Sandals seeking more Copa flights into Jamaica
Sandals Resorts International is negotiating with Copa Airlines with the intention to increase the number of flights into Jamaica and also to boost the number of Latin American tourists to the island.
Senior vice president of sales Unique Vacations, (Sandals marketing arm) Gary Sadler, speaking at a press briefing yesterday at Sandals Ochi Beach Resort following a meeting with senior executives of Copa Airlines, disclosed that Sandals was seeking to have Copa expand its connections into Jamaica and bolster its partnership with the Sandals brand.
“Latin America continues to be a very important and the fastest-growing market for Sandals and Beaches Resorts,” Sadler noted. “Copa Airlines provides us with a high level of partnership, as seen in the fact that we have brought down close to 100 Latin American travel agents from 16 countries to Jamaica this week for our annual Latin American Golf Tournament. The real concept was not just about golfing, but to showcase what Jamaica has to offer — its the people, the environment, and attractions.
“The partnership is extremely important because Copa Airlines has 75 gateways that feed into Panama, from which they operate direct flights into Jamaica to both Kingston and Montego Bay. The partnership with Copa continues to grow and expand and we want to make sure that all of Latin America understands that Jamaica is the perfect destination for them to come to, and we want to ensure that our investments into Latin America continue to be strong,” Sadler said.
The Sandals senior executive pointed out that one of the reasons Jamaica continues to be an attractive destination to Latin Americans is the similarity in the lifestyles of Jamaicans and Latin Americans in terms of entertainment, nightlife, and culture.
Copa Vice-president of Sales Christopher Didier was also upbeat about the Jamaica partnership and noted that his company was looking forward to increased collaberation with Sandals and Jamaica.
Didier pointed to the new North-South link which allows for easy and quick access to Ocho Rios from Kingston, and the growing number of Latin American visitors to Jamaica.
Source-Jamaica Observer
Miami Dolphins coach resigns after video appears to show him snorting white powder
A video surfaced on Sunday night appearing to show the Miami Dolphins offensive line coach Chris Foerster snorting white powder off a table before a meeting, according to ESPN. On Monday morning, he announced his resignation from the team.
The 56-second video, which contains explicit language, shows a man snorting what appears to be powder off a table using a $20 bill. At one point, he says, “How about me going to a meeting and doing this before I go?”
Head coach Adam Gase told ESPN he is processing the situation after finding out about the video on Sunday.
Foerster, who at one time was the Dolphins’ offensive coordinator, was one of the NFL’s highest-paid assistants according to ESPN. His reported annual salary is valued between $2.5 to $3 million.
Foerster began his NFL coaching career in 1992.
Source-ABC
Streep and Dame Judi Dench speak out about Harvey Weinstein
Meryl Streep and other Hollywood stars have spoken out against producer Harvey Weinstein in the wake of the sexual harassment claims that saw him being fired by his own company.
Streep told the Huffington Post she was "appalled" by the "disgraceful" news.
She went on to praise "the intrepid women who raised their voices to expose this abuse", calling them "heroes".
Dame Judi Dench also issued a statement saying she was "completely unaware" of the "horrifying" claims.
The British actress also praised those who had spoken up.
"I offer my sympathy to those who have suffered, and wholehearted support to those who have spoken out," she said.
Meanwhile, another British actress - Romola Garai - says she felt "violated" after being asked to visit Weinstein in his hotel room when she was 18 so he could "approve" her for a role.
Garai told The Guardian he opened to door in his dressing gown. "It was humiliating for me," she said, adding: "It was an abuse of power."
Oscar-winner Kate Winslet has also praised those, like Garai, who spoke out, telling Variety they are "incredibly brave", adding it had been "deeply shocking to hear".
Emma Thompson, Mark Ruffalo and Seth Rogen are among other leading actors to express similar sentiments.
The Weinstein allegations have instigated a fierce debate about abuse of power in Hollywood and beyond.
