ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – WEDNESDAY, 21 AUGUST 2019 High of 88 Low of 78 Slight to moderate with wave heights of 2 to 4 feet. LOCAL | PAGE 5 POLICE RETIREMENT APPEAL HEADING TO PRIVY COUNCIL LOCAL | PAGE 6 CAYMAN TO HOST US, CUBAN AND CANADIAN FOOTBALL TEAMS LAST 10% OF PORT PETITION SIGNATURES TO BE VERIFIED The Elections Office has verified 90% of the signatures needed to trigger a referendum on Cayman’s proposed cruise port. According to the Elections office, as of Monday, 90.2% of the 5,292 signatures needed for a referendum have been verified. The total of 5,292 represents the con- stitutionally required 25% of the electorate (21,116) required to hold a people-initiated referendum. The Elections Office has verified 4,772 sig- natures so far and will need to verify just 520 more out of the 969 remaining signatures in order to cross the threshold. More than 5,000 signatures in a petition calling for a referendum on the proposed pro- ject were originally submitted on 12 June, and then additional 199 were handed over to the Elections Office in July. Finally, another 104 signatures were submitted in August. Officials began going door-to-door to verify signatures on 28 June. The Verdant Isle group has been selected as the preferred bidder on the project to build a new cruise and cargo port project in George Town Harbour. Premier Alden McLaughlin has said that no contract will be signed until after the verification process and potentially a ref- erendum takes place. Watson and Blake charges transmitted to Grand Court SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@compassmedia.ky Canover Watson and Bruce Blake appeared in Summary Court Tuesday to answer for a string of charges laid in con- nection with a corruption probe into the Cayman Islands Foot- ball Association. Blake is currently the or- ganisation’s vice president but is suspended from all official duties, while Watson is CIFA’s former treasurer. The pair are charged with a number of of- fences, including secret commis- sion and false accounting. Their charges were transmitted to Grand Court on Tuesday. Magistrate Valdis Foldats ex- plained to the court Tuesday that secret commission is a Category A offence in Cayman and cannot be heard in Summary Court. All the charges connected to it, in- cluding false accounting for both men and transfer of crim- inal property for Watson, must be heard in Grand Court. Watson is represented by defence counsel Amelia Fos- uhene, and Blake is being rep- resented by defence counsel Steve McField. James Hines, QC, is helming the prosecution for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Watson faces two charges of secret commission, two of Cayman culture on display in Trinidad Cayman Islands performers are in Trinidad this week for the annual Carifesta ‘festival of festivals’. Fifty delegates, including musicians, singers and dancers, are representing Cayman at the 10-day Caribbean Festival of the Arts which has attracted thousands of participants from around the region. For more on this story, see page 2. Bruce Blake heads into court on Tuesday prior to his charges being transmitted to Grand Court. Former CIFA treasurer Canover Watson buttons his coat on his way into court Tuesday morning. – PHOTOS: TANEOS RAMSAY The pair are charged with a number of offences, including secret commission and false accounting. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 »2 LOCAL NEWS WEDNESDAY, 21 AUGUST 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 DUMBO (PG) 10:30 (SAT ONLY) I 4:35 I 7:15 (NO SAT) SUN: 4:35 I 7:15 CAPTAIN MARVEL(PG13) 1:40 I 10:00 (NO SAT) SUN: 6:30 I 10:00 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 (PG) 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. - WEDNESDAY - 640-FILM (640-3456) THE ANGRY BIRDS (PG) MOVIES 2 1:00 VIP | 3:55 3D | 6:30 | 9:00 3D 47 METERS DOWN: (PG13) UNCAGED 12:30 | 2:55 | 7:40 | 10:00 MISSION MANGAL (PG) 12:40 | 6:50 | 9:50 GOOD BOYS (R) 1:20 | 3:35 | 5:15 | 10:10 DORA AND THE LOST (PG) CITY OF GOLD 1:30 | 6:45 THE LION KING (2019) (PG) 4:00 | 9:15 F&F HOBBS & SHAW (PG13) 1:05 3D | 3:35 VIP | 4:05 | 6:45 VIP | 7:10 | 9:50 VIP Cayman culture on display in Trinidad KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@compassmedia.ky Caymanian musicians and dancers hit the stage at Queen’s Park Savannah in Trinidad Monday as part of the 14th Carifesta festivities. Fifty Cayman Islands del- egates travelled to ‘festival of festivals’ last week to join thousands of other partici- pants from across the region. The performers have pre- pared for months to showcase the best of Caymanian the- atre, dance, music, film, story- telling, cuisine and crafts. Young Caymanian dancers also performed at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts in San Fernando during the ‘We Dancing Trinbago’ event. During the Grand Market, the team met delegates and artists from other Caribbean islands. Cayman’s oldest par- ticipant, Jeralow Rankine of East End, participated and displayed his skill in crafting hand-woven nets. “Our [Cayman Islands] delegates to Carifesta XIV have had many opportuni- ties since arriving in [Trin- idad and Tobago] to engage with, share and experience an impressive variety of cul- tural and artistic pageantry and displays, representing both contemporary and tra- ditional arts and culture manifestations,” said Marcia Muttoo of the Cayman Na- tional Cultural Foundation. CNCF took charge of or- ganising Cayman’s partici- pation in the festival and coordinated input from stake- holders such as the Cayman Islands National Museum, the Cayman Music and Entertain- ment Association, Women in White and the University Col- lege of the Cayman Islands. Minister of Culture Dwayne Seymour pro- vided opening remarks for Cayman’s performance Monday evening. “It is my view that experi- ences such as Carifesta con- tinue to prove that culture is vital to our well-being as in- dividuals, to the health of our communities, and to the strengthening of our respec- tive countries,” Seymour said. “Being here among re- gional cultural leaders, and icons such as the Mighty Gabby, who I met earlier, I consider this a once-in-a-life- time experience. And what I’ve seen thus far has reinforced my belief