. The EU is holding out the possibility of giving Britain another extension to the Brexit deadline if Johnson wants. But Johnson already has been preparing for with- drawing without a deal, something that ﬁnancial ex- perts say would be chaotic, costly and damaging to the British economy. Most econ- omists think it would lead to a severe recession as ﬁrms face tariffs and other bar- riers on their exports. Brexit worries have weighed heavily on the British pound, which has fallen this month to near two-year lows. Johnson has not made it easy for the EU to warmly embrace him. When negotiations on the withdrawal from the EU began in 2017, Johnson said the bloc could “go whistle” if it wanted a big exit payout from Britain for out- standing debts. WASHINGTON (AP) – Former special counsel Robert Mu- eller on Wednesday dis- missed President Donald Trump’s claims that his in- vestigation had exonerated the president of obstructing his probe into Russia’s ef- forts to help Trump win the 2016 election. “The president was not exculpated for the acts that he allegedly committed,” Mu- eller declared at the opening of congressional hearings into his investigation. He described the Russian government’s efforts to in- terfere in American politics as among the most serious challenges to democracy he had encountered in his dec- ades-long career, which in- cluded steering the FBI after the 11 Sept. terrorist attacks. The televised Capitol Hill appearance, Mueller’s ﬁrst since wrapping his two-year Russia probe last spring, un- folded at a moment of deep divisions in Congress and the country, with many Ameri- cans hardened in their opin- ions about the success of Donald Trump’s presidency and whether impeachment proceedings are necessary. It was unclear whether hours of testimony will shape public opinion about Trump’s acts. Democrats hoped his testi- mony would weaken Trump’s reelection prospects in ways that Mueller’s book-length re- port did not. They hope that even if his testimony does not inspire impeachment demands – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made clear she will not pursue im- peachment, for now –Mueller could nonetheless unambigu- ously spell out questionable, norm-shattering actions by the president. Republicans, by contrast, immediately defended Trump and criticised the Democrats for continuing to go after him. They highlighted Mu- eller’s conclusion of insuf- ﬁcient evidence to establish a criminal conspiracy be- tween the Trump campaign and Russia. “Those are the facts of the Mueller report. Russia meddled in the 2016 elec- tion,” said Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee. “The president did not con- spire with Russians. Nothing we hear today will change those facts.” Mueller frequently gave terse, one-word answers to lawmakers’ questions, and referred back to the wording in his report. He at times ap- peared stilted and halting, and several times asked for questions to be repeated. Pressed as to why he had not investigated a “dossier” of claims that the Republicans insist helped lead to the start of the probe, he said that was not his charge. That was “outside my pur- view”, he said repeatedly. Though Mueller declared at the outset that he would be limited in what he would say, the hearings nonethe- less carry the extraordinary spectacle of a prosecutor dis- cussing in public a criminal investigation he conducted into a sitting US president. Mueller, known for his taciturn nature, warned that he would not stray beyond what’s already been revealed in his report. And the Justice Department instructed Mu- eller to stay strictly within those parameters, giving him a formal directive to point to if he faces questions he does not want to answer. On Tuesday, Democrats on the House judiciary and intelligence committees granted his request to have his top aide in the investi- gation, Aaron Zebley, sit at the table with him. Zebley is not expected to be sworn in for questioning by the ju- diciary panel. But he will be able to answer questions be- fore the intelligence com- mittee, where, a committee aide said, he will be sworn in. The aide was not author- ised to discuss the hearing preparations publicly and re- quested anonymity. Trump lashed out early Wednesday ahead of the hearing, saying on Twitter that “Democrats and others” are trying to fabricate a crime and pin it on “a very innocent President”. “Why didn’t Robert Mu- eller investigate the inves- tigators?” Trump said in his tweet. Trump has made Mueller a regular target of attack over the past two years in an at- tempt to undermine his cred- ibility and portray him as bi- ased and compromised. Over the last week, Trump began to frequently ask con- ﬁdants how he thought the hearing would go, and while he expressed no worry that Mueller would reveal any- thing damaging, he was irri- tated that the former special counsel was being given the national stage, according to two Republicans close to the White House. They were not authorised to speak publicly about private conversations. Long aware of the power of televised images, Trump seethed to one adviser that he was annoyed Democrats would be given a tool to ramp up their investigations – and that the cable news networks would now have new footage of Mueller to play endlessly on loop in an effort to embar- rass the White House. Trump this week feigned indifference to Mueller’s tes- timony, telling reporters in the Oval Ofﬁce on Monday, “I’m not going to be watching – probably – maybe I’ll see a little bit of it.” A former FBI director who spent 12 years parrying questions from lawmakers