High of 90 Low of 78 Slight with wave heights of 1 to 3 feet. LOCAL | PAGE 3 MOSQUITO SPRAYING, OVERHEATING THEORIES IN BAT DEATHS WORLD | PAGE 7 DRAMA AT UK SUPREME COURT IN BREXIT LEGAL CHALLENGE CASE ESTABLISHED 1965 www.caymancompass.com – 50 CENTS – WEDNESDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER 2019 Doctors Express ordered to pull cannabis vapes from shelves KEVIN MORALES kmorales@compassmedia.ky A local healthcare facility has been ordered to stop prescribing and selling vaporising cannabinoids after the Health Practice Com- mission on Saturday issued a cease notice. Doctors Express recently had adver- tised the availability of ‘Medical Cannabis THC Vapes’. CBD oil has been legal in the Cayman Is- lands since 2016, but the use of THC re- mains illegal. “It has come to the attention of the Min- istry responsible for Health that vaporisable medical cannabinoids are available on island to patients,” Chief Medical Officer John Lee wrote. “Therefore, in the best interest of the Cayman Islands public, the Ministry, in col- laboration with the Health Practice Commis- sion, Councils and other relevant entities, has opened an investigation into the use of can- nabinoids in medicine at my request. “I request that all healthcare practitioners cease and desist from the issuance, pro- cessing, dispensing or selling of any cannabi- noid which will be used by vaporisation until further notice.” Doctors Express Director Sam Banks in an email to the Cayman Compass confirmed the facility has stopped prescribing and dis- pensing vaporisable medical cannabis. “Doctors Express is fully cooperating with the CMO and the HPC in its investigation into this matter,” Banks said. “As it is an open in- vestigation, we are unable to provide any com- ments at this time.” Health Insurance Standing Committee Chair Annikki Brown said there have not been enough guidelines surrounding the use of medical cannabis. “Without guidelines for what medical can- nabis should be prescribed for and without protections against the potential dangers of vapes, our community has seen the practices around cannabis prescribing look more like il- licit dope dealing every day,” she said. A company called Kaiser Day Cannaceuti- cals manufactures the products at the heart of the order, according to advertisements and literature available through Doctors Premier reaches out to stricken Bahamas “Last week it was them, next week it could be us” JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@compassmedia.ky Premier Alden McLaughlin paid a flying visit to the Bahamas Monday to offer Cay- man’s solidarity and support to the hurricane- hit island chain. McLaughlin met with Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis and several of his ministers, as well as the captain leading the relief effort in the aftermath of Hurricane Do- rian. The Category 5 storm devastated the is- lands of Abaco and Grand Bahama, leaving 51 people dead and around 70,000 homeless. Having been through Hurricane Ivan and Hurricane Paloma, McLaughlin said Cayman- ians understood better than most the trauma now facing their Caribbean neighbours. The premier, who arrived in Nassau on a Cayman Airways plane loaded with medical supplies for the relief effort, said he offered empathy and support to Minnis and his government. He said, “The impact is so much greater than Ivan. Dorian is incomparable. I don’t know there is anything you can compare it to.” “When you think [of] the number of people displaced, in terms of homeless, is a little more than the entire population of the Cayman Islands. That is the scale of what they are dealing with.” McLaughlin, speaking to the Cayman Com- pass on his return Monday evening, acknowl- edged that the level of support Cayman, as a small island territory, was able to offer was relatively small. But he said it was important that countries in the region offered whatever Cayman Islands Premier Alden McLaughlin and Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis are interviewed by reporters in Nassau. - PHOTO: MARTIN WILKINSON PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 » PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 6 »2 LOCAL NEWS WEDNESDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER 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(R18) 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) HUSTLERS (R) 1:30 | 4:10 | 6:50 | 10:15 VIP IT: CHAPTER TWO (R) 2:00 VIP | 3:20 | 6:35 VIP | 7:30 | 9:30 GOLDFINCH, THE (R) 1:00 | 4:40 | 8:00 ANGEL HAS FALLEN (R) 12:30 | 4:20 | 7:10 | 10:00 F&F HOBBS & SHAW (PG13) 1:15 | 10:00 CHHICHHORE (PG) 12:45 | 4:00 | 7:00 T: 949-7400 E: drschambers@caymanclinic.ky E: administration@caymanclinic.ky Dr. Sharon Chambers Rheumatologist Dr. Ivan Wong, M.D., F.R.C.S.C. Hip & Shoulder Arthroscopy & Sport Medicine Specialist CAYMAN ORTHOPAEDIC GROUP PLEASE CALL 945-8380 FOR APPOINTMENTS will be at UNIT #1 SMITH ROAD PLAZA 0 200,000 400,000 600,000 800,000 1 million Week 46 (9-14 Sept) Week 1 (Oct. 29-Nov. 3) Green iguana cull update Iguanas culledTotal culled Pace to reach 1.3 million Charges withdrawn on Kittiwake crash case RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky Photographer and environ- mental advocate Cathy Church is no longer facing criminal charges for a boat crash at the Kittiwake dive site. Police confirmed Tuesday a decision was made to with- draw the charges and in- stead administer her with an adult caution. According to a police spokesman, Church, 74, met the requirements for receiving a caution, which included ad- mitting guilt for the offence, not having been convicted or cautioned recently for sim- ilar offences, and not being on bail at the time of the offence. In July this year, police announced they had charged Church in connection with January’s crash. She was formally charged then with navigating a vessel so as to cause damage or risk of damage and committing a reckless and negligent act in relation to the collision. Church was supposed to be summoned to court at a later date. However, now that she has been cautioned, she will not be required to ap- pear in court. The Cayman Compass reached out to Church for comment on the decision, and a representative said she was unavailable as she was out of the country. On 8 Jan., Church’s boat ploughed into the side of a Divetech scuba boat that was moored at the Kittiwake dive site. Divetech’s distinc- tive pink boat Atatude was damaged in the incident. Ac- cording to Divetech staff, there was no one at the helm of Church’s boat when the collision occurred. No one was injured. Both dive boats have since been repaired and are back in the water. Boating crash victim remains in hospital MEN CHARGED WITH IMPORTING GANJA Weekly numbers dip, but cullers surpass 900,000 iguanas RESHMA RAGOONATH rragoonath@compassmedia.ky Police have made no ar- rest or laid any charges in connection with a fatal boat crash last month that claimed the lives of two men and left one woman seriously injured. The woman is still re- ceiving medical treatment in hospital. Police said the inves- tigation into the crash is continuing. On 11 Aug., former po- lice officer and football referee Emmanuel Brown, 49, from Cayman, and British man John Turner, 70, died after the single- engine 24-foot Hurri- cane Deck boat they were aboard was involved in a collision with charter boat Pepper Jelly. Emergency services found Turner unrespon- sive on board the boat. The injured woman was also found on the boat. Brown had been knocked over- board. Search and rescue crews recovered his body on 12 Aug. around noon. Three people were on board the Pepper