in the need for con- tinued investment in cultural arts, especially for the youth of the Cayman Islands.” Several events remain for the Cayman Islands dele- gates, including displays of theatre, food and film. On Tuesday, chefs Brittani Seymour, Timisha Edwards and Jessica Moore were scheduled to make a culinary presentation titled ‘He Hath Founded It Upon the Seas’, as a tribute to the islands’ sea- faring history. The short film ‘Luna’s Ring’, produced by Badir Awe, will be screened Wednesday. Frank McField’s drama ‘Downside Up’, directed by Henry Muttoo, will be per- formed Saturday at the Queen’s Hall Theatre. Wearing costumes inspired by Caribbean traditions, chefs from Cayman, right, mingle with representatives from Guyana. The Cayman Islands delegation parades through Trinidad for the opening of Carifesta. - PHOTOS: SUBMITTED Minister of Culture Dwayne Seymour poses with Jeralow Rankine and Virginia Foster at Carifesta.The islands’ most-trusted news source 3 CAYMAN COMPASS WEDNESDAY, 21 AUGUST 2019 Securing our cruise industry with no financial risk to the country www.SupportOurTourism.com Join the conversation Government has taken out no loans, issued no bonds nor provided any guarantees to Verdant Isle. ✓ Costs less than $200 million which includes the cargo port expansion and upgrade ✓ Upfront costs of construction, including any overspend, borne entirely by Verdant Isle ✓ Maintenance costs for 25 years will also be borne by Verdant Isle ✓ Piers will be repaid over 25 years using a portion of the passenger fee currently used to pay for tendering services. ✓ Passenger fees are bundled into the cost of a cruise, much like an airline ticket includes taxes and other charges. ✓ Share of the passenger fee paid to Port Authority and the Environmental Protection fund remain unchanged. Our cruise berthing facility will be paid for by cruise passengers, not Caymanians! Growing the economy. Safeguarding jobs. Protecting government finances. SupPORT the PORT. Support our Tourism4 LOCAL NEWS WEDNESDAY, 21 AUGUST 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS CCMI invites marathon runners to help coral reefs The Central Caribbean Ma- rine Institute is inviting run- ners and walkers in this year’s Intertrust Cayman Islands Marathon to help save local coral reefs. CCMI is asking maratho- ners to sign up to be part of its ‘Reef Relief Squad’. “We are excited to get in- volved in such a fantastic event here in the Cayman Is- lands. By encouraging people to get out and run or walk in the Intertrust Cayman Is- lands Marathon while raising money for important reef monitoring programme, re- search projects and coral restoration efforts, we hope to inspire action from our Grand Cayman supporters,” said CCMI’s Director of Ad- vancement Kate Holden. The marathon will be held on 8 Dec. This is the first year CCMI will participate as an offi- cial charity affiliate with the marathon, but the organi- sation is no stranger to the event. In 2017, Derek Haines completed his ‘Volcanoes and Marathons’ challenge when he crossed the finish line of the race, which was his third marathon that year, raising US$50,000 for the new Reefs Go Live virtual learning experience. The marathon’s co-race di- rector, Rhonda Kelly, said in a press release, “The ground- breaking work that [CCMI] is doing to protect our local coral reefs through research, con- servation and education is not only relevant and vital to the future sustainability of Cay- man’s marine ecosystem but it is also informing the pres- ervation efforts of other coun- tries around the world. We hope that this new avenue for fundraising will be fruitful for CCMI and provide much needed funds to fulfil its vision of a world with vibrant oceans and healthy coral reefs.” To register for the Reef Relief Squad, email events@ reefresearch.org for a dis- count code that gives 5% off race registration. After a runner is registered, CCMI will provide information on setting up a fundraising page, ideas on how to fund- raise, facts about coral reefs and ocean health, and send an invite to be a part of a Fa- cebook group for Reef Relief Squad members. Runners who raise at least $250 will receive a Reef Re- lief Squad tech shirt that they can run in during the race. Incentive rewards can be col- lected at the packet pick-up on 7 Dec. at the CCMI table. DVDL INSPECTION PIT TO CLOSE ON WEDNESDAYS The Department of Ve- hicle and Drivers’ Licens- ing’s inspection pit at its Crewe Road location will be closed on Wednesdays for the foreseeable future, starting on 28 Aug. The DVDL advised that the inspection pit will be open for business as usual on all other busi- ness days. The inspection pit at the DVDL’s premises in Breakers will remain open as usual. The DVDL also stated that members of the public wishing to have their vehicles in- spected on a Wednesday can visit any of the au- thorised private garages. “The public will be ad- vised of the re-opening of the inspection pit on Wednesdays at Crewe Road,” the DVDL said in a press release. PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY: Cayman Compass Ltd. Compass Centre Shedden Road, George Town, Cayman Islands SEND US YOUR VIEWS OR NEWS: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman, KY1-1108 Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 Email: newsdesk@compassmedia.ky ADVERTISE WITH US: Telephone: (345) 949-5111 Email: sales@compassmedia.ky Website: www.caymancompass.com PUBLISHER KATHLEEN CAPETTA EDITOR CATHERINE MACGILLIVRAY A MEMBER OF THE INTER-AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION “Give light and the people will find their own way” St. Matthew’s donates to Cayman Heart Fund St. Matthew’s University has donated funds raised from its CPR and basic life sup- port classes to the Cayman Heart Fund. The medical and veteri- nary school offers the classes throughout the year and qual- ified students receive a certifi- cate authorised by the Amer- ican Heart Association. Part of the proceeds from those classes were presented to the Cayman Heart Fund in the form of a cheque for $1,809 last week. “We try to make our classes as interactive and engaging as possible. We want our students to leave the classroom having learned new skills as well as knowledge, not just a