World News

The Caribbean island of Nevis has announced the appointment of Mr. Phéon Jones to manage and advance the institution’s strategy as Director of Sales & Marketing for all markets with specific responsibility for the North American Market. 

Prior to this position, Mr. Jones started his career in Banking with CIBC FirstCaribbean in St. Kitts & Nevis and through his hard work, dedication, results and exceptional interpersonal skills quickly rose through the ranks and became Head of Sales for the Nevis Market of CIBC FirstCaribbean ending 2017. 

Bonaire Rum Week, the ultimate summer rum festival in the Caribbean is back again this June, a weeklong celebration of premium rum – set against the backdrop of the ultimate Dutch Caribbean paradise. 

If you have been to a rum festival, forget everything you know. This isn’t an expo in a stuffy conference centre in a densely populated city. 

Air Traffic Controllers European Unions Coordination (ATCEUC) has been informed about the decision of Kingdom of Spain’s Secretary of State for Transport on the privatisation of the Air Traffic Control Towers of seven major Spanish Airports.

This decision is based on E/CNMC/002/2018 ESTUDIO DE LOS SERVICIOS DE TRÁNSITO AÉREO EN ESPAÑA, a faulty report full of theoretical assumptions about a utopian ATC market that is too far from reality. Also, it is ignoring the fact that the current simultaneous provision of Tower and Approach Control Services by the same ATC Unit (ENAIRE) is more efficient than the proposed separation of these two infrastructural services.

In fact, every ANSP that has segregated TWR and Approach Control units, has experienced at some point the need to increase the number of Air Traffic Controllers for the same levels of services, destroying much desired synergies by the separation of these tasks. Moreover, the two private ANSPs (SAERCO and Skyway, formerly FERRONATS) that serve twelve airports since 2011 have shown clearly that their main target is short-term profit while completely ignoring the need for Social Dialogue and causing a degradation in the working conditions of their Air Traffic Controllers.

This long-lasting situation has led to strikes being held since January. It is clear to ATCEUC that this way of conducting the provision of such a fundamental service only leads to underperformance and social conflict.

This time, the Spanish Ministry of Transport has put on the table a privatisation on a much bigger scale, affecting all principal airports except Madrid and Barcelona. Palma, Málaga, Gran Canaria, Tenerife Sur, Bilbao, Tenerife Norte and Santiago are all business and tourism centres which saw more than 82 million passengers in 2022, thus being vital nodes of the European network.

ATCEUC highlights the risks involved in the transition of these towers to private contractors, considering the development of the latest privatization made in Spain. As a matter of fact, all the experienced ATCOs in the towers were replaced at once with new ones who had no local experience when they stepped in. Most of them did not have any operational ATC experience at all.

ATCEUC strongly opposes such practices, for the sake of safety in the first place, but also for the respect of workers’ rights in accordance with European standards. ATCEUC will seek the involvement of EASA in this matter, as the oversight authority responsible for safety, which is obviously being left out of the priorities of the privatisation.

Length and quality of the training process of the professionals who are applying to work in the newly privatised Towers must be thoroughly analysed and approved according to the highest safety standards. The planned privatisation is overly ambitious because of the complexities of the segregation of the tower and approach services, as well as the sheer scale of the airports involved.

It will make a significantly different picture with potential negative effects, that could spread to the whole European network in the busy summer traffic, hampering the steep recovery from the pandemic. In return for taking these risks, the Spanish Ministry of Transport cites only a potential drop in air travel fares, which has not proved to be true in the past and will not be observed in these seven airports if this endeavour continues.

ATCEUC has also noted the resignation from office of the Secretary of State for Transport due to wrong decisions made in the railway sector, and highlights that the same quality of the decision-making process has been observed in the ATM sector. ATCEUC would like to suggest Spanish authorities to stop all activities in connection with this non-efficient privatisation of the ATM sector and to encourage the successor in the seat of the Secretary of State for the Ministry of Transport to reconsider this decision, taking into consideration all the relevant facts and information and in cooperation with all relevant stakeholders in Aviation.

Bola Tinubu, the candidate from the ruling party of Nigeria has been declared the winner of the disputed Nigerian Presidential Election with 37% of the vote.

