CTO offers regional tourism leaders exclusive training in airline route development
The Barbados-based Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) says it will stage a landmark two-day training event focused on airline route development for regional tourism leaders.
It said the February 20-21 event to be held at its headquarters will be conducted in partnership with Airport Strategy & Marketing (ASM).
“By collaborating with ASM, a part of Informa’s Aviation Week Network and a major international authority in global route development, we are bringing together the best in the field to provide an unparalleled learning experience for our tourism leaders,” said CTO Secretary General, Dona Regis-Prosper.
She said that the “Aviation Marketing, Incentives & Negotiation” programme marks a significant milestone in the inter-governmental organization’s efforts to strengthen aerial highways to and from the region.
The CTO said that the event is geared towards high-level tourism professionals including tourism ministers, directors of tourism, chief executive officers and other senior officials, offering an in-depth knowledge and practical skills in key areas such as effective aviation marketing plans, successful incentive strategies, negotiation techniques for new airline routes, and the fundamentals of route development.
It said the training is expected to draw significant attention from industry leaders looking to gain an edge in the world of aviation due to its interactive approach; intimate, focused learning environment; and opportunity for networking and exchanging ideas.
“The collaboration between CTO and ASM, a leader in aviation strategy and marketing and founder of the renowned Routes events, is a strategic move to bolster the Caribbean’s position in the worldwide aviation market.
“As the Caribbean continues to evolve as a key player in the global tourism industry, training and networking events are crucial for staying ahead in an increasingly competitive field,” the Secretary-General said, urging stakeholders “to seize this unique opportunity to elevate their expertise related to airline route development and reshape their aviation strategies”.
The managing director of Strategy and Consulting for Aviation Week Network, David Stroud, said airline negotiations and route support mechanisms have become such an important part of air service development, “and this course will provide delegates with the understanding and the techniques required to come to new agreements with airlines that will help bolster the airlift of the Caribbean”.
The training session precedes Routes Americas 2024, the leading air service development event in the Americas, scheduled to be held in Bogota, Colombia from March 19-21.
“This key industry gathering will bring together senior professionals from airlines, airports and destinations, offering an efficient platform for building high-value relationships with key air service development decision-makers from across the region and beyond,” CTO added.
Source-CMC
Brazil President to attend CARICOM summit in Guyana
Brazil President, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is among specially invited guests attending the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) summit that opens in Guyana on February 25.
Apart from the Brazilian leader, the President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Dr. Ilan Goldfajn, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Minister of State for International Cooperation, Reem al Hashimy, will attend the three-day summit that will be chaired by Guyana’s President Dr. Irfaan Ali.
The regional leaders are expected to discuss a number of issues crucial to the 15-member regional integration grouping, including the ongoing socio-economic situation in Haiti where security remains a high priority highlighted by the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise.
Rival criminal gangs have been seeking to control areas of the capital and a Multinational Security Support (MSS) Mission in Haiti, approved by the United Nations Security Council last October to assist the government there restore law and order is yet to be fully deployed in the French-speaking CARICOM country.
The MSS will be led by Kenya and several CARICOM countries have already indicated a willingness to provide support to the team that will coordinate with the Haitian National Police.
In addition to Haiti, the regional leaders will also focus on territorial threats, including the Guyana-Venezuela border dispute, crime and violence, climate change and financing, regional food and nutrition security.
Additionally, the agenda will feature discussions on COP 28 and the upcoming Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States. The summit will also deliberate on global and hemispheric issues, including developments in the Middle East and emerging situations in Argentina, Ecuador, and Guatemala.
The summit will most likely discuss the region’s position to be adopted at the VIII Summit of Heads of States and Governments of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) that takes place in St. Vincent and the Grenadines on March 1.
CELAC serves as an intergovernmental platform for dialogue and political consensus, comprising a membership of thirty-two nations across Latin America and the Caribbean. Functioning as a regional forum, CELAC aims to unify all countries in the Latin American and Caribbean regions, aspiring to represent a distinctive voice and establish structured mechanisms for policymaking in politics and cooperation to bolster regional integration initiatives.
Source-CMC
Lil Jon talks Super Bowl halftime show preparation + who's next?
Lil Jon says performing at the Super Bowl 58 halftime show, where he joined headliner Usher along with Ludacris for their 2004 hit "Yeah!," took a lot of work.
"It was quite a process to do," Jon tells XXL of putting the show together. "It was a lot of hard work. It was a lot of figuring out the proper setlists."
The Atlanta native says that they must've gone through "like 180 different versions of the setlists by the time we got to the end."
The final list, which was comprised of some of Usher's top hits, also included Jon's "Turn Down for What." He performed some of the song from a turned-up crowd on the field before joining Usher and Luda onstage.
Now Jon's ready to turn down a bit. He told XXL he'll be releasing a new meditation album called Total Meditation, expected February 16. It's a 10-track project Jon says should help "relieve anxiety, boost focus and find peace."