certifi- cate. We are always pleased to hear our students tell us that it they find themselves in that situation, they won’t hesitate to help,” instructor Lloyd Griffin said in a press release. Griffin said St. Matthew’s works with the Cayman Heart Fund to help educate the public about cardiovas- cular disease and dealing with emergency situations. “The scary thing about cardiac ar- rest is that it can happen at any time and giving people the ability to help someone while emergency care is on the way can make all the differ- ence,” he said. The university’s Dean and Professor of Pathology Dr. Am- itabha Basu said in the release, “We are proud to be associated with the CHF in delivering es- sential lifesaving skills to the people of the Cayman Islands. We have been providing BLS training to local medical, par- amedical staff members, stu- dents, and non-medical per- sonnel since 10 July 2010.” He added, “There is an urgent need to make CPR (cardio-pulmonary resus- citation) training a must in schools and colleges and espe- cially at the community level so that family members of those people, who fall under high-risk zone for developing heart ailments, can give im- mediate medical assistance in times of emergency. Knowing how to give CPR properly can be a great asset and can save the life of a person when his or her heart stops beating.” Cayman Heart Fund board member Barrie Quappe teaches CPR/First Aid at St. Matthew’s. She said, “We train layper- sons, medical professionals and anyone who wants the peace of mind that they know what to do in an emergency.” For more information about the CPR and BLS classes at St. Matthew’s University, contact the Cayman Heart Fund at 916-6324 or info@caymanheartfund.com. LANE CLOSURE AT ISLAND HERITAGE ROUNDABOUT Motorists using the Island Heritage Round- about on the Esterley Tibbetts Highway will not be able make a full circle around the round- about this week, as up- grading work on the site continues. The inner lane of the roundabout has been closed for several weeks and paving work on it will get under way this week, the National Roads Authority announced. The outer lane of the roundabout will be re- stricted to vehicles trav- elling south or north; traffic will no longer be able to travel the entire way around the round- about and go back in the original direction of travel. The lane restriction will be in place until Sunday, 25 Aug. “Drivers are asked to keep watch for traffic di- versions and to drive with caution to ensure their safety and that of the work crews,” a state- ment from the NRA read. Cayman Heart Fund Coordinator Angelique Bodden, second from right, receives a donation from St. Matthew’s University representatives, from left, Dr. Sukumar Thorenoor Kumaraswamy, Lloyd Griffin, Dr. Pritam Biswas and Dr. Amitabha Basu. A record 1,350 runners participated in the marathon, half-marathon, and relay at the 2018 Cayman Islands Intertrust Marathon. – PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS WEDNESDAY, 21 AUGUST 2019 The past is paper. The future is paperless. By using our online member portal, employers and members can manage account information anytime, anywhere. Visit www.silverthatch.org.ky for more information or email support@silverthatch.org.ky The future is secure with us. Change of address Reduce submission errors Salary change Automate processes Beneficiary change Increase efficiency Updating marital status Stay organized Police retirement appeal heading to UK’s Privy Council MARK MUCKENFUSS mmuckenfuss@compassmedia.ky A three-justice panel gave leave Tuesday morning for the Royal Cayman Is- lands Police Association to appeal its case against the islands’ police service to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in London. The case was filed in 2016 by the police asso- ciation, along with Dane Pinnock, Claire Pinnock Jackson and eight unnamed plaintiffs, who argue that the police service’s retire- ment law, before 2010, has been applied in a way that is discriminatory to Cayma- nian officers. The law, which was changed in November 2010, but which still applies to those hired before that date, requires mandatory retire- ment at age 55. The new re- tirement age is 60. The plaintiffs have said that Caymanian officers were forced to retire at 55. If they were at the rank of chief inspector or above, they could be rehired, but only as lower-level officers. That same rule, the law- suit says, did not apply to British police officers. Those officers, the suit says, “are not required to re- tire at age 55. Alternatively, if they are required to re- tire at age 55, they have, in practice, been re-engaged without loss of rank. “The effect of this dis- criminatory treatment is that non-British officers have been discriminated against in respect of their rights under section 9 of the Bill of Rights and this discrimination, which is on the grounds of their nation- ality, is also an unjustifiable breach of section 16 of the Bill of Rights.” In a 15 March ruling last year, Acting Grand Court Judge Nova Hall found that then Police Commissioner David Baines had acted ap- propriately in deciding which officers to retire and those who were still needed on the force despite reaching retirement age. She said at the time, “He had an absolute discretion to determine the contractual terms of each officer en- gaged on a special contract; and he could not be fettered in the terms that he used to attracted and retain neces- sary officers.” Hall found the officers given contract extensions beyond age 55 at the same rank were not all British na- tionals. She noted the case of Sergeant Davis Scott, a Caymanian, who was re- tained due to his special re- lationship and knowledge of the East End community. The five UK-based of- ficers referenced by the po- lice association in the law- suit were all specialists in certain areas where Cayma- nian officers lacked exper- tise, such as police training, anti-corruption investiga- tions and firearms proto- cols, she found. The appellants now have to pay £500 within 30 days in order to have the appeal proceed to the Privy Council. Attorney Guy Dilliway- Parry, who is representing the plaintiffs, said he was grateful for the decision. He said he did not know when to anticipate the ap- peal would be heard in the London council. The case was filed in 2016 by the police association, along with Dane Pinnock, Claire Pinnock Jackson and eight unnamed plaintiffs, who argue that the police service’s retirement law, before 2010, has been applied in a way that is discriminatory to Caymanian officers. Court of Appeal judges have given leave to plaintiffs to take their case involving the retirement age of police officers in the Cayman Islands to London’s Privy Council. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAYThe islands’ most-trusted news source 6 WEDNESDAY, 21 AUGUST 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS SPENCER FORDIN sfordin@compassmedia.ky Cayman will soon play host to one of the biggest draws in CONCACAF. Team USA will come to Truman Bodden Sports Com‑ plex on 19 Nov. for a Nations League game against Cuba, an event that may necessi‑ tate the addition of tempo‑ rary seating. Cuba will also play Canada at Truman Bodden Sports Complex on 8 Sept. The USA/Cuba game pos‑ sibility was first reported by the Associated Press, and Al‑ fredo Whittaker, the presi‑ dent of the Cayman Islands Football Association, made it official on Tuesday morning. “Cuba is having some is‑ sues with the electricity and the organisation of the Na‑ tions League games,” Whit‑ taker said by phone from Cuba on Tuesday. “Originally, this game was being taken to Panama, but we have a really good working relationship with the Cuban government and the football association. We sat down and we had conversations in the CON‑ CACAF office, and the possi‑ bility of these games being played in Cayman came on the table. “We discussed it and we agreed to terms. I travelled here Sunday to finalise the lo‑ gistics and the different as‑ pects of the game. Officially, Cuba will be playing in the Cayman Islands.” Whittaker said that the movement of the USA/Cuba game had nothing to do with politics. The stadium Cuba had planned to play in is un‑ dergoing upgrades and will not be ready in time. Cayman will play Bar‑ bados on 6 Sept., and the Cuba/Canada game will be played two days later. Cuba and Canada played in the re‑ cent CONCACAF Gold Cup, with Canada winning 7‑0 on 23 June. Whittaker said that there will be discussions for how and where to add additional seating to Truman Bodden Sports Complex, which has a regular attendance of 3,000 people. “This is awesome for us. For the Cayman Islands foot‑ ball family, it’s great,” he said. “Even from the tourism point of view, it’s great. The US is well known for a large group of supporters that travel with them. I think Truman Bodden will be small to accommodate all of those fans, so we have to plan accordingly. We have to sit down with the Minister of Sports and her team.” Whittaker said he is not certain where additional seating would go for the Na‑ tions League games, and he said that The American Out‑ laws, the supporters’ group for Team USA, has a pas‑ sionate reputation. “I was part of the organi‑ sation when the Outlaws vis‑ ited Cuba for the first time,” he said. “They accommodated a total of 6,000 at the time with two charter flights. It’s big. It’s huge.” United States midfielder Christian Pulisic, right, controls the ball during the CONCACAF Gold Cup final on 7 July, against Mexico. The US team will be in Cayman in November to take on Cuba in a Nations League match at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex. - PHOTO: AP CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Watson and Blake charges transmitted to Grand Court false accounting, two of transfer of criminal prop‑ erty and two of use or con‑ trol of criminal property. Blake is charged with se‑ cret commission and two charges of false accounting in Grand Court. He has two other charges – use or control of criminal property and ac‑ quiring criminal property – that will be adjudicated in Summary Court. Secret commission is punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in Cayman’s Anti‑Corruption law. False accounting is punishable by a maximum sentence of seven years in Cayman’s Penal Code. Watson and Blake were formally charged by Anti‑ Corruption Commission of‑ ficers on 8 Aug. Watson and Blake will next appear in Grand Court on 6 Sept. Cayman to host US, Cuban and Canadian football teams UK, EU only harden their positions on Brexit as G‑7 nears BRUSSELS (AP) – The Eu‑ ropean Union and Britain, which are hurtling towards a costly, damaging no‑deal split in a little over two months, kicked off a high‑wire week of diplomacy Tuesday by entrenching themselves deeper in their irreconcilable positions. Highlighting new British Prime Minister Boris John‑ son’s determination to leave the bloc on 31 Oct. even if no Brexit divorce deal is in place, his government said as of 1 Sept. it would stop attending all EU meet‑ ings where its vital interests were not at stake. Johnson’s Downing Street office dou‑ bled down on the message later, stating that unless the trade backstop on the Irish border was abolished “there’s no prospect of a deal”. The EU, which is not known for its speedy diplo‑ macy, took only half a day to rebuff a four‑page proposal by Johnson on breaking a deadlock over ensuring a transparent border between the EU’s Ireland and the UK’s Northern Ireland. The bloc said one key part of the pro‑ posal was “incorrect” and an‑ other “misleading”. In the diplomatic note from the EU Commission and Council to the EU’s re‑ maining 27 nations, which was obtained by The Asso‑ ciated Press, the member states were strongly urged not to give in to Johnson’s demand that the legal with‑ drawal agreement the EU ne‑ gotiated with his predecessor, Theresa May, be changed at this late stage. Johnson demanded late Monday that the EU re‑open Brexit negotiations, scrap‑ ping “anti‑democratic” pro‑ visions for the Irish border that he said would threaten the peace process in Northern Ireland. European Council chief Donald Tusk responded quickly and vigorously, de‑ fending the so‑called back‑ stop – an insurance policy meant to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland. “Those against the back‑ stop and not proposing real‑ istic alternatives in fact sup‑ port reestablishing a border,” Tusk tweeted Tuesday. “Even if they do not admit it.” The backstop would