Travel firms sue creator of cheap airfare site
United Airlines and travel firm Orbitz have launched legal action against a site that seeks out cheap "hidden city" airfares.
The site finds cheap fares by looking for flights that have a stopover at the city someone wants to travel to.
The two firms allege the site is engaged in "unfair competition" and seeks to recoup lost revenue.
The developer behind the site said he was doing nothing wrong by exposing the "inefficiencies" in airline ticketing.
The legal action has been filed in Illinois.
The Skiplagged website works by looking for longer flights that include a stop in a big city en route to another destination. One example might be flying from New York to Lake Tahoe that has a stopover in San Francisco.
If someone wanted to travel to San Francisco they might spend less on the fare by booking the stopover flight and not travelling to Tahoe than they would simply booking a flight to San Francisco from New York. In some cases, the site suggests, travellers can save 40% or more on ticket fares.
The trick only works with one-way flights. Travellers cannot check in any luggage as that would then travel on to the flight's final destination.
Twenty-two-year-old developer Aktarer Zaman, who created the site, told CNNMoney that he had made no profit from Skiplagged. He declined to comment specifically on the case to CNN.
Mr Zaman has launched a fundraising campaign to gather cash to fight the legal battle against United and Orbitz. So far he has raised $10,538 (£6,776) of the $15,000 needed.
In its legal filing, United and Orbitz said the site was "intentionally and maliciously" interfering with the travel firms' business and was making it breach its contracts with its partners.
The documents added that "logistical and public safety concerns" meant using "hidden city" tickets was prohibited and, as a result, using Skiplagged broke these rules.
The two firms are seeking damages of at least $75,000 in revenue they claim they have lost as a result of Skiplagged operating.
Source-BBC
Sean Paul cancels Maldives gig
International recording artiste Sean Paul has cancelled a New Year’s gig in the Maldives amid death threats.
The artiste issued a statement to the media yesterday.
“Unfortunately, the world has reached a point where cyber threats must affect real life decisions. With that said, due to safety concerns for my crew and the people of the Maldives attending the Tourist Arrival Countdown, it is with deep regret that I have come to the difficult decision to cancel my appearance,” Sean Paul’s statement read in part.
He also used the opportunity to thank the Government and people of the Maldives for their invitation.
Britain’s Independent newspaper reported the video message carries the logo of the Bilad Al Sham Media (BASM) group, an organisation which claims to comprise Maldivian jihadists based in Syria and the Maldives.
“Sean Paul, if you visit the Maldives, the world will see your burned and blood-drenched dead body,” said cards held by a cloaked figure in the video posted on YouTube last week.
A Twitter account allegedly belonging to BASM denied being behind the threat, revealing in a tweet: “We would clearly like to announce that our media have nothing to do with the Sean Paul death threatening video.”
Haiti deal reached to avert crisis over delayed polls
Haitian President Michel Martelly has reached a deal with the senate and the chamber of deputies to avert a political crisis over long-delayed elections which sparked mass protests.
Officials said Mr Martelly had signed an agreement with the presidents of the two chambers to extend their mandate.
Lawmakers will now have to sign off on the deal.
If it is not passed, Haiti could be left without a functioning government once the mandates expire on 12 January.
Under the agreement, Haiti's deputies would be extended in their posts until 24 April and senators until 9 September.
The deal comes just over two weeks after Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe resigned in the wake of violent protest at the delayed elections.
Former Haitian Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe speaks during an interview with Associated Press in Port-au-Prince on 15 December, 2014
Mid-term senate elections had been originally due in May 2012, while the municipal poll is three years behind schedule as Haiti slowly emerges from the earthquake which left much of the country devastated in 2010.
They were postponed again on 26 October - the day they were due to be held - because of an ongoing stalemate between the government and a group of opposition senators over an electoral law.
The repeated delays have triggered protests, some of them violent, by critics of the government, who accuse President Martelly of wanting to rule by decree.
Martelly has appointed Evans Paul, a former radio journalist, as the new prime minister.
Mr Paul has to be confirmed by parliament before he can start forming a government.