"I turned 50, started going through a lot of things. Started going through a divorce, I'm separated now, and all the emotions from the divorce and all that process was really getting to me. So, I found I had to start to go within to calm myself," Jon says.
Anybody listening to Usher? A lot of us are, apparently.
Thanks to his Super Bowl 58 halftime show, where Usher played some of his biggest hits and welcomed a few special guests like H.E.R., Alicia Keys and Ludacris, his musical catalog saw a rise in streams.
Immediately following the performance, Spotify logged a near 550% increase in streams of Usher's music.
Here's a look at a few of his past songs, all of which were part of his set list, that were downloaded at a major rate Sunday night:
"Caught Up" +2000%
"U Don't Have to Call" +1,200%
"Love in This Club" ft. Young Jeezy +1,100%
"Bad Girl" +1,050%
"Confessions Part II" +900%
"U Got It Bad" +715%
"My Boo" with Alicia Keys +690%
"Yeah!" ft. Lil Jon and Ludacris +520%
"Superstar" +350%
After Usher's viral, star-studded performance at Super Bowl 58, which CBS reports was the most-watched game in history, bids came in from artists who believe they should be next in line for the big gig.
One of the artists, T-Pain, says a halftime show featuring his many hits is a no-brainer.
"What If?..." reads a Super Bowl graphic, alongside a picture of T-Pain, that was shared to his Instagram Monday.
"I do got the hits," he captioned the post.
He also shared footage of an interview with Shannon Sharpe, who asked him if he'd be willing to take the halftime stage.
"You in?" asked Sharpe, to which T-Pain responded, "Absolutely. Why would I not do that?"
T-Pain's post included a final image of a fan comment on X, formerly Twitter, that reads, "Not gonna lie, I think we need a T-Pain Super Bowl halftime show."
Another hip-hop star hoping for a chance to take the stage is Lil Wayne. And, considering that the NFL has announced New Orleans, Wayne's hometown, as the location for Super Bowl 59, it might just make sense, Wayne thinks.
"I will not lie to you, I have not got a call or nothing," he said in a recent appearance on the 4Hunnid podcast. "But we all praying. We praying. We keeping our fingers crossed. I'm working hard. I'ma make sure this next album and everything I do is killer. I wanna just make it hard for them not to holler at the boy."
Speculation surrounding which hip-hop star will be next to perform at the Super Bowl stems from Jay-Z's involvement with the NFL and the halftime show.
West Indies beat Australia by 37 runs – 3rd T20I
West Indies defeated Australia by 37 runs in the final Twenty20 International of the three-match series at Perth Stadium here Tuesday.
Scores:
WEST INDIES 220 for six off 20 overs (Andre Russell 71, Sherfane Rutherford 67 not out, Roston Chase 37; Xavier Bartlett 2-37)
AUSTRALIA 183 for five off 20 overs (David Warner 81, Tim David 41; Roston Chase 2-19, Romario Shepherd 2-31)
PUBLIC FORECAST FOR THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS
GENERAL SITUATION: A DEEP, LAYERED RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS WILL MAINTAIN STABLE AND WARM CONDITIONS TODAY ALONG WITH MODERATE TO LOCALLY FRESH BREEZES.
SPECIAL WARNINGS: MARINERS AND BEACHGOERS SHOULD EXERCISE CAUTION DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF MODERATE NORTHEAST TO EASTERLY SWELLS AND AN ELEVATED RISK OF RIP CURRENTS ESPECIALLY ALONG EASTERN SHORELINES.
WEATHER: PARTLY SUNNY AND A BIT BREEZY. FAIR AND MILD TONIGHT.
ADVISORY: A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT DUE TO SWELLS.
WINDS: EAST TO SOUTHEAST AT 10 TO 15 KNOTS
SEAS: 4 TO 6 FEET NEARSHORE, 6 TO 8 FEET IN NORTHEASTERLY TO EASTERLY SWELL OFFSHORE
DAYTIME HIGH TEMPERATURE 81°F 27°C
OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURE 73°F 23°C
SUNSET: 05:44 PM
NEXT LOW TIDE: 03:16 AM (0.7 FT)
NEXT HIGH TIDE: 08:56 PM (2.3 FT)
EXTENDED FORECAST FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS: THE RIDGE WILL MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS THE CENTRAL ATLANTIC THROUGH MID-WEEK, AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT THAT WILL MOVE OFF OF FLORIDA’S COAST LATE TONIGHT AND ADVANCE DOWN THE BAHAMA ARCHIPELAGO. EXPECT COOLER TEMPERATURES AND SPOTTY SHOWERS IN THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS NEAR THE END OF THE WEEK.
FORECAST FOR TUESDAY
WEATHER: PARTLY SUNNY BECOMING FAIR AND MILD TONIGHT.