keep Britain closely aligned with the European customs union if the two sides cannot agree on other ways to prevent the reintroduction of border checks on people and goods moving between Northern Ireland and Ireland. The EU’s diplomatic note said it needed to counter Johnson’s assertions, in‑ sisting “it is incorrect to state that the people of Northern Ireland have no influence over the legislation that would apply to them”. Similarly, it said “the let‑ ter’s suggestion that two separate legal, political, eco‑ nomic, and monetary juris‑ dictions already exist on the island and can be man‑ aged with an open border is misleading”. Such words left a huge rift between the sides, just as Johnson was preparing to visit German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Wednesday and French Pres‑ ident Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday. His trips should culminate in more talks at a summit of G‑7 leaders this weekend in Biar‑ ritz, France. BRITAIN CONCERNED ABOUT CONSULAR EMPLOYEE MISSING IN CHINA BEIJING (AP) – The British foreign ministry said it is “extremely con‑ cerned” about an em‑ ployee of its consulate in Hong Kong who has been missing since going to mainland China on a business trip. A statement from the Foreign and Common‑ wealth Office said it is seeking information from Hong Kong and Guang‑ dong province about the fate of the employee, who was detained while crossing from the city of Shenzhen back into Hong Kong. Local media reports identified him as Simon Cheng Man‑kit, a trade and investment officer at the Scottish Develop‑ ment International sec‑ tion of the consulate. The reports say he attended a business event in Shen‑ zhen on 8 Aug. but never returned to neighbouring Hong Kong despite plans to do so the same day. “We are extremely con‑ cerned by reports that a member of our team has been detained returning to Hong Kong from Shen‑ zhen. We are providing support to his family and seeking further infor‑ mation from authorities in Guangdong province and Hong Kong,” said the statement, which was for‑ warded by the British em‑ bassy in Beijing. It is unclear whether the man possessed a dip‑ lomatic passport, but the seizure of consular staff of any status or rank is highly unusual. De‑ spite Beijing’s declara‑ tion of a “golden era” in Sino‑British ties, rela‑ tions have grown tense in recent months amid pro‑democracy protests in Hong Kong, a British colony for 156 years be‑ fore its handover to Chi‑ nese rule in 1997. The Scottish govern‑ ment said it was in con‑ tact with the Foreign Of‑ fice about the case. “We are aware of this incident and we are con‑ cerned for Mr. Cheng’s welfare,” it said. Asked about the case at a daily briefing on Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang responded, “I’m not aware of that.” In response to ques‑ tions about the case at a news briefing, Hong Kong police said officers were looking into it after re‑ ceiving a missing person report on 9 Aug. but could not disclose more details because of personal data protection rules. Senior Superintendent Kong Wing‑cheung said Hong Kong police have not been notified about the case by mainland Chi‑ nese authorities under a mutual notification ar‑ rangement set up for such cases. Press officers for the Guangdong police and Ministry of Public Secu‑ rity could not be reached by phone. The ministry did not immediately re‑ spond to faxed questions about the case. Local media reports identified him as Simon Cheng Man-kit, a trade and investment officer at the Scottish Development International section of the consulate. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during the first meeting of the National Policing Board at the Home Office in London, 31 July. – PHOTO: APThe islands’ most-trusted news source 7 CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY, 21 AUGUST 2019 Italian PM resigns Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced his resignation Tuesday, blaming his decision to end his 14‑month‑old populist government on his rebellious and politically ambitious deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini. Twitter shuts Chinese accounts targeting Hong Kong protests WASHINGTON (AP) – Twitter said it has suspended more than 200,000 accounts that it believes were part of a Chi- nese government influence campaign targeting the pro- test movement in Hong Kong. The company also said Monday it will ban ads from state-backed media compa- nies, expanding a prohibition it first applied in 2017 to two Russian entities. Both measures are part of what a senior company offi- cial portrayed in an interview as a broader effort to curb malicious political activity on a popular platform that has been criticised for enabling election interference around the world and for accepting money for ads that amount to propaganda by state-run media organisations. The accounts were sus- pended for violating the so- cial networking platform’s terms of service and “because we think this is not how people can come to Twitter to get informed”, the official said in an interview with The Associated Press. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity be- cause of security concerns, said the Chinese activity was reported to the FBI, which in- vestigated Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 US pres- idential election through so- cial media. After being notified by Twitter and conducting its own investigation, Facebook said Monday that it has also removed seven pages, three groups and five accounts, in- cluding some portraying pro- testers as cockroaches and terrorists. The Chinese govern- ment said Tuesday it was not aware of the allegations. Facebook, which is more widely used in Hong Kong, does not release data on such state-backed influence oper- ations. Neither does it ban ads from state-owned media companies. “We continue to look at our policies as they relate to state-owned media,” a Face- book spokesperson said in a statement to the AP. “We’re also taking a closer look at ads that have been raised to us to determine if they vio- late our policies.” Twitter traced the Hong Kong campaign to two fake Chinese and English Twitter accounts that pretended to be news organisations based in Hong Kong, where pro-de- mocracy