Jelly at the time. Their boat cap- sized in the collision. They were not injured. Recently, an overseas marine accident recon- struction investigator was on island assisting with the inquiries into the two- vessel collision. There is no word from police on when that re- port will be ready, or if the findings will be released to the public. Two men appeared in Summary Court Monday charged with drug offences after police seized more than 400 pounds of ganja when they intercepted a boat carrying the drugs. A 34-year-old man from West Bay and a 33-year-old man from George Town were ar- rested after the Joint Ma- rine Unit intercepted a boat they were aboard on Saturday morning. They were charged with impor- tation of ganja and pos- session of ganja with in- tent to supply. During the search of the vessel, police found eight large bags filled with pack- ages containing ganja with a street value of $400,000. Both men were re- manded in custody. The number of green iguanas turned in by Grand Cayman’s cullers took a dip this past week compared to the pre- vious period. From 9-14 Sept., 11,953 of the inva- sive reptiles were dropped off at the George Town landfill, representing a de- crease of 2,891 on the numbers delivered from 2-7 Sept. To date, 901,049 green iguanas have been culled, with a total target of 1.3 million set for the end of this year. Cullers also did better during the last week of August, when they brought in 13,542 iguanas. The Department of Environment began the culling in late October 2018. For every iguana handed in at the landfill, cullers receive $4.50, which rises to $5 a head if they meet monthly and annual targets. Divetech’s Atatude boat was damaged in the collision on 8 Jan. at the Kittiwake dive site. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY3 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER 2019 CELEBRATE WORLD TEACHERS DAY TICKETS ON SALE NOW Tickets available on www.caymanchamber.ky/goldenappleawards or call 949-8090 GT Automotive Drinks Reception Gala Dinner | Black Tie October 5, 2019, 6PM Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa 76 NOMINEES 11 FINALISTS 6 WINNERS! Mosquito spraying, overheating theories in bat deaths KAYLA YOUNG kyoung@compassmedia.ky Environmental officers are investigating a myste- rious spate of bat deaths be- tween Prospect and Rum Point this summer. Deaths of velvety free- tailed bats, one of nine bat species in the Cayman Is- lands, were first reported in July by Ocean Club residents in Prospect, said Fred Burton, manager of the Terrestrial Resources Unit for the De- partment of Environment. Residents noticed an un- usual number of dead bats around bat boxes that were constructed through a former conservation programme. “We followed up and began monitoring the bat boxes islandwide, and found short-term mortality events happening at Prospect Point, Ocean Club, Willow Point, Pedro, Bodden Town, and in the Rum Point area of North Side,” Burton said. “Timing in these places varied. Occasional dead bats were found at other loca- tions but those I’ve listed were the places where there was significant mortality.” The Department of En- vironment is exploring a number of theories, including mosquito spraying and thermal stress. Burton said the depart- ment is working with the Mosquito Research and Control Unit to investigate the possibility of chemical spraying as a culprit. The MRCU did not respond to CAyman Compass questions about the topic before press time on Monday. “MRCU has been helpful in sharing their spray data with us and we should be able to rule this in or out,” Burton said. “Another hypothesis is thermal stress. The mortali- ties occurred in an extremely dry and hot period. These bats like to live ‘hot’ and may often be quite close to their thermal maximum. So heat stroke is a possibility.” Another possibility is dis- ease. Burton ruled out white- nose syndrome, a disease that has killed millions of bats in North America but does not occur in the tropics. Rabies is another dis- ease Burton ruled out, as the symptoms do not match. But to send tissue samples to a lab in the United States, testing must be done for rabies first. The US Centers for Dis- ease Control and Preven- tion will test the bats’ brain tissue for the DoE and once deemed rabies-free, the rest of the tissue will be sent to a recommended lab for tox- icity testing. The DoE does not have an overall population count of bats in the Cayman Islands. Monitored bat boxes, how- ever, have been observed to house between 100 and 300 velvety free-tailed bats each. Population estimates have not been made for other spe- cies. Many Cayman Islands bat colonies have been lost. Before the Crystal Caves were developed for tourism, for ex- ample, Burton said another disturbance there killed off a huge population of Brazilian free-tailed bats. “Bats living in caves are extremely sensitive to dis- turbance by humans, espe- cially when flashlights and camera flashes are involved,” Burton said. “This is why the ‘Bat Cave’ on Cayman Brac, for example, has no bats any more.” Velvety free-tailed bats do not depend on caves for hab- itat. They are known to inhabit tree hollows, rock crevices and attics. The bat boxes were es- tablished through a National Trust for the Cayman Islands programme to provide alter- native habitat and discourage bats from roosting in buildings. There are about 40 bat houses erected on CUC utility poles across Grand Cayman. In Cayman Brac, there is little need for bat boxes be- cause the Bluff provides so many crevices, a National Trust fact page explains. Velvety free-tailed bats feed at dusk, hunting mosqui- toes, flies, beetles and moths. Bats are the only na- tive mammal of the Cayman Islands. Velvety free-tailed bats are one of nine bat species found in the Cayman Islands. - PHOTO: FILE Residents noticed an unusual number of dead bats around bat boxes that were constructed through a former conservation programme.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@compassmedia.ky, submitted via www.caymancompass.com, sent by post or hand-delivered to the Compass office. 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” WEDNESDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS Gender equality has never been so close, but still far from reality PATRICIA SCOTLAND This month the Common- wealth Women’s Affairs Min- isters Meeting will assemble in Nairobi, Kenya. It has taken place regularly since 1985, to take stock of the cur- rent status of gender equality in our member countries, and to share perspectives and experience of how pro- gress on this important Com- monwealth priority can be achieved more swiftly. Recommendations and decisions made by minis- ters responsible for wom- en’s affairs and gender will go forward to the Common- wealth Heads of Government Meeting being convened in Rwanda next year. The past century has wit- nessed the greatest advances for gender equality in human history. From New Zealand becoming the first self-gov- erning country in 1893 to allow women to vote in par- liamentary elections to Sri Lanka electing the world’s first female prime minister in 1960, the gender gap has never narrowed so quickly, but there is still much ground to be gained. In order to assess and ac- celerate progress, consider- able efforts are now made by multilateral organisations to measure progress against indicators linked to gender equality and women’s em- powerment. So we know, for instance, that in the Com- monwealth a girl is as likely to attend primary school as a boy, and in some countries more so. In the parliaments of 13 Commonwealth coun- tries, 30% or