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With the holiday season upon us and many adventure seekers preparing for December road trips, father-and-son team Kingsley and Ross Holgate offer some valuable pointers for those hitting the open road.
South Africa is one of the hardest-hit countries in Africa with over 740,000 infections.
The country recorded 60 more virus-related deaths on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 20,011.
PHOTO | FILE
A pay cut dispute has forced the owners of The Fairmont Norfolk, an iconic hotel in Nairobi, to close its doors indefinitely and sack all employees in a row sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.
In a memo to staff dated May 27, the country manager, Mehdi Morad, said they had closed the Nairobi hotel together with another outlet in the Mara because reduced business in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic had made it difficult to meet employee pay demands.
The Business Daily established that the Norfolk employees had declined a proposal to remain on unpaid leave during the coronavirus period and demanded a 50 percent pay, triggering the closure.
The employees had opposed Norfolk’s decision to renege on a March deal that had promised them half pay in April and May and a fresh deal from June, according to correspondence seen by this newspaper.
“In reference to the memo dated April 30, 2020, we regret to inform you that the company is rescinding the agreement made with employees in regards to half pay in May 2020.
Former Proteas bowler Morne Morkel has called time on his Surrey county deal, partly due to the Covid-19-enfored travel restrictions.
By Katherine Alex Beaven We spoke with medical, aviation, and travel experts to answer the question of whether or not it’s safe to fly right now. The answer is complicated and comes with caveats. [...]
As more and more countries begin to ease their travel restrictions, many American travelers are looking to see when they can plan their next vacation again.
Travel regulations have been revised to make flying less cumbersome over the December holidays.
FILE PHOTO | NMG
In terms of new thinking and ideas on how to rescue the private sector from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, I must say that the government has scored very poorly.
When we were coming up with measures to save companies from the impact of the coronavirus, we didn’t think about specific sector interventions.
Had we even as much as debated , injected new and fresh thinking about the impact on some of the most affected sectors such as travel, hotels and tourism, Norfolk wouldn’t have suspended operations.
If you have been following the news from Britain, you must have come across the news that the government there is thinking about establishing a $25 billion taxpayer funded sovereign wealth fund to buy out and inject long-term equity into struggling family-owned companies whose collapse would disproportionately harm the economy.
We need to come up with specific sector interventions where companies in specific sectors are supported by being given long-term capital after being assessed in terms of employment, pre-Covid 19 turnover, and tax compliance.
Dubai-based Emirates has announced it will cover a portion of medical, quarantine or funeral expenses if passengers get infected.
Domestic tourism a key growth driver for hospitality sector
Wednesday, June 24, 2020 0:01
By HASNAIN NOORANI |
Domestic air travel, which has been one of the key growth multipliers for the travel and hospitality industry, will be impacted by the new norms.
After months of no travel, people need that well deserved break and the sense of wanderlust will influence the desire to be keen to explore destinations within the country.
While domestic travel contributed over 30 percent of Kenya’s leisure travel in 2019, it will grow with renewed vigour and the demand from domestic travellers will mark the beginning of a new era of travel in the coming months.
Driven by the desire to travel post Covid-19, people will embark on domestic travel characterized by road trips to less tourist-centric destinations; thereby leading the rediscovery of unique and secluded locations.
Domestic air travel, which has been one of the key growth multipliers for the travel and hospitality industry, will be impacted by the new norms, and the effect on pricing will only be seen once travel slowly resumes over time.
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) — Public health officials from the Caribbean Community (Caricom) are to meet with their counterparts from Canada as the region begins the process of reopening its borders to allow international travel back into the Caribbean, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has said.
Mottley, the chairperson of the 15-member regional integration grouping, told the Canada Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) on Tuesday night that she had written to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau seeking Ottawa’s assistance in urging Canadians to visit the region in the post-COVID-19 pandemic.
“I have actually written your prime minister on behalf of the Caribbean Community…and as you know, most of our countries in the community are travel- and tourism-dependent, and what we have asked for is for discussions between our public health officials and your public health officials so that we can ensure that we satisfy them, the scientists, that we are taking as many precautions that we can take to ensure that for your citizens and for our citizens the levels of safety are appropriate,” Mottley said.