WINDS: SOUTHEASTERLY AT 5 TO 10 KNOTS, BECOMING LIGHT AND VARIABLE (LESS THAN 5 KNOTS) AT NIGHT
SEAS: 4 TO 6 FEET IN NORTHEASTERLY TO EASTERLY SWELL
SUNRISE: 06:21 AM
SUNSET: 05:44 PM
LOW TIDE: 03:07 AM (0.3 FT) 04:02 PM (0.7 FT)
HIGH TIDE: 09:36 AM (3.0 FT) 09:47 PM (2.3 FT)
FORECAST FOR WEDNESDAY
WEATHER: PARTLY SUNNY BECOMING PARTLY TO MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS POSSIBLE IN THE EVENING.
WINDS: LIGHT AND VARIABLE (LESS THAN 5 KNOTS), BECOMING NORTHEASTERLY AT 10 TO 15 KNOTS
SEAS: 2 TO 4 FEET OVER THE OCEAN
SUNRISE: 06:20 AM
SUNSET: 05:45 PM
LOW TIDE: 03:59 AM (0.3 FT) 04:48 PM (0.7 FT)
HIGH TIDE: 10:23 AM (3.0 FT) 10:40 PM (2.3 FT)
FORECASTER: H.HAMILTON
Trump attends hearing in classified docs & more
Former President Donald Trump, as part of the special counsel's classified documents case against him, spent about four hours Monday at a hearing held in a secure facility due to the sensitive nature of the materials at issue in the case.
Trump's lawyers and lawyers for his co-defendants in the case will be back in court Tuesday for a second day of hearings.
Meanwhile, The judge overseeing former President Donald Trump's Georgia election interference case says that it's "possible" misconduct allegations leveled against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis "could result in disqualification" if evidence shows she financially benefited from the case, and that a hearing on the matter will proceed as scheduled on Thursday.
Source-ABC
Three persons in Grand Turk by the Serious Crimes Unit
Detectives of the Serious Crimes Unit have arrested three persons in connection with the shooting death of 24 year old, Jockeem Missick that took place on Thursday February 8th.
The suspects, two men ages 18 and 21, have been arrested for murder, while a 55-year-old female has been arrested for conspiracy to commit murder.
The suspects reside in Grand Turk
and were detained during a policing operation on the morning February 10th.
Additionally, Authorities to Search two premises were executed.
Reports state that the Police Control Room had received a call of gunshots heard near the Parade Grounds, Grand Turk whilst students of the HJ Robinson high school were hosting sports.
Shooting at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church: 2 injured, including a child
Off-duty officers responded as a woman began shooting inside pastor Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston on Sunday, killing the suspect, Houston Police Chief Troy Finner said at a news conference.
A child was left in critical condition following the incident and a 57-year-old man was also shot in the leg, Finner said. Finner said the woman, between the ages of 30 and 35 years old, entered the Lakewood Church on the west side at approximately 1:53 p.m. local time. Finner says she was armed with a long rifle and was accompanied by a 5-year-old boy.
Finner said the 5-year-old was also shot and was transported to a local hospital in critical condition. When asked if police shot the child, Finner said he didn't know but added, "If it was, unfortunately, and that female, that suspect, put that baby in danger, I'm gonna put that blame on her.”
Source-ABC
Chiefs rally past 49ers to take Super Bowl 58
The Kansas City Chiefs scored a comeback 25-22 overtime victory against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, February 11, and became the first team to win back-to-back NFL championships in 20 years.
The game -- one of the longest in NFL history -- ended regulation play in a tie, forcing overtime. After the 49ers' Jake Moody kicked a 27-yard field goal to put San Francisco ahead, the Chief's Mecole Hardman caught a 3-yard pass from quarterback Patrick Mahomes to clinch the walk-off victory.
After a slow first half, Mahomes bounced back, completing 34 of 46 passes for 333 yards with two touchdowns and ran for 66 yards rushing, on his way to being named Super Bowl MVP for the third time.
Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce finished with 93 yards on nine receptions.
Source- ABC
Eldery cruise passenger dies while docked at Grand Turk Cruise Port
An elderly female passenger aboard a Caribbean Princess cruise ship, which docked at the Grand Turk Cruise Port on Friday, passed away due to undisclosed health issues.
The New York resident had reportedly complained of not feeling well before her untimely death. It remains unclear whether she died while receiving medical treatment on the cruise ship. However, preliminary information suggests that the deceased had pre-existing medical conditions.
Authorities have not released specific details about the nature of the health issues or the circumstances surrounding the passenger's demise. The cruise ship operator and relevant authorities are likely to conduct an investigation to determine the cause of death.
Cruise lines typically have medical facilities and trained staff on board to handle such situations, but the specifics of this case are still under scrutiny.
The identity of the deceased has not been disclosed, respecting the privacy of the individual and her family. The cruise line is expected to cooperate with local authorities to provide necessary information and assistance.