Officials say debris of Air Asia QZ8501 is missing plane
Indonesian officials have confirmed that bodies and debris found in the Java Sea off Borneo are from AirAsia flight QZ8501 that went missing on Sunday, a statement by AirAsia says.
AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes said he was "devastated" by the news.
President Joko Widodo told media he had instructed all search teams to focus on finding the passengers and crew.
The Airbus A320-200, carrying 162 people from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore, disappeared on Sunday.
The head of Indonesia's search operation, Bambang Soelistyo, says three bodies have been retrieved, not 40 as previously stated by naval officials.
The discovery came on the third day of searching. A navy spokesman said rescuers were "very busy now" with the salvage operation.
The AirAsia statement said the remains were found in the Karimata Strait, south-west of Pangkalan Bun in the Borneo province of Central Kalimantan.
Mr Fernandes said: "I am absolutely devastated."
He told a news conference there could now be an end to uncertainty for everyone involved.
"This is a scar with me for the rest of my life," he said.
"It doesn't change anything. There is at least some closure as opposed to not knowing what's happened and holding out hope."
The AirAsia statement said family members would be assigned care providers and an emergency call centre would be set up for those seeking information.
Source-BBC
Gambia government denies coup plot against Jammeh
The Gambia's government has denied there has been an attempt to overthrow President Yahya Jammeh while he is abroad.
A statement broadcast on state radio said that "contrary to rumours being circulated, peace and calm continue to prevail" in the West African state.
Heavy gunfire had earlier erupted near the presidential palace in the capital.
Mr Jammeh seized power in a coup in 1994 and his critics accuse him of ruling with an iron-hand.
Diplomatic and military sources said soldiers from the presidential guard appeared to have mounted the attack on the presidential palace in Banjul in the early hours of Tuesday.
A British teacher in Bakau, about seven kilometres (four miles) from Banjul, told the BBC that The Gambia had shut its nearby land borders with Senegal.
"Most of the big shops are closed at this point but there's absolutely no military or police presence," he said.
Source- BBC
Cargo Ship Sends Distress Signal Off Corfu Island
A cargo ship believed to be carrying hundreds of migrants near the Greek island of Corfu sent out a distress signal saying armed people were on board on Tuesday, Greek television reported.
Two Greek officials confirmed that a distress signal had been received from the Moldovan-flagged Blue Sky M but did not give further details on the message.
A Greek frigate, a coastguard vessel and a military helicopter were heading to the area, they added.
“We have information that it is carrying suspected migrants. It is sailing off Corfu,” a shipping ministry official said.
Greece's SKAI television said as many as 700 people may be on board but other reports put the total at 400.
Source-Reuters
Another illegal vessel comes to the TCI on December 25th,2014
A sloop carrying 65 would be illegal immigrants (52 males and 13 females) was intercepted six miles off South Dock by the marine division, Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF) at 11:55pm, Thursday, 25 December 2014.
The vessel was captured following a report passed to the police by immigration staff at the government’s coastal radar station.
All Marine Branch assets and officers have since returned safely to Marine Base incident free.
The 65 individuals have been handed over to immigration officials for processing and will be deported at the earliest opportunity. All appear to be of Haitian origin. The sloop was also searched and handed over to Immigration authorities for disposal.
On December 25th 2013, a sloop arrived which resulted in the unfortunate death of 17 illegal migrants.
The Police can be contacted anonymously on 911 or Crime Stoppers anonymously on 1-800-8477. Tips can also be submitted anonymously in English, French or Spanish on either www.crimestoppers.tc or on Facebook as a fan of Crime Stoppers Turks & Caicos. Crime Stoppers tips are received in the USA.
Police Appeal for Information into Murder on Aviation Drive
The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF) are still appealing to members of the public for information into a murder which occurred in the down town area of Providenciales on Saturday Dec 27th,2014.
At approximately 3AM (27 December 2014), police received multiple reports of violence at 2005 Club on Aviation Drive in Five Cays.
One victim (approximately 20 years of age) received several stab wounds and was pronounced deceased. Another victim received a gunshot wound and is in stable condition. Two other victims received head wounds after being struck by objects.
