Yacht Consultant Celebrates 30-Years with the sale of the Galeon 800 Hull #1

Scott Roberton celebrates 30 years with MarineMax this year. He’s also the recipient of several awards from major yacht manufacturers. To say he knows his way around a luxury yacht would be an understatement. 
 
Scott has worked with clients around the globe to customize vessels to suit individual tastes and lifestyles.

Yangtze Culture Forum – a gathering for a sustainable future with friendship and wisdom

The Yangtze Culture Forum is scheduled in Nanjing, China, tomorrow (November 24).

Yellowknife fire evacuations hindered by meta news ban

The Online News Act, Bill C-18, in Canada is forcing large social media platforms to pay Canadian news publishers for sharing their content. The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, responded by pulling news from its subsidiaries.

Problem is, 50% of Canadians get their news from such social media sources. This is creating an information vacuum for those trying to escape Yellowknife due to rapidly approaching wildfire in the Northwest Territories’ capital.

Yellowstone floods wipe out infrastructure and strand visitors

Massive floodwaters ravaged Yellowstone National Park and nearby communities Monday, washing out roads and bridges, cutting off electricity and forcing visitors to evacuate parts of the iconic park at the height of summer tourist season. All entrances to Yellowstone were closed due to the deluge, caused by heavy rains and melting snowpack, while park officials ushered tourists out of the most affected areas.

Yet another huge diamond found in Botswana

A mining company in Botswana has announced the unearthing of a 1,174-carat diamond. It's the second unveiling of a huge diamond discovery in the country in a month.

Young innovators aiming to boost global development

After an invasive plant species destroyed his grandfather’s rice farm in India, Nathan Elias wanted to help. Elias, who lives in Texas, developed a system to help farmers detect and identify invasive species using their smartphones.

Through a smartphone camera and mobile app, Elias’ tool sends farmers’ images to experts who can quickly identify invasive species: non-native plants, insects or other organisms that can harm crops.

Young leaders from Canada, Fiji, Pakistan, Uganda win Commonwealth Youth Awards 2020

Four outstanding young people have won Commonwealth Youth Awards for innovative projects that are delivering sustainable development in their countries.

The awards recognise exceptional contributions by young people whose ventures are helping their countries achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The regional award winners are:

• Africa and Europe: Brian Galabuzi Kakembo, Uganda, turning plastics into eco-friendly briquettes (focus on SDG 8: decent work and economic growth)
• Asia: Hafiz Usama Tanveer, Pakistan, bringing clean water to poor communities (focus on SDG 6: clean water and sanitation)
• The Caribbean and Canada: Sowmyan Jegatheesan, Canada, providing one-stop information to prevent human-wildlife conflict (focus on SDG 15: life on land);
• The Pacific: Sagufta Salma, Fiji, transforming waste into sustainable furniture (focus on SDG 12: responsible consumption and production).

More than 500 award nominations were received from 40 countries. From these, a pan-Commonwealth judging panel selected sixteen finalists. The awards were presented during a gathering at Commonwealth headquarters in London. Recipients received a £3,000 grant for their projects.

2020 Commonwealth Young Person of the Year

As well as the Africa and Europe prize Galabuzi Brian Kakembo of Uganda scooped the overall prize of 2020 Commonwealth Young Person of the Year for his work on transforming biodegradable plastics and organic waste into eco-friendly charcoal briquettes.

Growing up in a poor community, he set up an enterprise to educate women and young people to turn waste into wealth. He has reached more than 800 women and young people, and 600 of them now make and sell briquettes in Uganda.

Brian said: “I want the world to see that unemployed youth is not a problem but an untapped resource that can be trained and supported to bring about a social change.”

Asia Winner

Hafiz, from Pakistan, has created water purification kits to improve access to clean water in poor communities and refugee camps to help prevent the spread of waterborne diseases. He has reached more than 11,000 people including victims of the Kerala flooding that occurred in the past two years.

He said: “This award is an encouragement to continue on this trajectory to reach more people and to make water non-exclusive.” 

The Caribbean and Canada Winner

Canada’s Sowmyan wants the world to make informed decisions when it comes to protecting wildlife from the effects of climate change.

He has developed one of the world’s largest online information hubs to help communities build resilience by better understanding climate activities, migration patterns and human-wildlife conflict.

He said: “The business-as-usual practice has led to the endangering of so many species. We must change our course, understand the evidence and make informed decisions to protect our wildlife from changing climate.”