The regional countries are now at various stages of reopening their economies and borders and Mottley said that Barbados is still holding discussions among stakeholders on the issue.
Canada comes up against Norway and Ireland for the rotating seat and Mottley said, “ Barbados and Canada have had a long relationship.
As the world reached 5 million confirmed coronavirus cases Thursday, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said he can’t guarantee whether a second round of lockdowns is coming as a possible second wave of the virus looms.
The Labor Department also said another 2.4 million people filed initial unemployment benefit claims last week, and President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen was released from a New York federal prison because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Had states across the country begun issuing stay-at-home orders just one week before they did, nearly 36,000 people would not have died and more than 700,000 positive virus cases would have been avoided, new research from Columbia University shows.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Robert Redfield told the Financial Times that he “can’t guarantee” whether or not a second round of stay-at-home orders is coming for the United States in the winter as the new coronavirus may see a second wave that coincides with cold weather and a flu season.
About 2.4 million Americans filed initial unemployment benefit claims last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, as the health and economic crisis sparked by the coronavirus ruptures a growing number of industries.
This assurance was given to over 400 Jamaicans in the United States by Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson Smith as she addressed a virtual town hall meeting organized by Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States Audrey Marks last Thursday.
In addition, we want to ensure that the work of our public health practitioners, who we praise every day, will not be undone by bringing in too many persons to be tested, or too many persons who can’t be accommodated in quarantine,” Minister Johnson Smith declared.
Ambassador Marks told the virtual meeting that persons who have tickets but flights were canceled, should be able to rebook their flights in another week, as a number of airlines had indicated that they will be ready to resume flights to Jamaica in June.
Ambassador Marks shared that the Government of Jamaica had taken a whole of Government approach led specifically by the health ministry and this continued management is now allowing the Government to move towards the reopening of the economy including flights in June.
The virtual town hall meetings are hosted by Ambassador Marks and the Consuls General for New York, Alsion Wilson; and Miami, Oliver Mair, with the support of the embassy and consular staff to meet and update the four groups of Jamaicans affected by the country’s border closure; seasonal workers, visitors, students and ship workers totalling over 4000 people in the USA.
South Sudan's unity government of President Salva Kiir and Vice President Riek Machar, which has been in power since March 12, reacted early and restricted the movement of its people to prevent the virus from spreading across the country.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, too, the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO has had to change its work routines, according Benno Müchler, head of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in the DRC.
\"The health crisis is exacerbating already existing threats to security in Africa,\" said Paul-Simon Handy, the head of the Conflict Prevention and Risk Analysis Department at ISS, during a virtual discussion on the effects of COVID-19 on Peace and Security in Africa held last week.
COVID-19 also complicates the distribution of aid and communicating with people who are in need, says Jens Laerke from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
African countries are already producing ventilators and protective clothing for their needs, a necessary development and an indication of a multilateral post-COVID-19 world order.
Commencement of trade under the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) has been pushed to a tentative date in January next year.
AfCFTA's Secretary General Wamkele Mene said African governments are currently focusing on the fight against the pandemic, saving lives and livelihoods.
During that period, we had intended to complete some pending technical elements, such as rules of origin -- products made in Africa -- for some sensitive sectors, the exchange of tariff concessions on goods trade and commitments on trade in services which are critical in the negotiations,\" said Mr Mene.
The AfCFTA secretariat said in order for the continent to recover from the crisis and to spur growth, there was a need to implement the continental trade agreement since it is an opportunity to develop Africa intra-trade.
Mr Mene said due to the pandemic, African exports are expected to decline from 53 per cent in 2019 to less than 30 per cent this year due to travel restrictions abroad due to Covid-19 containment measures.
Social and environmental vulnerabilities facing the Eastern Caribbean
High unemployment and aging populations, with a concomitant prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), add to this region’s troubles.
While spending on health varies across the region (between three and seven percent of GDP), Eastern Caribbean health systems perform substantially below the global average, forcing this region on the back foot as it tackles this health crisis.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it necessary for Caribbean countries to reassess their preparedness against a wider range of increasing risks – including health pandemics.