more of mem- bers are women. Women eve- rywhere can now expect to outlive men. Yet against this progress, underlying systemic ine- quality remains persistent and widespread. In politics, only one in five parliamentarians is a woman. In education, of every ten girls, only seven attend sec- ondary school. In the work- place, the law in 32 countries does not mandate equal re- muneration for work of equal value. In social life, 19 coun- tries do not have legislation prohibiting early marriage. That is according to re- search undertaken by the Commonwealth Secretariat in preparation for the Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting in Kenya. This research offers a snapshot of progress towards gender equality within and across the Commonwealth in four priority areas: women in leadership, women’s eco- nomic empowerment, ending violence against women and girls, and gender and cli- mate change. Women in leadership Commonwealth coun- tries collectively have de- clared that their ambition is to ensure 30% of the political sphere is made up of women. This is a step on the way to achieving gender parity. Rwanda is one of only three countries in the world to have achieved gender parity, with over 55% of seats occupied by women in both of its houses parliament. In 13 Commonwealth member countries, 30% or more of members of parlia- ment are women. The coun- tries of our Caribbean and Americas region have an average of almost 25% fe- male parliamentarians, which is relatively high com- pared to other Common- wealth regions. Ten Commonwealth coun- tries have achieved the target of 30% or more women min- isters, and Canada leads with over 50%. Women’s economic empowerment Although gender gaps in enrolment and achievement in education have narrowed, this has not yet translated satis- factorily into women’s equal participation in the formal la- bour force, or the elimination of the gender pay gap once women are in the workforce. The pan-Commonwealth average for female labour force participation is 56.30%, which means that only just over 1 in 2 of women work in the formal sector. Rwanda, at 86%, has the highest per- centage of women’s partici- pation in the labour force. Our analysis shows a dis- junction in the transition from primary to secondary schools for girls, largely due to factors such as the cost of education, child marriage or labour, and violence against girls. The highest female en- rolment in secondary schools is in Canada with 100%. Twenty of our member countries do not have legis- lation on sexual harassment in employment, while 23 do not have criminal penalties or civil remedies for sexual harassment in the workplace. Violence against women and girls Prevalence of violence against women and girls re- mains high throughout the world, despite advances in women’s economic status, leadership and agency. Of our 53 Commonwealth member countries, 47 have laws against domestic violence; 20 have legislation that explicitly criminalises marital rape; 40 have legislation against sexual harassment; and 9 have legis- lation that offers broad protec- tions for LGBTI people. It is clear that for gender equality to become a reality, responsibility for action has to be mainstreamed across the political sphere, public and private sectors, and civil society. This approach is a key tenet of the Beijing Plat- form for Action, and as we approach the 25th anniver- sary of that declaration, there is a special opportunity to focus on the contributions it can make towards national policy-making, budgeting, planning and service delivery. In order to realise the Sus- tainable Development Goals by 2030, it is important for us to continue working together multilaterally, and to invest more resources and effort to- wards ending the inequalities between women and men. Our Women Affairs Minis- ters Meeting is a fine example of such multilateral collabo- ration in action – and indeed the Commonwealth shines as a beacon for what can be achieved through the mutual support and encouragement of international cooperation conducted on a basis of in- clusiveness and equality. Note: Data against some parameters is missing in a few countries. The research analysis comes from the Commonwealth annual re- port on gender equality 2018/19, which will be re- leased later this year. Patricia Scotland is the Commonwealth Secretary-General. Patricia Scotland, Commonwealth Secretary-General JOY BALDRIDGE In times of hurricane de- struction and devastation like the aftermath of Category 5 Hurricane Dorian in the Ba- hamas, we must as a global community rally and support all who are affected by this tragic event … And we are. We are a team. A team in our love and generous giving. The outpouring of Cayman kindness and financial and spiritual support has been inspiring. In humanity we are one. One hurts, all hurt. We are one in faith and fortitude. Walks are being organised on island, church congregations are collecting funds, and proceeds from up- coming events, such as eS- hore’s ARMOUR Expo cy- bersecurity event on 4 Oct., originally to be held in the Bahamas, are gladly being donated. But always we wish we could do more, and we can. If you would like to con- tribute to the donation pro- cess, you can donate today to the Red Cross Hurricane Dorian Bahamas Appeal at Butterfield Bank Account #1360350540060. No amount is too small. Together, as a team, we can do incredible things, for when nothing is certain, any- thing is possible! Joy Baldridge is a keynote motivational speaker and author of the book ‘The Joy in Business’. Hurricane team building in action Joy Baldridge5 LOCAL NEWS CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER 2019 Trial called off in case of drug smuggling trio ANDREL HARRIS aharris@compassmedia.ky Three drug smugglers ar- rested with hundreds of pounds of ganja, a loaded gun, cocaine and ecstasy entered guilty pleas in the Grand Court Tuesday. Assad Adana Walker, Fitzroy Ottey and Owen Omar Reid, all Jamaican nationals, were seen throwing pack- ages off a canoe in March 2018. A joint police opera- tion resulted in the packages being recovered and the men apprehended. In the packages, officers found more than 300 pounds of ganja, 101 grammes of cocaine, 49.3 grammes of MDMA (commonly referred to as ecstasy) a .38 Smith & Wesson revolver handgun and 49 rounds of ammunition. During initial Summary Court appearances in 2018, the men all pled guilty to the charges of importation of ganja and possession of ganja with intent to supply. Walker, Ottey and Reid denied the alle- gations surrounding the guns, ammunition and other drugs. The men said they were paid to transport the drugs from Jamaica to Cayman, and that when they arrived at the departure location, the boat was already loaded. While they suspected the packages contained ganja, they denied ever knowing the other items were included in the packages. After they entered not guilty pleas to the additional charges, the matter went to the Grand Court in March this year for its first trial. On 15 March, four days after the initial trial began, Acting Justice Marlene Carter determined it could not pro- ceed any further. After the trial was called off, Walker, Ottey and Reid’s defence counsel successfully peti- tioned the court in a cost ap- plication of $16,000. On Tuesday, two days into the retrial of the men, Jus- tice Frank Williams returned his ruling on a ‘Goodyear hearing’. A Goodyear hearing outlines the starting point a judge is likely to impose if a defendant enters a guilty plea. The actual sentence im- posed would be dictated by individual mitigating and ag- gravating