The Pacific Winner

Sagufta from Fiji turns waste material into sustainable furniture and home accessories. She says a lack of access to proper waste disposal in Fiji drove her to establish her enterprise, which has now upcycled more than 1,000 tons of waste.

She mainly employs single mothers so they can support their families. She said: “This award will help me create more awareness around sustainable living and empower more women to work in a field that is largely dominated by men.”

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland, who presented the awards, said: “For the awards this year, we received nominations from more than 40 Commonwealth countries. Considering them made us aware of a vast range of impressive innovations.

“There were projects for delivering tech-powered learning, to provide clean water and sanitation, and for waste management.

“The entries remind us that there is no lack of ingenuity or ideas. What we tend to lack are mechanisms to support and fund the young innovators who have the imagination and creativity we need to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

“So the Commonwealth Youth Awards are a searchlight picking out some of the best examples of who we are and what we can do as a family of nations.”

During the awards ceremony, presentations on the work being done by finalists to deliver sustainable development were made to diplomats, officials and civil society representative from Commonwealth countries.

Żabka unveils their new Eko Smart shop

During the Economic Forum in Karpacz, Żabka Polska presented a new kind of shop – Eko Smart, combining sustainable solutions with new technological developments. The first such shop will be opened in Poznań, with 3 more to follow.

Żabka Eko Smart continues and combines the projects that the company has been implementing since 2020, when the first shop powered by 100% green energy was launched in Warsaw. 

Zambia External Bondholder Steering Committee reaches agreement on debt restructuring

The Zambia External Bondholder Steering Committee (the "Committee") is pleased to announce that it has reached a conclusive agreement (the "2024 Agreement") with the Government of Zambia (the "Government") on a restructuring of Zambia's (i) US$750,000,000 5.375 per cent.

Zambia External Bondholder Steering Committee Statement regarding OCC stance on Comparability of Treatment

The Zambia External Bondholder Steering Committee ("the Committee") is very disappointed and deeply concerned with recent developments with regard to implementing an agreement with the Government of Zambia (the "Government") on a restructuring of Zambia's (i) US$750,000,000 5.375 per cent.

ZEEKR reaches milestone in Europe as first customer takes delivery of their ZEEKR 001 in the Netherlands

Global electric mobility technology brand ZEEKR has celebrated the delivery of its first luxury electric vehicle to a customer in Europe.

Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge announces new tally and reporting framework

Following its launch at the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) in 2021, the Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge (“Pledge”) has mobilized an additional USD 215 million in commitments from the private sector. In total, the Pledge has mobilised nearly USD 560 million from 46 companies towards the zero-hunger goal. To ensure the integrity of the Pledge, it is also announcing the launch of its new reporting framework and first reporting process.

Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini dies

It has been announced that King Goodwill Zwelithini, the leader of the Zulu nation in South Africa has died.

A proud and passionate defender of traditional culture, he saw it as a force for good both within South Africa and beyond its borders in the continent as a whole. Accused of hanging on to outdated ideas, he was also criticised for being willing to work with the white-minority government in power before 1994, and not wanting to cooperate with the current government's land redistribution polices.

Born in 1948 and coming to the throne in 1971, Isilo Samabandla Onke (loosely translated as "King of all Zulu kings"), as he was respectfully called, was a direct descendent of the King Cetshwayo, the leader of the Zulu nation during the 1879 war against the British army.

Throughout his half-century reign he was a staunch advocate of preserving cultural identity and promoting unity, especially among AmaZulu (the Zulu people). His position as a traditional ruler was recognised in South Africa's post-apartheid constitution, which meant that he got state support.

Though he did not have formal political power and his role within the broader South African society may have been largely ceremonial, he was a revered as a traditional leader, even by those outside his culture. To many, the father of 28 children from six wives embodied what it was to honour time-held cultural practices and represented an idea that though South Africa was a modern country, it had not abandoned its past.

A feature of his reign was the revival of Umhlanga or Reed Dance in 1991, which the apartheid government had prevented from taking place. The ceremony, attended by many hundreds of young unmarried Zulu women is meant to celebrate virginity, but King Zwelithini said it was also there to promote HIV and Aids awareness in KwaZulu-Natal - a province with one of the highest HIV-infection rates in the country.

He believed that a return to morality would help slow down the spread of the disease in his kingdom. Some critics said that while the practice of Umhlanga had a place in Zulu tradition, it was fundamentally patriarchal as it placed the role of managing sexual relations and containing the spread of HIV on women. The emphasis was on women remaining pure and not about male behaviour.