With rivals Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar polling 25% and 29% respectively, after their parties had previously declared the poll 'a sham', demanding a rerun.

The Ministry of Tourism, through the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), has announced an exciting new addition to their 6th annual Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival: The Coffee Innovation Competition. This online contest will bring together creative innovators from across the island, stimulate the local economy, and promote interest in the country’s world-famous Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee.

At a grand wedding in Dubai, a Pakistani businessman gave dowry in the form of gold bars, equivalent to his daughter’s body weight.

A Pakistani wedding in Dubai went viral as gold bars were given to the groom’s family as dowry.

Ulugbek Khakimov, a Uzbekistan native, recalled first meeting Peace Corps volunteers in his hometown in 2003. They taught him English, and he taught volunteers how to cook pilaf and celebrate holidays such as Nowruz.

“These experiences changed my life forever,” he wrote. The exchanges encouraged Khakimov, who grew up in Gulistan, Uzbekistan, to continue improving his English skills. Now he works as a press assistant for the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent.

Vote counting is under way in Nigeria's tightest presidential election since military rule ended in 1999. Turnout appeared to be high, with many young, first-time voters arriving before dawn to cast their ballots.

Saturday's voting was marred by long delays at polling stations, as well as scattered reports of ballot box snatching and attacks by armed men. And some parties have raised alarm over allegations of irregularities, which could lead to a disputed outcome.

A Japanese startup announced plans to launch commercial space viewing balloon flights that it hopes will bring an otherwise astronomically expensive experience down to Earth.

Company CEO Keisuke Iwaya said passengers do not need to be billionaires, go through intense training or have the language skills needed to fly in a rocket. “It’s safe, economical and gentle for people,” Iwaya told reporters.

Jeremy Hunt has concluded his first international visit as Chancellor to Bengaluru, India, for the first G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting held under India’s 2023 Presidency.

The Chancellor, alongside Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England, attended a meeting of G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors on Thursday 23 February.

A strong 6.8 earthquake was measured at 12.37 am GMT in Tajikistan in the Pamir National Park 41.53 miles W of Murghob, Tajikistan. Murghob or Murghab is the capital of Murghob District in the Pamir Mountains of Gorno-Badakhshan, Tajikistan. With a population of just under 7,500, Murghob is the only significant town in the eastern half of Gorno-Badakhshan.

Two important leadership changes of commercial core functions at Lufthansa Group and Lufthansa Airlines: Heiko Reitz will be the new CCO of Lufthansa Airlines and Dr. Stefan Kreuzpaintner will now be responsible for network, alliance and partner management of Lufthansa Group.

Heiko Reitz has made several key strategy decisions for network, alliance and partner management in recent years and drove harmonization and further development of holistic commercial customer offerings, also with airline partners.

Carolyn McCaskill, a Gallaudet University professor and founding director of its new Centre for Black Deaf Studies, has devoted her career to shining a light on Black American Sign Language (Black ASL).

McCaskill, who is deaf, also helped produce the recent documentary Signing Black in America and co-authored a book titled ‘The Hidden Treasure of Black ASL: Its History and Structure’, a compilation of research on Black sign language in the South and the people who use it.

Caribbean tourism stalwart George Myers, who passed away last week, was remembered by the chief executive of the Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board (NPIPB), the organization he helped form several decades ago.

“George was truly a legendary figure here in The Bahamas – a place he loved so deeply,” said Joy Jibrilu, NPIPB’s CEO. “He had that rare ability to touch and shape the lives of so many people throughout our country, the Caribbean region and beyond.

Atoll in the Maldives Global hospitality group The Lux Collective’s well-loved LUX* South Ari Atoll in the Maldives is the official resort host of South African-based conservation couple, Beth Neale and Miles Cloutier, who break the Guinness World Record for the longest underwater kiss to mark the Valentine’s Day 2023.

In the heart of Ghana's capital, Accra, hoardings plastered with artistic impressions of an architectural marvel block prying eyes from seeing what lies on the other side.

Depending on who you ask, the planned multi-million dollar building - known as the National Cathedral of Ghana - is either a symbol of the country's economic mismanagement or a strategic and bold investment.