at oversight hearings, and dec- ades before that as a prose- cutor who asked questions of his own, Mueller resisted ef- forts to goad him into saying anything he did not want to say. He repeatedly told law- makers to refer to his re- port for answers to spe- ciﬁc questions. Wednesday’s ﬁrst hearing before the Judiciary Com- mittee focussed on whether the president illegally ob- structed justice by at- tempting to seize control of Mueller’s investigation. “ The president was not exculpated for the acts that he allegedly committed.” FORMER SPECIAL COUNSEL ROBERT MUELLER Despite the disparaging comments on both sides, both Johnson and the EU will now have to work together on Brexit. New UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans Former special counsel Robert Mueller is sworn in before he testiﬁes before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on his report on Russian election interference, Wednesday on Capitol Hill, in Washington. – PHOTO: AP9 WORLD&REGIONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • THURSDAY, 25 JULY 2019 Diplomats’ brain scans show differences, add to Cuba mystery China says US ‘power politics’ undermines global stability AFTER BAILOUTS, GREECE WANTS EASIER BUDGET TARGETS BEIJING (AP) – China on Wednesday accused the United States of undermining global stability with unilat- eral policies and ‘power poli- tics’ as the Defense Ministry issued the ﬁrst comprehen- sive outline of its policies since President Xi Jinping came to power more than six years ago. The US was the ﬁrst country mentioned in the document’s opening section about “prominent destabi- lizing factors” and “profound changes” in the international security environment. “The US has adjusted its national security and defense strategies, and adopted uni- lateral policies,” China said in the document. “It has pro- voked and intensiﬁed com- petition among countries, signiﬁcantly increased its defense expenditure … and undermined global strategic stability.” It’s the 10th white paper of its kind since 1998. The last one was published in 2011, two years before Xi be- came president. The document said China will not renounce the use of force in efforts to reunify Taiwan with the mainland and vowed to take all neces- sary military measures to de- feat “separatists”. China listed among its top priorities its resolve to con- tain “Taiwan independence” and combat what it considers separatist forces in Tibet and the far west region of Xin- jiang. While highlighting Chi- na’s “defensive” approach, the report also pledged to “surely counterattack if attacked”. China’s paramilitary po- lice have helped Xinjiang au- thorities “take out 1,588 vi- olent terrorist gangs and capture 12,995 terrorists”, the report said. The US, inde- pendent analysts and human rights groups have estimated that around 1 million Mus- lims have been detained in internment camps as part of what the government calls a counterterrorism campaign. Former Uighur and Ka- zakh detainees and their families have accused China of punishing religious ex- pression and separating chil- dren from their parents. They say members of their pre- dominantly Muslim ethnic groups have been arbitrarily detained and subject to polit- ical indoctrination. China has long called the Dalai Lama a dangerous sep- aratist. But the exiled Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader maintains that he only wants a greater degree of autonomy for the region. Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said the threat of Taiwan separa- tism is growing and warned that those who are seeking the democratic island’s in- dependence will meet a dead end. “If anyone dares to sepa- rate Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will certainly ﬁght, resolutely defending the country’s sovereign unity and territorial integrity,” Wu said. Taiwan split from the Communist Party-ruled mainland China amid civil war in 1949. China maintains that Taiwan is part of its ter- ritory and seeks “complete reuniﬁcation”. The US has repeatedly raised Beijing’s ire by selling arms to Taiwan. While the US does not have formal diplo- matic ties with the island, US law requires that it provide Taiwan with sufﬁcient de- fence equipment and services for self-defense. Earlier this month, the US tentatively approved the sale of $2.2 billion in arms to Taiwan – a proposal that had prompted China to threaten sanctions against the US. Tai- wan’s defence ministry said it made the request in light of a growing military threat from China. “The Western world, led by the United States, continues to strengthen its ability to con- tain China,” said Hong Kong- based military analyst Song Zhongping. US actions on Taiwan, the South China Sea, North Korea and Iran have all contributed to making the US the “initiator” of China’s secu- rity concerns, he said. The release of the white paper at this time is to “warn the Taiwan independence forces and relevant parties in the US that they should not underestimate China’s deter- mination”, Song said. The white paper also pointed to US, Japanese and Australian moves to beef up their military presence and alliances in the Asia-Paciﬁc as bringing uncertainties to the region. China’s military expansion in recent years has prompted concerns among other Pa- ciﬁc countries in a region long dominated by the US Navy. ATHENS, Greece (AP) – Greece’s new conservative government said it wants to ease tough budget re- strictions set by bailout lenders two years ahead of schedule, as lawmakers on Monday formally conﬁrmed the new administration. Government spokesman