demonstrators have taken to the streets since early June calling for full de- mocracy and an inquiry into what they say is police vio- lence against protesters. The Chinese language account, @HKpoliticalnew, and the English account, @ ctcc507, pushed tweets de- picting protesters as vio- lent criminals in a cam- paign aimed at influencing public opinion around the world. One of those ac- counts was tied to a sus- pended Facebook account that went by the same mon- iker: HKpoliticalnew. An additional 936 core ac- counts Twitter believes orig- inated from within China attempted to sow political discord in Hong Kong by un- dermining the protest move- ment’s legitimacy and polit- ical positions. About 200,000 more au- tomated Twitter accounts amplified the messages, en- gaging with the core ac- counts in the network. Few tweeted more than once, the official said, mostly be- cause Twitter quickly caught many of them. The Twitter official said the investigation remains on- going and there could be fur- ther disclosures. Though Twitter, Facebook and most other foreign social media platforms are banned in China, they are available in semiautonomous Hong Kong. At a daily briefing Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said he was “not aware” of the allegations of fake accounts, but added that Chinese people had the right to “express their opin- ions about” the situation in Hong Kong. Pro-China supporters take a selfie with a Chinese national flag on 17 Aug. to support police and anti-violence during a rally at a park in Hong Kong. – PHOTO: AP Hong Kong’s leader vows to narrow rifts, but gives few specifics HONG KONG (AP) – Facing pressure to end months of antigovernment protests, Hong Kong’s leader pledged Tuesday to open up dialogue with city residents in an ef- fort to narrow differences. However, Chief Executive Carrie Lam offered no con- cessions to the protest move- ment and a key organiser of the mass rallies dismissed her plan to immediately set up a “communication plat- form”, underlining the chal- lenge in resolving the semi- autonomous Chinese city’s political crisis. The movement held a massive but peaceful rally on Sunday after earlier pro- tests had been marked by vi- olence. The government has conditioned dialogue on the leaderless protest movement remaining peaceful. Lam did not say that the communication platform will be used to specifically con- tact protesters. It will be used for “open and direct” dialogue with people from all walks of life, including people who have attended peaceful ral- lies, she told reporters, while giving few specifics on how it would work. “Our goal is to work hard to resolve differences and conflicts, to understand each other through com- munication and to walk out of this social deadlock to- gether,” Lam said. Her comments fell short of the protesters’ five de- mands, which include gen- uine democracy and an inde- pendent inquiry into alleged police brutality. The protesters complain that police have contrib- uted to the violence by re- sponding to their aggressive tactics with tear gas and rubber bullets. Members of the Civil Human Rights Front rejected her plan, calling it a trap that is aimed at wasting time. The group’s vice con- venor, Wong Yik-mo, said Lam is “not responding at all” to the protest move- ment’s demands. “We do not trust Carrie Lam, we do not trust her lies,” he said, pointing out that the movement’s decen- tralised structure would make it hard to conduct dia- logue anyway. “She is fully aware there is no leader, this is a leader- less movement. What does she suggest?” he said. Jimmy Sham, another member, suggested that “if Lam wants dialogue, she should come to a protest”. The Civil Human Rights Front has organised several mass anti-government ral- lies that have attracted huge crowds in recent months and it plans another at the end of the month. But many other groups have organised their own events. Lam dismissed the pro- testers’ demand for an in- dependent inquiry, saying the city’s police complaints council is capable of looking into police misconduct. The council is carrying out a fact-finding study of the pro- tests and related incidents as it looks into 174 com- plaints about police behav- iour, she said. Protesters say that the complaints council has lim- ited power to scrutinise the police. Mo and Sham said the council has no cred- ibility and its main func- tion is merely to look into complaints. “It has no mandate to investigate and no power to summon policeman (to give evidence), especially when top brass are in- volved,” Mo said. Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Carrie Lam listens to reporters’ questions at a press conference in Hong Kong on Tuesday. – PHOTO: AP8 WORLD®IONAL WEDNESDAY, 21 AUGUST 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS IN MEMORY OF RAYNOR H. McLAUGHLIN (RAY) MAY 8th, 1926 - AUGUST 21st, 2009 Ten years gone Never forgotten Living always In our hearts In our memories Lovingly remembered by wife Heather and family. “HE LOVED AND WAS LOVED” Records: Epstein signed will 2 days before suicide NEW YORK (AP) – Jeffrey Ep- stein signed a will just two days before he killed him- self in jail, new court re- cords show, opening a new legal front in what could be a long battle over the financi- er’s fortune. Court papers filed last week in the US Virgin Is- lands list no details of bene- ficiaries but valued the estate at more than $577 million, in- cluding more than $56 mil- lion in cash. The existence of the will, first reported by the New York Post, raised new ques- tions about Epstein’s final days inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center, where he was awaiting trial on fed- eral sex trafficking and con- spiracy charges. Epstein signed the doc- ument 8 Aug. Less than 48 hours later, he was found dead in his cell, prompting an investigation that has cast a harsh light on staffing shortages at the Manhattan detention centre. Prosecutors on Monday moved to dismiss the indict- ment against Epstein but have said they are consid- ering charging others with facilitating his alleged abuse of dozens of girls. The filing of the will, meanwhile, had been closely followed by lawyers repre- senting women who claim they were sexually abused by Epstein when