#World – March 16, 2020 — In two months, airline companies will be bankrupt as cash flows are drying up and the industry is calling on global governments to coordinate in order to avoid a collapse.
“Forward bookings are far outweighed by cancellations and
each time there is a new government recommendation it is to discourage flying.
Demand is drying up in ways that are completely unprecedented. Normality is not
yet on the horizon.”
The
position was, mere hours ago, shared within a media release from the Center for
Aviation, CAPA and is another casualty of fears linked to COVID-19.
“…while governments are
grappling with the health challenges of coronavirus, it is clear that there is
little instinct to act cooperatively. Messages are mixed and frequently quite
different.
Each nation is
adopting the solution that appears best suited to it, right or wrong, without
consideration of its neighbours or trading partners.”
Last week, International Air Transport Association, IATA forecast
an economic free fall of $113 billion; now it appears the entire industry is at
risk due to the unprecedented actions which governments are taking in the effort
to contain the spread of the coronavirus, which emerged in December 2019.
Worldwide, over 181,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19,
and while more than 78,300 people have recovered; the death toll in three
months is significant at slightly above 7,100 people.
Today, France, Canada and Trinidad and Tobago closed their borders
to visitors.
CAPA said, in most cases, these decisions are being made
unilaterally with no consultation.
“Each nation is adopting the
solution that appears best suited to it, right or wrong, without consideration
of its neighbours or trading partners.
When, for example President Trump peremptorily announced the effective
cancellation of airline access to most Europeans, he didn’t even advise his
European government counterparts in advance, let alone consult with them. Other
governments have performed little better.”
CAPA, in its analysis pointed out that the
industry accounts for 20 percent new jobs worldwide and worries that a rebound
will be skewed and possibly, detrimental to lesser known airline companies.
“The alternative does not
bear thinking about. An unstructured and nationalistic outcome will not be survival
of the fittest. It will mostly consist
of airlines that are the biggest and the best-supported by their governments.
The system will reek of nationalism. And
it will not serve the needs of the 21st century world.
Flights are
being cut, planes grounded and staff laid off; among those reporting on the negative
effects of the travel restrictions being imposed in response to the rapidly
spreading COVID-19 virus are American Airlines, which has cut flights by 75
percent and Delta Airlines, which has dropped 40 percent of its commutes.
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#UnitedKingdom, March 26, 2024 – Following Kate Middleton’s announcement on Friday, that she has been diagnosed with cancer, Kensington Palace says the Prince and Princess of Wales are “enormously touched” by outpouring of “kind messages” from across the globe.
In a statement, the Palace said the Royal Family welcome the outpouring of support from well-wishers, but they desire to have their privacy respected. In announcing what has been described by some as shocking news, Princess Kate said she is undergoing treatment for the illness.
The latest statement from the Palace said, “here in the UK (United Kingdom), across the Commonwealth, and round the world, in response to Her Royal Highness’ message” they are appreciative of the “public’s warmth and support and are grateful for the understanding of their request for privacy at this time”
Princess Kate has also released in a video where she said she and her husband had been doing everything “we can to process and manage this privately for the sake of our young family,” which included taking time to recover from her major surgery to start treatment and “most importantly” to explain everything to the children before going public with the news.
The children are said to now be away from school on their Easter holiday break, and Kate added in the video message that, “my work has always brought me a deep sense of joy, and I look forward to being back when I am able. But for now, I must focus on making a full recovery.”
She made the cancer revelation after questions were raised about her health, after she was hospitalised for two weeks, due to a planned abdominal surgery in January. Post-operation test results revealed cancer had been present, and she started “preventative chemotherapy” in late February.
#Israel#Palestine#CAAP – The Caribbean Against Apartheid in Palestine (CAAP) is working on a Boycott Divestment Sanctions or BDS movement in Barbados for Israeli companies, to help suffocate financial backing to the Israeli army that’s attacking Palestine. Member of CAAP Dr Saudah Muhammad, speaking at a CAAP Press Conference on Friday March 17, goes into detail, mentioning an Israeli company called Sabra Hummus as the first target to boycott, using the buying power of consumers to decrease their financial gains. She points out that Sabra Hummus was chosen because of its connection to the Israeli army.
“Sabra Hummus is co-owned by PepsiCo and Strauss group, which is an Israeli food company and they provide financial support to the Israeli army, so using our purchasing power to cut their funding, then directly supports a cut in funding to the genocide and to arms,” she said.
#WHO#ChildDeathrate,March 13th, 2024 – The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that the number of children who died before their 5th birthday has decreased, reaching a historic low of 4.9 million in 2022, declining by 51 percent since the year 2000. This is according to a recent release by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME). However, despite the major progress, there is still a lot of work to prevent child mortality, as data shows that in addition to the 4.9 million young lives lost, another 2.1 million children and youths, aged 5 to 25, also died, most of which were in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. The Organisation (WHO) says the main causes of these deaths are preventable and/or treatable issues such as complications around the time of birth, malaria and preterm birth, adding that lives could have been saved with better access to high-quality primary health care.