circumstances. Justice Williams’ Goodyear indication imposed a starting point of five years’ imprison- ment for Walker and three and a half years for Ottey and Reid. Following his ruling, the court adjourned for 10 minutes and when it reconvened, Walker, Ottey and Reid entered guilty pleas to the remaining drug and gun charges. The guilty pleas resulted in the trial being called off, and the jury, which was selected the day before, was released. During the Goodyear in- dication, Crown prosecutor Nicole Petit said that the Crown was seeking to “bal- ance the scales” in light of the cost application levied against it. “I would not normally press for the imposition of fines during these circum- stances,” said Petite. “How- ever, in the interest of bal- ancing the scales, I am now pressing the court to use its powers to impose fines as is prescribed by the law.” Leading the charge against the imposition of any finan- cial penalty was defence at- torney Amelia Fosuhene. She argued that not only was it improper to impose financial penalties on the defendants during a Goodyear hearing, the reason for suggesting such penalties be imposed was also cause for alarm. “What we have here are fines being packaged as a way to ‘balance the scales’, which, in my submission, is im- proper. The prosecution seeks to penalise my client because of their inability to prosecute the first trial adequately,” said Fosuhene. “They [the prosecu- tion] wasted the court’s time, the jury’s time, and wasted Legal Aid’s budget; and now they want to fine my client. My client should not have the added strain of a possible fi- nancial penalty when con- sidering whether he wants to plead guilty or not.” Jonathon Hughes, who also represents one of the defendants, reinforced Fos- uhene’s submissions, saying, “Imposing fines during this application only muddies the water and makes matters more difficult.” He added, “There are plenty of authorities on this matter which advise against the im- position of fines. Furthermore, the men are not working; they are not from this jurisdiction; and they have no means to pay any fines.” Addressing Justice Wil- liams, Petit said the defence only sought to disgrace her colleague, Garcia Kelly, who prosecuted the first trial, a comment which was re- futed by defence attorney Prathna Bodden. “Instead of adjourning the matter on day one, they con- tinued the trial all five days, despite being wholly unpre- pared for trial,” said Bodden. “Now, to suggest that the de- fence is seeking to shame a member of the Crown is completely unfounded and improper. Had the Crown not sought to impose fines on our clients, the issue of costs would have never been raised, and the matters sur- rounding the cancellation of the first trial would have never been discussed.” Responding to the defence and the prosecution, Justice Williams said, “I don’t doubt that, in order for costs to have been rewarded, one party must have won or there must have been some sort of deficiencies within the Crown’s case.” He added, “I don’t want to rule out the possibility of im- posing fines at this stage.” A sentencing hearing has been set for Thursday, 19 Sept.All three men were remanded into custody. On 14 March, 2018, police seized several bags and packages that contained more than 300 pounds of ganja, 101 grammes of cocaine and 49.3 grams of ecstasy. - PHOTOS: RCIPS Police also seized a .38 Smith & Wesson revolver handgun and 49 rounds of ammunition.The islands’ most-trusted news source 6 WEDNESDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS support they could. “Last week it was them, next week it could be us. It has been us in the past,” he said. Cayman loaned its police helicopter and crew to the relief effort last week, and delivered medical supplies on Monday. McLaughlin added that he had shared some of Cay- man’s experiences of coping with the traumatic aftermath of Ivan. Following the 2004 storm, he said, Cayman did not get anywhere near the interna- tional assistance he would have liked. But he believes the climate has changed and both international agen- cies and regional neighbours are now more equipped to help each other out in times of crisis. He said it had been im- portant for Cayman to help in the Bahamas, as well as in the British Virgin Islands and Turks and Caicos after Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. “We understand how im- portant these links are … knowing that you are able to have other jurisdictions come to your assistance,” he added. After Irma, Cayman expe- dited immigration procedures to allow some company em- ployees from the BVI to live and work in the Cayman Is- lands while the recovery ef- fort took place. Though the Bahamas does not have the same level of business links with Cayman, McLaughlin said he was willing to do the same this time. “We had some preliminary inquiries from private sector entities and we are pre- pared to accommodate that by making the necessary ad- justments to our immigration processes.” He said there had been “nothing firm” as yet but added, “Whatever we can do to assist, we will”. MEDICAL SUPPLIES DONATED TO BAHAMAS The Cayman Islands’ three local hospitals have donated more than 4,000 pounds of medical supplies to victims of Hurri- cane Dorian in the Bahamas. The Cayman Airways plane which visited Nassau on Monday delivered med- ication, diapers, gloves, bandages and other sup- plies from the Cayman Is- lands Health Services Au- thority, CTMH Doctors Hospital and Health City. The effort was coordinated by Chief Medical Officer John Lee. Emergency Medical Ser- vices manager Stephen Duval also worked with US- based ambulance supplier Global Medical Response to facilitate the donation of eight ambulances to the af- fected islands of Grand Ba- hama and Abaco. Health Minister Dwayne Seymour said, “The coordi- nation and collaboration required to bring together this sizable donation from Cayman’s healthcare com- munity was a grassroots effort between both public and private sector hospitals to provide medical relief to the people of the Bahamas.” Dr. Binoy Chattupar- ambil, clinical director of Health City, said doctors could be sent from Cayman in the near future. “Our role in the relief ef- fort will focus on providing urgent medical care, and we are hoping to send med- ical personnel in the near future, at present we will start with medicines and medical supplies as part of the overall relief mission from the Cayman Islands,” he said. Dr. Yaron Rado, CTMH Doctors Hospital Board chairman, said, “As fellow healthcare professionals, and island neighbours, it is our duty and honour to help. We are all in this together.” Supplies donated by Cayman Islands hospitals are offloaded in the Bahamas. - PHOTO: MARTIN WILKINSONPremier reaches out to stricken Bahamas Premier Alden McLaughlin steps off the Cayman Airways plane after returning to Grand Cayman on Monday afternoon. - PHOTO: TANEOS RAMSAY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Doctors Express has pulled these Kaiser Day Cannaceuticals products from its shelves. Insurance, pharmacy leaders grouse over drug ads KEVIN MORALES kmorales@compassmedia.ky Insurance and pharmacy leaders in the Cayman Is- lands say advertisements promoting THC products at a local healthcare fa- cility are unacceptable and highlight the need for up- dated laws regulating the advertising of any pre- scription drugs. “It needs to be pre- scribed by a doctor and so for them to advertise it to the public like that is uneth- ical,” Cayman Islands Phar- macy Council Chairman Donald McLean told the Cayman Compass. Doctors Express Urgent Care had recently called customers and sent text messages to others pro- moting ‘Medical Cannabis THC Vapes now available in Cayman!’ The text messages read, “Hurry! While sup- plies last.” “Last week’s text mes- sage blast ending with ‘Hurry! While supplies last’ made a mockery of the re- quirement for a prescrip- tion for medical cannabis,” Health Insurance Standing Committee Chair Annikki Brown said. McLean says a grey area exists in the law when it comes to advertising pre- scription drugs. He says the council has been seeking updates to the law for years, which would make illegal any advertisement of pre- scription drugs. The issue of vaping has come to the fore in the United States where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is investi- gating hundreds of illnesses and at least six deaths be- lieved to be associated with vaping and, specifically, THC vaping products. “Unfortunately, a recent advertisement was pub- lished encouraging the pur- chase of THC vapes,” the Cayman Islands Medical and Dental Society said in a press release. “In addition, the CIMDS feels it is poten- tially dangerous and not in the best interest of the public to advertise or make available this product to the public at this time.” Express. A Google search of Kaiser Day Cannaceuti- cals returns only the com- pany’s website, as well as a monthly list of trade and business licences from Cay- man’s Department of Com- merce and Investment. That document shows the com- pany was issued a licence in 2018 as an agent im- porter of pharmaceuticals and compounds for med- ical purposes, as well as an agent importer of cannabis extracts and tinctures for medical purposes. The address listed for Kaiser Day on the DCI docu- ment is the same address as Doctors Express. An email sent to Lee seeking clarification on the ramifications of the cease order and whether there is a THC to CBD ratio that must be met to satisfy Cayman’s laws had not been answered by press time. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Doctors Express ordered to pull cannabis vapes from shelves “ For them to advertise it to the public like that is unethical.” DONALD MCLEAN, Cayman Islands Pharmacy Council chairman Medical supplies are unloaded in Nassau on Monday. Premier Alden McLaughlin chats with Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis on Monday. - PHOTO: MARTIN WILKINSONThe islands’ most-trusted news source 7 CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER 2019 S. Korea culls pigs to halt African swine fever South Korea is culling some 4,000 pigs after confirming African swine fever at a farm near its border with North Korea, which had an outbreak in May. The disease threatens a massive industry in the country that involves 6,000 farms raising more than 11 million pigs. Drama at UK Supreme Court in Brexit legal challenge case LONDON (AP) – The British government and its oppo- nents faced off Tuesday at Britain’s Supreme Court in a high-stakes legal drama over Brexit that will determine whether new Prime Minister Boris Johnson broke the law by suspending Parliament at a crucial time ahead of Brit- ain’s impending departure from the European Union. In a case that pits the powers of the UK’s legislature against those of its executive, the government’s opponents argued that Johnson ille- gally shut down Parliament just weeks before the country is due to leave the 28-nation bloc for the “improper pur- pose” of dodging lawmakers’ scrutiny of his Brexit plans. They also accused Johnson of misleading Queen Elizabeth II, whose formal approval was needed to suspend the legislature. The government coun- tered that, under Britain’s largely unwritten constitu- tion, the suspension was a matter for politicians, not the courts. Government lawyer Richard Keen said judges in a lower court had “nakedly en- tered the political arena” by ruling on the matter. Johnson sent lawmakers home on 9 Sept. until 14 Oct., which is barely two weeks before the scheduled 31 Oct. Brexit day. The prime minister says Britain must leave the EU at the end of next month with or without a divorce deal. But many UK lawmakers believe a no-deal Brexit would be economically devastating and socially destabilising, and are determined to thwart him. Lawyer David Pannick, who represents one of the campaigners challenging the government, told 11 Supreme Court judges that Johnson had improperly suspended the leg- islature “to silence Parliament … because he sees Parliament as an obstacle to the further- ance of his political aims”. Johnson says the suspen- sion is routine, and will allow his government to launch its domestic agenda with a new session of Parliament. But the decision outraged many law- makers, who say it’s designed to prevent them from chal- lenging Johnson’s push for Brexit in October “do or die”. The suspension sparked legal challenges, to which lower courts have given con- tradictory rulings. England’s High Court said the move was a political rather than legal matter, but Scottish court judges ruled last week that Johnson acted illegally “to avoid democratic scrutiny”. The Supreme Court is being asked to decide who was right, in a case sched- uled to last up to three days. It is considering two ques- tions: Is this a matter for the courts; and, if so, did the gov- ernment break the law? The government denies misconduct. Its lawyers ar- gued in a written submission that the issue is “intrinsically one of high policy and poli- tics, not law”. Keen, acting for the gov- ernment, told the court that the Scottish judges “have simply gone where the court should not go”. “The courts are not to cross the boundaries and in- trude upon the proceedings in Parliament,” he said. Keen insisted there was nothing improper in the gov- ernment’s behaviour. He said there were previous cases of British governments sus- pending Parliament “for po- litical reasons” and for “ex- tensive periods of time”. But Pannick, attorney for transparency advocate Gina Miller, told the court it was a fundamental constitutional principle that “Parliament is sovereign and the executive is accountable to Parliament.” He said the five-week sus- pension of Parliament was the longest for decades, and called it “remarkable” that the prime minister had not sub- mitted a witness statement to the court outlining his rea- sons. He said, in the absence of a sworn statement, “we say the court should infer that there is no answer” to the al- legation that Johnson acted improperly. Pannick, however, stressed that he was not criticising Britain’s 93-year-old mon- arch in the case. “Her majesty acted on the advice of her prime minister,” he said. Johnson has not said what he will do if the judges rule the suspension illegal. He told the BBC he would “wait and see what they say”. Protesters hold banners outside the Supreme Court in London, Tuesday, as the court decides whether Prime Minister Boris Johnson broke the law when he suspended Parliament on 9 Sept. – PHOTO: AP UN expert: Suu Kyi’s role in Rohingya abuses still unclear GENEVA (AP) – A top UN in- vestigator said Tuesday “it’s still an open-ended question” about how much Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi could be implicated in human rights violations against Roh- ingya Muslims. Marzuki Darusman said it was “probably the case” that Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace prize laureate, may not have been “knowledgeable” about a vio- lent crackdown against the ethnic minority that erupted in August 2017 and ultimately drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya from their homes in Myanmar. But he said that after the crackdown, she didn’t address