they were teenagers and recruited into his residences to provide him massages. Several attorneys vowed to go after his assets even if the will had named beneficiaries, as Epstein’s death means there will be no trial on the criminal charges against him. One woman filed suit against the estate last week, claiming Epstein repeatedly raped her when she was a teenager. “Give his entire estate to his victims. It is the only justice they can get,” one of those lawyers, Lisa Bloom, wrote in an email. “And they deserve it. And on behalf of the Epstein victims I repre- sent, I intend to fight for it.” Former federal prosecutor David S. Weinstein, who is now in private practice in Miami but not involved in the Epstein case, said states and US territories have certain time frames within which to make a claim against some- one’s estate. “There are certainly going to be a lot of lawyers in- volved,” Weinstein said. “It’s not going to be over any- time soon.” A hedge fund manager who hobnobbed with the rich and famous, Epstein owned a Caribbean island, homes in Paris and New York City, a New Mexico ranch and a fleet of high-price cars. Epstein had more than $112 million worth of equi- ties, according to the will, and nearly $200 million in “hedge funds & private equity in- vestments”. Among the prop- erties that will be subject to appraisal and valuation are his collection of fine arts, an- tiques and other collectibles. As part of his 2008 plea deal to Florida state charges, Epstein made undisclosed financial settlements with dozens of his victims. It’s un- clear how those settlements might affect any claims made on his estate. William Blum, an attorney for Epstein’s estate, said in a statement to The Associ- ated Press that any debts or claims against the estate will be “fairly administered”. He said the document was Ep- stein’s original last will. WITH RIVALS HEADING TO CALIFORNIA, BIDEN EYES NEW HAMPSHIRE Joe Biden will not be among the parade of White House hopefuls in California this week, as he’s skipping the Democratic National Committee’s summer meeting to campaign in New Hamp- shire instead. The former vice president wants the nation’s first pri- mary state mostly to himself as his closest competitors jockey for attention from hun- dreds of Democratic officials gathered in San Francisco for the party’s last national meeting before presidential voting begins in February. Biden’s choice is partly a reflection of Democrats’ new rules that strip DNC members of their presiden- tial nominating votes on the first 2020 convention ballot. But it’s just as much an in- dication of Biden’s delib- erate frontrunner strategy as he continues to lead na- tional and state primary polls: The 76-year-old can- didate is choosing care- fully when to appear along- side the candidates who are trying to upend him, and he’s keeping a distance, at least publicly, from the party machinery that ulti- mately proved an albatross to Hillary Clinton in her 2016 loss to Donald Trump. “He has a real com- mitment to be in the early states,” said Biden’s campaign chairman, Cedric Richmond, pointing to Biden’s recent four-day swing through Iowa, the first caucus state, along with upcoming trips to South Carolina and Nevada and a return to Iowa. “I wouldn’t make any more of the sched- uling decision than that.” Facebook rolls out tool to block ‘off-Facebook’ data gathering SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – Soon, you could get fewer familiar ads following you around the internet – or at least on Facebook. Facebook is launching a long-promised tool that lets you block the social network from gathering information about you on outside web- sites and apps. The company said Tuesday that it is adding a section where you can see the activity that Facebook tracks outside its service via its ‘like’ buttons and other means. You can choose to turn off the tracking; other- wise, tracking will continue the same way it has been. Formerly known as ‘clear history’, the tool will now go by the somewhat awkward name ‘off-Facebook activity’. The feature will be avail- able in South Korea, Ireland and Spain on Tuesday, con- sistent with Facebook’s ten- dency to launch features in smaller markets first. The company did not give a time- line for when it might expand it to the US and other coun- tries, only that it will be in “coming months”. Blocking the tracking, which is on by default, could mean fewer ads that seem familiar – for example, for a pair of shoes you decided not to buy, or a non-profit you donated money to. It will not change the actual number of ads you will see on Facebook. Facebook faces increasing governmental scrutiny over its privacy practices, in- cluding a record $5 billion fine from the US Federal Trade Commission for mis- handling user data. Boosting its privacy protections could help the company preempt regulation and further pun- ishment. But it’s a delicate dance, as Facebook still de- pends on highly targeted ad- vertising for nearly all of its revenue. CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the ‘clear his- tory’ feature more than a year ago. The company said building it has been a com- plicated technical process, which is also the reason for the slow, gradual rollout. Fa- cebook said it sought input from users, privacy experts and policymakers along the way, which led to some changes. For instance, users will be able to disconnect their activity from a specific websites or apps, or recon- nect to a specific site while keeping other future tracking turned off. This 28 March 2017 file photo, provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry, shows Jeffrey Epstein. – PHOTO: AP Epstein signed the document 8 Aug. Less than 48 hours later, he was found dead in his cell. The social media application Facebook is displayed on Apple’s App Store. – PHOTO: AP Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden meets supporters in Clear Lake, Iowa, on 9 Aug. – PHOTO: AP9 WORLD®IONAL CAYMAN COMPASS WEDNESDAY, 21 AUGUST 2019 Earth’s future is being written in fast-melting Greenland HELHEIM GLACIER, Greenland (AP) – This is where Earth’s re- frigerator door is left open, where glaciers dwindle and seas begin to rise. New York University air and ocean scientist David Holland, who