Stelios Petsas said Athens will seek negotiations with creditors next year to lower targets for Greece’s primary surplus, the annual budget balance before debt costs. “We are determined to boost conﬁdence in the economy by proceeding swiftly with real reforms under our ownership,” he told parliament. “In 2020, we will request from our partners the reduction of primary surpluses to more realistic levels.” Petsas spoke before lawmakers voted 158-142 to conﬁrm Prime Min- ister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ government formed after 7 July general elections. Greece pledged under the previous government to maintain primary sur- pluses worth 3.5% of gross domestic product through 2022. Lenders say that level is key to keeping Greece’s high national debt sustain- able and have appeared cool to the idea of renego- tiating the targets. The issue was discussed in Athens last week at meet- ings between the senior rep- resentatives of creditor in- stitutions and ministers from the new government. Lawmakers voted fol- lowing a three-day debate, during which Mitsotakis and his ministers outlined major upcoming legislative initiatives. Mitsotakis, 51, promised to introduce tax cut legis- lation and to scrap long- standing rules that limit police access to univer- sity campuses. The government also plans to speed up privati- sations plans, clear regu- lations blocking major in- vestments, and toughen detention and deporta- tion policies for migrants whose asylum applications are rejected. The general election was held nearly a year after Greece’s three successive bailout programmes ended. “It is our obligation to send a message of opti- mism – a message that, at last, something will change,” Mitsotakis said. New governments in Greece must be conﬁrmed by a vote of conﬁdence after lawmakers are seated in the new session of parliament. Mitsotakis’ New De- mocracy party has 158 seats in the 300-member parliament. CHICAGO (AP) – Advanced brain scans found perplexing differences in US diplomats who say they developed con- cussion-like symptoms after working in Cuba, a ﬁnding that only heightens the mystery of what may have happened to them, a new study says. Extensive imaging tests showed the workers had less white matter than a compar- ison group of healthy people and other structural differ- ences, researchers said. While they had expected the cerebellum, near the brain stem, to be affected given the workers’ reported symptoms – balance prob- lems, sleep and thinking dif- ﬁculties, headaches and other complaints – they found unique patterns in tissue connecting brain regions. Ragini Verma, a University of Pennsylvania brain imaging specialist and the lead author, said the patterns were un- like anything she’s seen from brain diseases or injuries. “It is pretty strange. It’s a true medical mystery,” Verma said. Co-author Dr. Randel Swanson, a Penn specialist in brain injury rehabilitation, said “there’s no question that something happened”, but imaging tests can’t determine what it was. An outside expert, Uni- versity of Edinburgh neu- rologist Jon Stone, said the study does not conﬁrm that any brain injury occurred nor that the brain differences re- sulted from the strange ex- periences the diplomats said happened in Cuba. Cuba has denied any kind of attack, which has strained relations with the United States. “The article published today doesn’t change the situation,” said Johana Tab- lada, Cuba’s deputy head of US affairs. “The article rec- ognizes that the changes detected are minimal, that their conclusions are uncer- tain and that they can’t iden- tify the cause.” The results were pub- lished Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical As- sociation. A journal edito- rial says the study may im- prove understanding of the reported symptoms, but that the relevance of the brain dif- ferences is uncertain. In a statement, the US State Department said it “is aware of the study and wel- comes the medical commu- nity’s discussion on this in- credibly complex issue. The Department’s top priority re- mains the safety, security, and well-being of its staff”. Between late 2016 and May 2018, several US and Ca- nadian diplomats in Havana complained of health prob- lems from an unknown cause. One US government count put the number of American personnel affected at 26. Some reported hearing high-pitched sounds similar to crickets while at home or staying in hotels, leading to an early theory of a sonic at- tack. The Associated Press has reported that an interim FBI report found no evidence that sound waves could have caused the damage. Dozens of US diplomats, family members and other workers sought exams. The new study reports on 40 of them tested at the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania. A group analysis of results from advanced MRI scans found brain differences in the diplomat group com- pared with 48 healthy people with similar ages and ethnic background. Workers had MRI tests about six months after re- porting problems, but be- cause their brains were not scanned before their Cuba stints they cannot know if anything changed in their brains, a drawback of the study that the researchers acknowledge. China listed among its top priorities its resolve to contain “Taiwan independence” and combat what it considers separatist forces in Tibet and the far west region of Xinjiang. Image shows the differences between brain scans of US diplomats who developed concussion-like symptoms after working in Cuba, and a control group. – IMAGE: AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION/APNext >