Streep's statement followed criticism that leading Hollywood figures had maintained a "deafening silence" in the wake of the allegations against Weinstein that surfaced in the New York Times on Friday.
Streep said she wanted to make it clear that "not everybody" had known about the allegations, including herself.
The three-time Oscar-winner said the news had "appalled those of us whose work [Weinstein] championed, and those whose good and worthy causes he supported."
Streep worked with Weinstein on such films as The Iron Lady and August: Osage County and jokingly referred to him as "God" in a 2012 acceptance speech.
"Harvey supported the work fiercely, was exasperating but respectful with me in our working relationship, and with many others with whom he worked professionally," Streep wrote about the allegations.
"I did not know about his financial settlements with actresses and colleagues; I did not know about his having meetings in his hotel room, his bathroom, or other inappropriate, coercive acts.
"And if everybody knew, I don't believe that all the investigative reporters in the entertainment and the hard news media would have neglected for decades to write about it."
She added: "The behaviour is inexcusable, but the abuse of power familiar. Each brave voice that is raised, heard and credited by our watchdog media will ultimately change the game."
A spokesman for Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May said she had expressed "concern" about the allegations, but said his CBE was not a matter for her office but for the Honours Forfeiture Committee, where each case is "considered on its merits".
Source-BBC
Google 'uncovers Russian ad campaign linked to US election'
Google has found evidence that Russian agents spent tens of thousands of dollars on adverts in a bid to sway the 2016 US election, media reports say.
Sources quoted by the Washington Post say the adverts aimed to spread disinformation across Google's products including YouTube and Gmail.
They say the adverts do not appear to be from the same Kremlin-linked source that bought ads on Facebook.
Google said it was investigating attempts to "abuse" its systems.
US intelligence agencies concluded earlier this year that Russia had tried to sway the election in favour of Donald Trump.
The Russian government strongly denies the claims and President Trump has denied any collusion with the Kremlin.
The issue is under investigation by US congressional committees and the Department of Justice.
Sources said to be close to the Google investigation said the company was looking into a group of adverts that cost less than $100,000 (£76,000).
Google said in a statement: "We have a set of strict ads policies including limits on political ad targeting and prohibitions on targeting based on race and religion. We are taking a deeper look to investigate attempts to abuse our systems, working with researchers and other companies, and will provide assistance to ongoing inquiries."
Microsoft said on Monday it was also investigating whether any US election adverts had been bought by Russians for its Bing search engine or other products.
A spokesman told Reuters it had no further information at the moment.
Facebook said in September that it had uncovered a Russian-funded campaign to promote divisive social and political messages on its network.
It said that $100,000 was spent on about 3,000 ads over a two-year period, ending in May 2017.
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg later said his company would pass the information to US investigators.
Source-BBC
World Bank chief sounds alarm over job automation
The world is on a "crash course" as people's hopes collide with a future in which millions of jobs are automated, the World Bank chief has said.
Jim Yong Kim said policymakers should take action by investing in education and health.
The World Bank president was speaking in New York ahead of the group's annual meeting in Washington DC this week.
The remarks come amid wider concerns about political threats to economic growth.
The World Bank plans to publish a ranking of countries that measures investments in "human capital", such as education.
The focus is a shift for the organisation, which was established after World War Two to spur infrastructure reconstruction.
But Dr Kim said other kinds of investments are important to economic growth in the future, as robots displace millions of low-skill workers.
"The one thing you know for sure that you'll need in whatever the economy looks like in the future is people who can learn," he told the BBC.
"We want to create a sense of urgency to invest in people that we think is necessary given the way ... the global economy is changing."
The push for education and health investments comes as outlooks for economic growth improve.
In July the IMF said it expected the global economy to expand by 3.5% this year and by 3.6% in 2018.
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said updated forecasts, to be released this week, were likely to be even more optimistic.
However, bankers from the IMF, World Bank and other organisations have warned that the progress is threatened by political movements that favour trade barriers, isolation, military aggression and other measures.