Several arrests have been made in relations to the Murder and other weapon-related incidents. Police expresses their appreciation for the cooperation received from the public but continues to seek other witnesses to the events.
Police are urging anyone with information about this incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1-800-8477 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page: www.crimestoppers.tc. Information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence. We remind people they should not report crime information via our Facebook and Twitter pages.
Search On For Missing Plane In Guyana’s Interior
A search is being carried out by aviation officials here following reports that communication was lost with a plane that was flying in the interior of the country.
Aviation personnel on Sunday reported that they lost communication with the Britten Norman Islander airplane shortly after 1pm local time.
The plane, with the registration number 8R-GHE, was being flown by Captain Nicolas Persaud. The sole passenger onboard was a cargo loader whose name was not released.
The aircraft was flying from the gold mining area of Mahdia to Karisparu when communication was lost with the pilot in the vicinity of Region 8.
According to media reports, Annettee Arjoon Martins of Air Services Limited (ASL) said the weather was good at the time contact was lost .
While it has not been confirmed if an accident took place, four planes and a helicopter were deployed to search the area before nightfall.
Source-CMC
Air Asia Flight Believed to be ‘at the Bottom of the Sea’
The chief of the search effort for missing Indonesia AirAsia flight 8501, which vanished a day earlier, stated Monday that "the hypothesis is the plane is at the bottom of the sea."
Bambang Soelistyo, chief of Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), spoke to reporters in Jakarta, adding that this is "the preliminary suspicion and it can develop based on the evaluation of the result of our search."
Military aircraft from Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia are flying over the Java Sea searching for any wreckage from the Airbus 320.
The US Navy's 7th Fleet said in a statement it had not been asked to join the search.
"As we have in the past, the U.S. Navy assets in 7th Fleet stand ready to assist in any way that's helpful," said Lt. Lauren Cole, deputy public affairs officer for the fleet.
But American assistance could be en route soon. Soelistyo said Indonesia does not have the tools necessary for a submersible search, "so we will borrow from other countries which have offered. They are the U.K., France and U.S."
The relatively shallow Java Sea is one of the world's busiest waterways.
The jetliner departed Surabaya for Singapore's Changi airport early Sunday on what should have been a two-hour flight. But flight QZ8501 disappeared about halfway to Singapore.
The pilot had asked air traffic controllers for permission to ascend about 1,800 meters to nearly 11,600 meters (38,000 feet) to avoid stormy weather. An Indonesian transport ministry official said permission was denied because another plane was flying in the area.
After that, communication went silent. Controllers did not receive any distress call from the pilot. The last transmission from a crew member on the Airbus reportedly came at 6:12 a.m. local time on Sunday.
On board were 149 Indonesian passengers, including 16 children. The flight manifest also lists three South Koreans (one of them an infant), a Malaysian and a British man traveling with his two-year-old Singaporean daughter.
The flight crew was composed of two pilots, four flight attendants and one engineer - all Indonesian citizens except for the French first officer, according to AirAsia.
The captain in command is described as quite experienced with more than 20,000 flying hours -- roughly 6,000 of those hours with Indonesia AirAsia in the cockpit of the Airbus A320.
Relatives of passengers and crew were briefed Monday morning at Surabaya airport. They also met behind closed doors with AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes, who is grappling with the budget airline group's first tragedy since it took to the skies in 1996.
"Until today we have never lost a life. But I think any airline CEO who says that he can guarantee that his airline is 100 percent safe is not accurate. There are so many factors," Fernandes said on Monday. "And right now we cannot speculate as to what was the cause of the accident."
Indonesia AirAsia, previously known as Air Wagon International which began flying in 1999, is 49 percent owned by Malaysia-based AirAsia. The low-cost AirAsia family of airlines serves more than 100 destinations in 22 countries.
AirAsia has become Airbus' largest customer for the A320 and ordered 100 more of the twin engine jet planes two years ago. The aircraft is usually configured to hold between 150 and 180 passengers and operates on short to medium-haul routes.
Source-VOA