it. “It’s still an open-ended question to what extent she might be implicated,” said Darusman, a former Indone- sian attorney-general who headed a fact-finding mis- sion on Myanmar over the last two years on a mandate from the UN-backed Human Rights Council. Darusman spoke to re- porters after his team issued its latest report, calling for those who perpetrated rights violations against the Roh- ingya to be brought to justice, such as through an interna- tional tribunal – and even face genocide and crimes against humanity, if necessary. Their report suggested hundreds people could face prosecu- tion, and listed several top My- anmar generals by name. The fact-finding team has not called for Suu Kyi to be tried, but Darusman’s com- ments were likely to revive pressure on a leader who has come under scathing criti- cism for her silence and inac- tion, such as by US Vice Presi- dent Mike Pence, and has been stripped of an array of hon- ours since the Rohingya mi- grant crisis erupted. Darusman spoke after My- anmar’s ambassador in Ge- neva told the council that his country rejects any move to bring the issue of alleged rights violations against the Rohingya to an international legal forum. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun insisted Myanmar’s gov- ernment will “never tolerate any violation of human rights to anyone” and is “capable of addressing the issue of accountability”. Yanghee Lee, the UN spe- cial rapporteur on Myanmar, appealed to Suu Kyi at the council “to open your eyes, listen, feel with your heart, and please use your moral au- thority, before it is too late”. The fact-finding team’s re- port chronicled an array of al- leged human rights violations by Myanmar security forces and said counterinsurgency operations against Rohingya in 2017 included “genocidal acts”. It said the operations had killed thousands of people and caused more than 740,000 Ro- hingya to flee to Bangladesh.8 WORLD®IONAL WEDNESDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER 2019 • CAYMAN COMPASS Churchill’s Funeral Home We have been asked to announce the passing of Mrs. Linda R. Barlow, who died peacefully in her sleep at home on Thursday, August 29, 2019. A Memorial Service will be held at Elmslie Memorial United Church, on Saturday, September 21, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. We invite Linda’s friends and admirers to make a donation to Hospice instead of bringing flowers to the service. Condolences can be registered at churchillsfuneralhome.com Separate attacks in Afghanistan kill 48 Iran’s supreme leader: No talks with the US at any level DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Iran’s supreme leader said Tuesday “there will be no talks with the US at any level”– remarks apparently meant to end all specula- tion about a possible US-Iran meeting between the two countries’ presidents at the UN later this month. Iranian state TV quoted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who’s been personally sanc- tioned by the Trump admin- istration, as saying this is the position of the entire leader- ship of the country and that “all officials in the Islamic Republic unanimously be- lieve” this. “There will be no talks with the US at any level,” he said. His comments come as Iran faces allegations it is be- hind a devastating weekend attack on a Saudi oil field and the world’s largest crude oil processing plant that knocked out 5.7 million bar- rels of crude oil production per day, or about 5% of the world’s daily production. It also took out 2 billion cubic feet of daily gas production. Aramco, the Saudi oil company targeted, said no workers were injured in the attack. The attack early Saturday on the kingdom’s facilities in the east was claimed as mul- tiple drone strikes by Iranian- allied Houthi rebels in Yemen. Saudi Arabia, however, says the attack did not come from Yemen and said ini- tial investigations show Ira- nian weapons were used. The kingdom, though, has not yet said where the attack was launched from or what kind of weapons were involved. The US has made similar allegations, going so far as to say the attack may have been launched from Iran itself or nearby Iraq, where Iran has powerful proxy militias on the ground. Iran has denied the charges. Saudi Arabia on Tuesday called on the international community “to shoulder its responsibility in condemning the perpetrators” and “clearly confronting” those behind the attack. The government’s statements were carried in state-run media following a weekly Cabinet meeting that was overseen by King Salman, who was quoted saying Saudi Arabia is ca- pable of defending against such “cowardly attacks”. Current tensions stem from President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the 2015 nu- clear deal between Iran and world powers. He also re-im- posed and escalated sanc- tions on Iran that sent the country’s economy into free- fall, including targeting its oil exports. Khamenei said the US wants to prove its “maximum pressure policy” against Iran is successful. “In re- turn, we have to prove that the policy is not worth a penny for the Iranian nation,” Khamenei said. “That’s why all Iranian officials, from the president and the foreign minister to all others have announced that we do not negotiate (with the US) either bilaterally or mul- tilaterally,” he said. There had been reports about a possible meeting be- tween Trump and his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rou- hani, during the upcoming UN General Assembly next week in New York. Trump declared Monday it “looks” like Iran was be- hind the explosive attack on the Saudi oil facilities. But he stressed that mili- tary retaliation was not yet on the table in response to the strike against a key US Mideast ally. Trump, alternating be- tween aggressive and non-vi- olent reactions, said the US could respond “with an attack many, many times larger” but also “I’m not looking at op- tions right now.” Earlier, he had said the US was “locked and loaded”. He also said the impact of oil production shortages would not be significant on the US, which is a net en- ergy exporter. Oil prices fell on Tuesday after their biggest single- day jump in years due to the damaging attack. Brent, the international benchmark, is down 5.3% to $65.34. Both rose more than 14% Monday. Saudi Arabia’s energy minister is expected to give an update on the coun- try’s oil production at some point Tuesday. The American Automobile Association, known as AAA, said Tuesday that Americans can expect local pump prices to start to increase this week by as much 25 cents per gallon throughout September. “Whether this is a short or long term trend will be deter- mined by the price of crude oil prices and how quickly the facilities in Saudi Arabia can recover and get back on- line,” said Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokesperson. One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal delibera- tions, said the US was con- sidering dispatching addi- tional military resources to the Gulf but that no decisions had been made. The US al- ready has the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier battle group in the area, as well as fighter jets, bombers, re- connaissance aircraft and air defences. KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – Separate attacks by suicide bombers – one targeting Pres- ident Ashraf Ghani’s elec- tion rally and a second that ripped through the centre of the Afghan capital – killed at least 48 people and wounded scores more Tuesday in the deadliest single day since a peace agreement with Tal- iban insurgents was de- clared