"If your aspirations start to rise but then there's no opportunity it can lead to fragility, conflict, violence," Dr Kim said. "This is the crash course we're going down."
Political uncertainties are increasingly behind many of the risks identified by sovereign debt analysts, said Moritz Kraemer, managing director of S&P Global Ratings, which tracks economic and political movements in dozens of countries to devise credit ratings.
The subject was also the topic of a speech by European Central Bank president Mario Draghi earlier this year.
Ms Lagarde said this month that policymakers "should not let a good recovery go to waste".
"We know what can happen if we let the moment pass," she said. "Growth will be too weak, and jobs too few. Safety nets will be unable to handle aging populations. Our financial system will be unprepared for future shocks."
Source-BBC
Deadly wildfires sweep through California
Parts of California's wine region are being ravaged by fast-spreading fires that have killed at least 10 people.
Mass evacuations have taken place and at least 1,500 properties have been destroyed. Seven people were killed in Sonoma county, authorities said.
About 20,000 people fled from Napa, Sonoma and Yuba counties after some of the state's worst-ever wildfires broke out.
The governor of California has declared an emergency."These fires have destroyed structures and continue to threaten thousands of homes, necessitating the evacuation of thousands of residents," the declaration said.
Along with the deaths in Sonoma county, two people were killed in Napa county and one in Mendocino county when thousands of acres burned in one valley.
Further injuries have been reported and some people are said to be missing.
The head of California's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Kim Pimlott, said that about 1,500 buildings had already been destroyed.
The fires are particularly fast-spreading because of the combination of high winds, low humidity and hot, dry weather.
The National Weather Service has issued a warning for the San Francisco area that "any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly".
UPDATE ON REOPENING OF LONG BAY HIGH, CLEMENT HOWELL HIGH AND ENID CAPRON PRIMARY
The Ministry of Education appreciates the understanding that parents and the general public demonstrated over the past few weeks as we worked out the logistics for the resumption of school since the passage of hurricanes Irma and Maria. As previously mentioned, our priority was to get the senior students at both the primary and high school levels back to school as quickly as possible.
While this is so, the Ministry is keen to ensure that students resume classes in conditions that are safe and healthy - free from mold and other hazards. To this end, the Ministry of Education has partnered with the Public Works Department and the Environmental Health Department and we are pleased to announce the reopening of the following schools and for the following students with effect from, Tuesday, 10th October 2017:
|
School |
Island/location |
Forms or Grades |
|
Long Bay High |
Providenciales |
Forms 1 and 2 |
|
Clement Howell High |
Providenciales |
Forms 4 and 5 |
|
Enid Capron Primary |
Providenciales |
Grades 4, 5 and 6 |
|
|
|
|
|
Ianthe Pratt Primary |
Providenciales |
Grades 4 and 5 to join Grade 6 |
The Public is hereby reminded of the reopening of the following schools:
|
School |
Island/location |
Forms or Grades |
|
H. J. Robinson High |
Grand Turk |
Forms 1 to 5 |
|
Ona Glinton Primary |
Grand Turk |
Infant 1 to Grade 6 |
|
Eliza Simons Primary
|
Grand Turk |
Infant 1 to Grade 6 at the Ona Glinton Primary |
|
|
|
|
|
Oseta Jolly Primary |
Providenciales |
Grades 4 to 6 at the Gustavus Lightbourne Sports Complex Grades 2 and 3 at the Edward Gartland Youth Centre |
The Ministry of Education commits to continue updating you via further announcements in the coming days, as we work together to return our students to a state of normalcy.
Theresa May: 'We can prove Brexit doomsayers wrong'
Theresa May will tell parliament later that the UK can "prove the doomsayers wrong" when it comes to Brexit.
The prime minister will say "progress will not always be smooth", but add that she wants the best possible deal for both the UK and the EU.
Her comments come as the fifth round of negotiations begin in Brussels later.
It is the final set of talks before EU leaders meet to decide if enough progress has been made to talk about post-Brexit relations with the UK.