is tracking what’s happening in Green- land from both above and below, calls it “the end of the planet”. He is referring to ge- ography more than the fu- ture. Yet in many ways this place is where the planet’s warmer and watery future is being written. It is so warm here, just inside the Arctic Circle, that on an August day, coats are left on the ground and Hol- land and colleagues work on the watery melting ice without gloves. In one of the closest towns, Kulusuk, the morning temperature reached a shirtsleeve 52 de- grees Fahrenheit. The ice Holland is standing on is thousands of years old. It will be gone within a year or two, adding yet more water to rising seas worldwide. Summer this year is hit- ting Greenland hard with record-shattering heat and extreme melt. By the end of the summer, about 440 bil- lion tons of ice – maybe more – will have melted or calved off Greenland’s giant ice sheet, scientists esti- mate. That is enough water to flood Pennsylvania or the country of Greece about a foot deep. In just the five days from 31 July to Aug. 3, more than 58 billion tons melted from the surface. That is over 40 billion tons more than the average for this time of year. And that 58 billion tons does not even count the huge calving events or the warm water eating away at the gla- ciers from below, which may be a huge factor. And one of the places hit hardest this hot Greenland summer is here on the south- eastern edge of the giant frozen island: Helheim, one of Greenland’s fastest-retreating glaciers, has shrunk about 6 miles since scientists came here in 2005. Several scientists, such as NASA oceanographer Josh Willis, who is also in Green- land, studying melting ice from above, said what’s happening is a combina- tion of man-made climate change and natural but weird weather patterns. Glaciers here do shrink in the summer and grow in the winter, but nothing like this year. Summit Station, a re- search camp nearly 2 miles high and far north, warmed to above freezing twice this year for a record total of 16.5 hours. Before this year, that station was above zero for only 6.5 hours in 2012, once in 1889 and also in the Middle Ages. This year is coming near but not quite passing the extreme summer of 2012 – Greenland’s worst year in modern history for melting, scientists report. “If you look at climate model projections, we can ex- pect to see larger areas of the ice sheet experiencing melt for longer durations of the year and greater mass loss going forward,” said Uni- versity of Georgia ice scien- tist Tom Mote. “There’s every reason to believe that years that look like this will become more common.” A NASA satellite found that Greenland’s ice sheet lost about 255 billion metric tons of ice a year between 2003 and 2016, with the loss rate generally getting worse over that period. Nearly all of the 28 Greenland glaciers that Danish climate scientist Ruth Mottram measured are retreating, especially Helheim. At Helheim, the ice, snow and water seem to go on and on, sandwiched by bare dirt mountains that now show no signs of ice but get cov- ered in the winter. The only thing that gives a sense of scale is the helicopter car- rying Holland and his team. It’s dwarfed by the land- scape, an almost imper- ceptible red speck against the ice cliffs where Hel- heim stops and its rem- nants begin. Those ice cliffs are some- where between 225 feet and 328 feet high. Just next to them are Helheim’s rem- nants – sea ice, snow and icebergs – forming a mostly white expanse, with a mish- mash of shapes and tex- tures. Frequently water pools amid that white, glimmering a near-fluorescent blue that resembles windshield wiper fluid or Kool-Aid. As pilot Martin Norre- gaard tries to land his heli- copter on the broken-up part of what used to be glacier – a mush called a melange – he looks for ice specked with dirt, a sign that it’s firm enough for the chopper to set down on. Pure white ice could conceal a deep cre- vasse that leads to a cold and deadly plunge. Holland and team climb out to install radar and GPS to track the ice movement and help explain why salty, warm, once-tropical water at- tacking the glacier’s “under- belly” has been bubbling to the surface “It takes a really long time to grow an ice sheet, thousands and thousands of years, but they can be broken up or destroyed quite rap- idly,” Holland said. Holland, like NASA’s Willis, suspects that warm, salty water that comes in part from the Gulf Stream in North America is playing a bigger role than previously thought in melting Green- land’s ice. And if that is the case, that’s probably bad news for the planet, because it means faster and more melting and higher sea level rise. Willis said that by the year 2100, Greenland alone could cause 3 or 4 feet of sea level rise. So it’s crucial to know how much of a role the air above and the water below play. “What we want for this is an ice sheet forecast,” Holland said. In this remote landscape, sound travels easily for miles. Every several minutes there’s a faint rumbling that sounds like thunder, but it’s not. It’s ice cracking. In tiny Kulusuk, about a 40-minute helicopter ride away, Mugu Utuaq says the winter that used to last as much as 10 months when he was a boy can now be as short as five months. That matters to him because as the fourth-ranked dogsledder in Greenland, he has 23 dogs and needs to race them. They cannot race in the summer, but they still have to eat. So Utuaq and friends go whale hunting with rifles in small boats. If they succeed, which this day they did not, the dogs can eat whale. “People are getting rid of their dogs because there’s no season,” said Yewlin, who goes by one name. He used to run a sled dog team for tour- ists at a hotel in neighboring Tasiilaq, but they no longer can do that. “ If you look at climate model projections, we can expect to see larger areas of the ice sheet experiencing melt for longer durations of the year and greater mass loss going forward.” UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA ICE SCIENTIST TOM MOTE Large icebergs float away as the sun rises near Kulusuk, Greenland. – PHOTOS: AP In this 16 Aug. photo, a woman stands next to an antenna at an New York University base camp at the Helheim glacier in Greenland.Next >