dead. The Taliban claimed re- sponsibility for both blasts, saying an explosives-laden motorcycle targeted Ghani’s election rally being held on the outskirts of Charakar in northern Parwan province. Ghani was present but un- hurt, his campaign chief said. In that explosion, 26 people were killed, according to Nasrat Rahimi, spokesman for the Interior Ministry. Four among the dead were Afghan military personnel, he said. Another 42 people were wounded, many of them women and children. In the second bombing, just hours later in the heart of Kabul not far from the US Embassy, the Taliban said they were targeting an Af- ghan army base. They killed 22 people, government of- ficials said. Scores more were wounded. The violence comes as Af- ghanistan faces presidential elections on 28 Sept. – a vote the Taliban vehemently op- pose. The insurgent group has warned Afghans not to vote in the election and said their fighters would target election campaigns as well as polling stations. The bomber who attacked Ghani’s rally detonated his explosives at the entrance to the rally, according to Hamed Aziz, a spokesman form Gha- ni’s campaign office. But Aziz said the explosion occurred some distance from where Ghani was addressing a crowd of about 2,200. Ghani condemned both attacks. “By continuing their crimes, the Taliban have once again proven that they have no will and desire for peace and stability in Afghanistan and that all their movements are nothing but deceit,” Ghani was quoted as saying in a statement released by the presidential palace. There were many women and children among the cas- ualties in the bombing near Ghani’s rally, said Dr. Qasim Sangin, a local official. Local television footage of the attack showed twisted wreckage and charred re- mains of military and police vehicles that were apparently positioned near where the powerful blast occurred. Firdaus Faramarz, spokesman for the Kabul po- lice chief, said the attack in the heart of the Afghan cap- ital took place near Massood Square, a deeply congested intersection in the centre of Kabul. NATO and US com- pounds are located nearby as are several Afghan govern- ment ministries. Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, re- leased a statement to the media saying Taliban sui- cide bombers were behind both attacks. In Parwan, Mujahid said the bomber targeted presi- dential guards who were pro- tecting Ghani and the rally, along with other members of the security forces. Four mil- itary personnel were among the dead. Campaigning for the Af- ghan elections resumed last week after President Donald Trump declared that the US- Taliban talks, which have been going on for months in the Gulf Arab state of Qatar, are over. Most presidential candi- dates had suspended their campaigns while negoti- ations were taking place and as the US peace envoy, Zalmay Khalilzad, said a deal was all but signed. Trump’s tweets at the be- ginning of September de- claring the deal and the talks were “dead” launched the war-battered nation on an election campaign. Ghani, who had been side- lined during much of the talks between Khalilzad and the Taliban, resumed cam- paigning immediately and had been steadfast in his de- mand that presidential polls should take place. Khalilzad and some of Ghani’s rivals, however had talked of establishing an in- terim administration to run the country while a peace deal was implemented. In the aftermath of the scrapped talks, Afghans braced for what many ex- pected to be an increase in violence. The Taliban have re- fused to discuss a cease-fire and have stepped up attacks across the country. Mean- while, Afghan forces backed by their US allies have inten- sified raids on militant hide- outs in recent weeks. The Taliban have also re- fused to meet with repre- sentatives of Ghani’s govern- ment for talks but it was two attacks in Kabul in recent weeks that caused Trump to halt the negotiations with the Taliban, including one that killed two NATO soldiers, one of whom was an Amer- ican. Another US soldier died in combat in Afghanistan on Monday. Monday’s death was the 17th US combat death in Afghanistan this year, ac- cording to the Pentagon’s count. There also have been three non-combat deaths this year. More than 2,400 Ameri- cans have died in the nearly 18-year war. The violence comes as Afghanistan faces presidential elections on 28 Sept. – a vote the Taliban vehemently oppose. Afghan police inspect the site of a suicide attack, in the Parwan province of Afghanistan, Tuesday. – PHOTO: AP Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left, greets Iraqi Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr during a mourning ceremony commemorating the death anniversary of Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, 10 Sept. – PHOTO: AP9 WORLD®IONAL CAYMAN COMPASS • WEDNESDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER 2019 Back to basics: Congress tries to keep government lights on White House orders 2 former aides to defy House subpoenas TAIWAN LOSES ALLY AS SOLOMON ISLANDS EMBRACE CHINA WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House has instructed two former aides to Presi- dent Donald Trump not to appear at a House Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, saying Rick Dearbourn and Rob Porter are “absolutely immune” from testifying at what the panel is calling its first impeachment hearing. In a letter sent to the panel and obtained by The Associated Press, White House counsel Pat Cipollone wrote that the Justice De- partment has advised – and Trump has directed – Dear- bourn and Porter to defy sub- poenas because of “constitu- tional immunity”. Lawyers for both men said they would follow Trump’s orders. Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski, who never worked for the White House, is expected to attend the hearing as its sole witness. In a separate letter, Cipollone said Lewandowski should not reveal private con- versations with Trump be- yond what is already public in special counsel Robert Muel- ler’s report. House Judiciary Com- mittee Chairman Jerrold Na- dler invited the three men to testify at the hearing as part of the panel’s probe into Mu- eller’s report and what Na- dler is calling an “aggres- sive series of hearings” this fall to determine whether Trump should be impeached. But the committee has so far been hobbled by the White House’s blockade of wit- ness testimony and docu- ment requests, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said she wants to wait to see what happens in court be- fore making a decision on impeachment. Cipollone wrote that Dear- bourn and Porter were ad- vised not to attend “because of the constitutional immu- nity that protects senior ad- visers to the president from compelled congressional tes- timony, and in order to pro- tect the prerogatives of the Office of President”. Democrats are challenging such claims of “absolute im- munity” in a lawsuit against former White House counsel Don McGahn, who defied a subpoena earlier this year on Trump’s orders. They say that such a claim does not le- gally exist. In the letter regarding Le- wandowski, Cipollone wrote Nadler that his conversations with Trump “are protected from disclosure by long-set- tled principles protecting ex- ecutive branch confidentiality interests”. In a statement, Nadler said the White House’s posi- tion is “a shocking and dan- gerous assertion”. He added, “The President would have us believe that he can willfully engage in crim- inal activity and prevent wit- nesses from testifying before Congress – even if they did not actually work for him or his administration.” Brant