In her first address to parliament since she outlined her plans in Florence, Mrs May will describe the government's ambition for a "new, deep and special partnership between a sovereign United Kingdom and a strong and successful European Union."
"Achieving that partnership will require leadership and flexibility, not just from us but from our friends, the 27 nations of the EU.
"And as we look forward to the next stage, the ball is in their court. But I am optimistic we will receive a positive response."
The PM will reiterate the need for a "spirit of friendship and co-operation" in the talks, but say: "I believe we can seize the opportunities of this defining moment in the history of our nation."
The talks between UK negotiators and Brussels officials will be lower profile this week, with neither David Davis or his EU counterpart Michel Barnier attending the start.
However, it will be the last time the two sides are scheduled to meet before an EU summit on 19 October.
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has said it will take miracles for the necessary progress to have been met before the summit, whilst the European Parliament made its voice heard with a non-binding motion saying that more needed to be done.
Around Brussels there is cautious optimism that agreement can be reached on how British judges might interact with the European Court of Justice and how the deal will be implemented.
Chatter concerns whether the final arrangement on citizens' rights can be accorded a status in the UK similar to the European Communities Act, which gave EU rules supremacy over British law - a legal concept called "direct effect."
However, progress on a means of calculating the UK's financial obligations - the "Brexit Bill" - seems much less likely.
The UK will continue to challenge the demands made by EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier.
But the EU side is disappointed that specific British negotiating positions have not emerged after Theresa May's warm words in Florence a fortnight ago.
After her speech in the House of Commons, Mrs May will meet with leading industry figures to try and reassure them about the Brexit process.
Source_BBC
Asphalt helps batteries charge more quickly
Lithium batteries can be made to charge 10 to 20 times faster by using asphalt, suggests US research.
Scientists at Rice University speeded up the charging time by making one component of a battery using carbon derived from the viscous liquid.
In tests, batteries made using asphalt charged to full power in minutes, said the researchers.
They also found that using asphalt stopped the formation of deposits that can shorten the life of a battery.
"The capacity of these batteries is enormous," said Prof James Tour, who heads the lab that developed the batteries.
"What is equally remarkable is that we can bring them from zero charge to full charge in five minutes, rather than the typical two hours or more needed with other batteries," he added.
To make their batteries, the Rice team used carbon derived from asphalt that was mixed with graphene nanoribbons and then coated with lithium metal.
Prof Tour said the manufacturing process behind this new approach was simpler than earlier techniques it had developed for making fast-charging batteries.
The Rice team has put prototype batteries through hundreds of cycles of charging and discharging to ensure the technology is stable.
This testing also revealed that the batteries were less likely to suffer the build-up of structures called "lithium dendrites" that can gradually spread through a device limiting its life.
Details of the research were revealed in the scientific journal ACS Nano.
The Rice group is just one of many developing faster-charging technologies.
Source-BBC
Netflix raises prices for first time in two years
Netflix has raised prices in countries including the UK and US for the first time in two years.
The streaming video service will also increase subscription charges in some European countries, a spokeswoman said.
A standard UK plan will rise 50p to £7.99 a month, while a premium subscription for four simultaneous users jumps £1 to £9.99 a month.
The standard US plan increases by $1 to $10.99 a month, with a $2 rise to $13.99 for the premium option.
A basic subscription in the UK, which does not offer high definition viewing, remains at £5.99 a month.
The increases apply immediately for new customers, while existing users will be notified of the change 30 days in advance.
Germany and France are among the other countries where prices will rise. Subscriptions were tweaked in Canada, Latin America and some Nordic countries earlier this year.
Netflix said in July it has 104 million subscribers globally, while revenues rose 32% in the second quarter to $2.8bn.
Shares in Netflix closed 5.4% in New York, bringing the stock's gain this year to 56%.
The price rises come as Netflix faces growing competition from Amazon and other sites such as Hulu in the US.
Source-BBC