Accustomed to the impact of natural disasters, the Caribbean will not only need resilience against global warming but also against a new wave of health risks that threaten the lives and livelihoods of its citizens.
This is why the United Nations COVID-19 Multi-sectoral Response Plan and Funding Appeal for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean states was launched on the May 6 to support the region to tackle this crisis with resources it urgently needs.
Your 2020 travel goals may have fallen by the wayside, but that doesn’t mean we can’t plan for the future or be fully up to date on what travel restrictions, safety protocols, and predictions are important to consider around the world.
Felicien Kabuga, 84, one of the last key fugitives wanted over the genocide, was arrested at his home outside Paris on Saturday after living for years under a false identity.
Serge Brammertz, the chief prosecutor for the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT), told AFP Kabuga is expected to be tried in Arusha, Tanzania, where he was in 1997 indicted on seven charges, including genocide.
Arusha was the headquarters of the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda which closed in 2015, and whose duties are now being handled by the MICT.
The Arusha branch of the MICT -- which also has an office in The Hague -- is housed in a United Nations complex where it has an ultramodern courtroom and conserves the archives of the Rwanda genocide trials.
The first to appear in the courtroom was Augustin Ngirabatware, planning minister at the time of the genocide who was found guilty of inciting, aiding and encouraging Hutu militiamen to kill their Tutsi neighbours.
American Airlines is taking customer service to the next level. The airline service has linked up with LetsGetChecked to provide... View Article
The post American Airlines to offer at-home COVID-19 tests for passengers appeared first on TheGrio.
The DA says President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement of a move to Alert Level 1 of the Covid-19 lockdown comes five months too late.
For many years, Kenya's tourism industry has relied on foreign travellers, offering only beach and Safari experiences to grow its revenues.
This period provides a valuable benchmark on how reliance on the international market can bring an industry to a halt, and it should start conversations on future tourism decisions.
Travel experiences are related to perceptions of risk, so even when international flights resume, many older people will still experience travel anxiety.
It is important, therefore, that hoteliers consider reducing prices for domestic travellers in the initial stages, and also come to terms with the reality that this will not taint their international appeal.
Tourism contributes 10 percent of the annual economic output and employs over two million people, therefore it must remain innovative to be profitable and sustainable.
Lil Johnson was a blues singer largely lost to the history of music. She was active in the industry during the mid-1920s and into the late 1930s. What she is best known her brand of hokum or dirty blues. Basically, comedic, raunchy blues based around sexual innuendo. Career and Recordings of Lil Johnson In 1929, Lil Johnson headed to Chicago and recorded five tunes. There was […]
Not everyone knows what’s even considered “normal” for the human bladder. For example, did you know that the regular volume of urine created by the human bladder in a 24-hour period is between 800 and 2,000 milliliters? Here are some other things you may not have known about your urine.
[VOA] The World Health Organization called on African countries Thursday to take comprehensive safety measures to \"mitigate a surge\" in COVID-19 cases, as nations resume air travel.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday warned that the potential impact of COVID -19 on food security in Africa is likely to exacerbate the already existing burden of malnutrition.
The WHO Regional Director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, in a press statement said the impact of the disease is expected to be greater among those grappling with food scarcity and malnutrition.
\"COVID-19 is unfolding in Africa against a backdrop of worrying levels of hunger and undernourishment, which could worsen as the virus threatens livelihoods and household economies,\" the statement said.
The WHO said COVID-19 is exacerbating food shortages, as food imports, transportation and agricultural production have all been hampered by a combination of lockdowns, travel restrictions and physical distancing measures.
\"Some countries have already announced measures to mitigate some of the risks of lockdowns on food supply, from in-kind distributions to this week's announcement by Heads of State of the East African Community of their intention to develop a mechanism for tracking and certification of cross-border truck drivers to ensure the safe delivery of essential goods,\" the statement highlighted.
GoPro recently revisited their top 10 human flight moments which includes people skydiving and wingsuit pilot Ben Dicko flying through a narrow hole.