W. Bishop, Porter’s lawyer, said in another letter to Nadler that his client was trapped between “competing and incompatible demands from coordinate and coequal branches” and would, for now, defy the subpoena. He indicated that Porter would testify if he was instructed to by the courts. “Such conflicting demands must be resolved through an accommodation between the executive and legisla- tive branches, or by the Ju- diciary,” Bishop wrote. “In the meantime, because the in- quiry at issue relates to his service as a senior official at the White House, Mr. Porter must respect the White House’s instruction.” At the hearing, Lewan- dowski would be free to dis- cuss Trump’s campaign, which he worked on until he was fired in the summer of 2016. But the Judiciary panel is most interested in Mu- eller’s report, and whether Trump obstructed justice. The report said the president could not be exonerated on that point. WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) – Taiwan has lost its largest ally in the Pacific after the Solomon Islands confirmed Tuesday that it is switching diplomatic al- legiance to China, and ob- servers say other Pacific nations may soon follow. The switch has geo- political significance that will be felt as far away as Washington because the Solomon Islands are lo- cated directly between Aus- tralia and the US and were the site of fierce battles during World War II. Alex Akwai, a spokesman for Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, said the gov- ernment’s caucus took a poll on Monday, with 27 lawmakers voting in fa- vour of switching allegiance to China and six abstaining. He said the Cabinet then voted unanimously in fa- vour of the change. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said it will close the embassy and re- call all technical and med- ical staff stationed there. “We sincerely regret and strongly condemn their government’s decision to establish diplomatic rela- tions with China,” Tsai said. China, meanwhile, said it welcomed the Sol- omon Islands into its Pa- cific family. China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory and wants to bring the is- land back into its fold. Taiwan split from mainland China during a civil war in 1949 and set up a rival gov- ernment to the victorious Communists in Beijing. Most countries rec- ognise Beijing today, and China has been ratcheting up diplomatic and eco- nomic pressure to woo the remaining ones since Tsai took office in 2016. With a population of 660,000, the Solomon Is- lands were easily Tai- wan’s largest remaining ally in the Pacific. Its economy relies on agri- culture, fishing and for- estry, and the country has a wealth of undeveloped mineral resources. Now only 16 countries worldwide continue to rec- ognise Taiwan, including five small Pacific nations. WASHINGTON (AP) – The good news is that it does not look like a bitterly po- larised Washington will stumble into another govern- ment shutdown. But as Democrats con- trolling the House unveil a stopgap, governmentwide spending bill to keep the lights on and pay the troops, there’s scant evidence that power sharing in the Cap- itol will produce further leg- islative accomplishments anytime soon. The measure, likely to be released on Tuesday, is set for a vote this week and would keep the government running through 21 Nov. and buy time for action and negotiations on $1.4 trillion in annual appropriations bills. Some items cannot wait and will be included, like accelerated funding for the 2020 census and $20 million to combat Ebola in Africa. President Donald Trump also appears likely to win authority to continue bailout payments to farmers harmed in the cross- fire caused by his aggressive trade policies against China. Since the temporary spending bill is the only must-do legislation on the immediate horizon, law- makers are using it as a lo- comotive to haul other priori- ties into law. That bundle of provisions, negotiated behind closed doors, offers plenty of evidence of Capitol Hill’s chronic dysfunction. It’s not just that the Dem- ocratic-controlled House and GOP-held Senate cannot agree on big issues like infra- structure, guns and health- care. They also can’t agree on lower-tier items that typically pass by wide margins, such as short-term extensions of the federal flood insurance programme and the Export- Import Bank, which helps fi- nance export deals important to large manufacturers such as The Boeing Co. The House and Senate banking committees are re- sponsible for legislation to reauthorise both the Export- Import Bank and the flood in- surance programme, which is particularly important to the real estate sector in coastal areas, but there’s been no progress, so temporary exten- sions of the two programmes have been attached to the in- terim spending bill. Meanwhile, a bundle of healthcare-related provisions, such as Medicaid payment rates for hospitals that serve mainly lower-income commu- nities, is catching a ride on the temporary spending bill, according to a spokesman for House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Nita Lowey. Democrats are deferring a showdown over Trump’s border wall, which sparked a 35-day partial government shutdown at the turn of the year. Democratic leaders opted against trying to use the bill as a way to take on Trump controversies like cut- ting military base projects to pay for his US-Mexico border wall. But they are not granting Trump any favours, either, denying provisions such as the flexibility to build new border wall segments. A new bipartisan report by the Senate’s Permanent Sub- committee on Investigations released Tuesday found that this year’s shutdown and a more widespread 2013 shut- tering of federal agencies cost taxpayers about $4 bil- lion, mostly for back pay for workers who did not work during the shutdowns. Almost 57,000 years of worker pro- ductivity were lost, according to the report by Senators Rob Portman and Chris Coons, contributing to piled-high trash at national parks, a sus- pension of consumer product safety inspections at US ports, and delayed certifications for new aircraft. An early draft of the stopgap measure, circulated by Lowey, did not include Trump’s request for main- taining funding for the farm bailout, but talks Monday ap- peared headed towards a bi- partisan compromise that would allow the Agriculture Department to keep issuing checks to farmers. The bailout started last year after China retaliated against Trump’s tariffs on Chinese exports by reducing purchases of US crops. The developments have caused widespread discontent in farm country that is already beset by lower crop prices and vanishing profits. The House is slated to pass the stopgap spending measure this week and the Senate is expected to follow in time to meet the 30 Sept. deadline to avert a govern- ment shutdown. The $1.4 trillion in an- nual appropriations bills are off to a late and not par- ticularly promising start de- spite a bipartisan budget and debt deal passed in July. The House has passed 10 of the 12 annual bills, but at spending levels higher than permitted under the budget deal. Since the temporary spending bill is the only must-do legislation on the immediate horizon, lawmakers are using it as a locomotive to haul other priorities into law. The committee has so far been hobbled by the White House’s blockade of witness testimony and document requests. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is leading an effort to pass a stopgap, governmentwide spending bill to keep the lights on and pay US troops. – PHOTO: AP Rick Dearbourn, former White House deputy chief of staffNext >