After 6 months of the coronavirus pandemic, some things have finally begun to feel like a return to “normal” life. Namely, the desire to travel and leave the confines of […]
The post All Your Questions About Flying During the Pandemic Answered appeared first on Essence.
Corona deaths rise to 148 after three months of lockdown
Wednesday, July 1, 2020 0:01
By ANNIE NJANJA
Ministry of Health Chief Administrative Secretary Rashid Aman.
Ministry of Health Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Rashid Aman said 26 patients were discharged from the health facilities raising the number of recoveries to 2,039.
Dr Aman disclosed that Kenya had only 28 Covid-19 laboratories spread across the country, highlighting the testing challenge that has persisted since the viral infection was first confirmed in March.
Dr Aman reported the growing numbers Tuesday when he also launched two policy documents that will increase prevention measures, coverage and inform the roll-out of affordable non-injectable treatment regimen.
Some comorbidities such as TB, diabetes, cancer, hypertension and HIV have been part of the overall health promotions strategy of the ministry,” said Dr Aman.
(CNN) — Before the pandemic put a stop to most international travel, each year millions of people flocked to Southeast Asia's white sandy beaches, ancient temples and diverse wildlife.
In some places the crowds became so intense it caused locals, environmentalists and even governments to complain that overtourism was pushing the region's fragile ecosystems to breaking point.
Coral die-offs, vanishing marine life, damaged cultural sites and idyllic islands overflowing with plastic and human waste were all blamed on too many tourists -- and the unchecked development set up to attract and accommodate them.
Then the global coronavirus pandemic struck. Countries went into lockdown. International travel dramatically reduced. And the tourists were largely gone.
For countries like Cambodia, where tourism contributes an estimated 30% of GDP, the effect has been devastating. Asia-Pacific is estimated to lose $34.6 billion due to the pandemic, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) said.
As travel restrictions lift, countries that rely heavily on tourism will be competing for visitors as they seek to rebuild their economies. The temptation to attract as many tourists as possible could be difficult to resist.
But experts say the global pause on tourism has offered countries an unprecedented opportunity to examine how to rebuild their tourism industries in a way that benefits their economies and also protects the planet.
An example
As one of the most popular destinations in Southeast Asia, the Philippines welcomes millions of tourists each year, many who visit outlying tropical islands for their sandy beaches and clear waters.
In 2018, so many tourists visited Boracay island that President Roderigo Duterte famously said it had been turned into a \"cesspool,\" and ordered it to close for six months for a massive cleanup.
A tourism boom had encouraged unscrupulous operators to prioritize short-term profits over sustainability, said John Paolo R. Rivera, associate director of the Dr. Andrew L. Tan Center for Tourism. As visitor numbers rose, illegal structures were built close to the beach, many with sewage pipes that led straight out to sea.
After a months-long shutdown, the island reopened in October 2018 with new limits on visitor numbers from 19,000 to 6,000 and bans on smoking and drinking alcohol on the beach. Hotels must now be accredited and comply with environmental standards, including proper waste disposal, and the no-build zone has been extended to 30 meters from the shoreline.
While many welcomed the cleaner, quieter island, its closure came at the expense of locals' livelihoods. Some residents claimed their houses and businesses were flattened in \"illegal\" demolitions and migrant workers were forced to find jobs elsewhere.
Susanne Becken, director of the Griffith Institute for Tourism in Melbourne, said it is a \"brutal\" move to completely shut down a place as a lot of lives depend on tourism. She said lessons could be learned by gove
As the novel coronavirus pandemic wipes out a recovery from jihadist attacks in 2015, Tunisia's vital tourism sector is trying to find ways to avoid going under.
\"Tunisia had started off the year well, with an increase in (tourism) revenue of 28 percent,\" said Feriel Gadhoumi, a coordinator at the tourism office.
The sector accounts for around 14 percent of Tunisia's GDP, according to the tourism ministry.
Even before the pandemic struck, a series of crises had weakened Tunisia's tourism sector.
But the collapse in September of British tour operator Thomas Cook, which brought five percent of Tunisia's European tourists, shook some hotels.