The King believed that traditional leaders should have a more prominent role to play in addressing the continent's many problems – once arguing that not all solutions will come from politicians or

Professor Sihawukele Ngubane, chair of the Zulu Royal Household Trust, said. The African languages professor said: "He was instrumental in upholding unity among the Zulu people, preserving culture at a time when the identities of African people were marginalised. He understood his role as having influence both among the Zulu nation but also other cultures in the country and on the continent."

King Zwelithini was a man who knew how to use his influence, especially for the preservation of his people. Prof Ngubane says his presence in KwaZulu-Natal helped quell tensions between the IFP and the ANC that erupted during the struggle to end apartheid. South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa described him in a tribute as a much-loved visionary.

As chair of the Ingonyama Trust, he was the custodian of swathes of traditional land in KwaZulu-Natal, making up about 30% of the area of the province. In 2018, he partnered with the Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum, which was fighting to protect white-owned farms from land reform. AfriForum at the time said the partnership was one of mutual recognition and respect.

When he spoke, people listened and he was also known by the Zulu phrase "Umlomo ongakhulumi amanga", which loosely translates as "the one who does not lie." But it was precisely this influence that troubled some people when he said that foreign nationals should return to their countries so that Black South Africans were not forced to share already limited resources.

His successor will now be chosen, but whoever follows him will have the tough job of upholding Zulu culture, responding to the problems of the day while inspiring reverence, even among critics.

He was 72.

£1bn UK-India trade deals will create 6,000 UK jobs

Prime Minister has announced new trade and investment deals with India worth £1bn.

It includes more than £533m of new investment from India into the UK, which is expected to create about 6,000 jobs. Downing Street said the new partnership will "pave the way" for a future UK-India Free Trade Agreement.

The PM said: "The economic links between our countries make our people stronger and safer." The deal, announced ahead of a virtual meeting with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, includes a £240m investment by the Serum Institute of India, which will support clinical trials, research and possibly the manufacturing of vaccines.

Serum has already started phase one trials in the UK of a one-dose nasal vaccine for coronavirus, in partnership with Codagenix. Indian investment deals will create 1,000 new UK jobs each at health and tech firms Infosys, HCL Technologies and Mphasis.

Some 667 UK jobs will be created at Q-Rich Creations, 500 jobs at Wipro and 465 at 12 Agro. "Each and every one of the more than 6,500 jobs we have announced today will help families and communities build back from coronavirus and boost the British and Indian economies," Mr Johnson said.

Meanwhile, British businesses have secured export deals with India worth more than £446m, which are expected to create more than 400 British jobs. They include a £200m deal involving CMR Surgical, which will create 100 new UK jobs.

The company's next-generation 'Versius' surgical robotic system - which helps surgeons perform minimal access surgery - will be rolled out to hospitals in India.

Trade between the UK and India is already worth around £23bn a year, supporting more than half a million jobs, according to the government.

Johnson said: "In the decade ahead, with the help of new partnership signed today and a comprehensive free trade agreement, we will double the value of our trading partnership with India and take the relationship between our two countries to new highs." He had been forced to cancel a planned visit to Delhi as it battles with a brutal second wave of coronavirus cases.

The visit was designed to foster closer ties between the two countries and had first been scheduled for January. It was delayed after the UK's higher wave of Covid infections over winter.

A four-day trip was scheduled for April before being cut back to just one day in Delhi, before being postponed indefinitely last month, with India subsequently added to the UK's travel ‘red list’. Authorities in Delhi recently called for help from the army. The government wants it to run Covid care facilities and intensive care units.

Across India, case numbers since the start of the outbreak are closing in on 20 million. In response to India's coronavirus surge, the British Asian Trust has raised more than £1.6m in the last week through its emergency appeal.

£70m of unspent Commonwealth Games funding to be targeted on levelling up the region

Around £70m of unspent Commonwealth Games funding is to be used to realise the Games' legacy ambitions, help level up and grow the West Midlands economy and boost its trade and tourism sectors.

The Government will provide the money, which is £10m more than originally announced, to the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to help enhance and amplify the positive legacy of the Games across the entire region.

 Grenada celebrates World Nature Conservation Day

In honour of World Nature Conservation Day, Coyaba Beach Resort in Grenada made a generous donation of 25 fruit trees and other vegetation to The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Eastern Caribbean Program to benefit communities in the Grenville Bay area.

‘Deep collaboration’ key to Caribbean recovery, says CHTA president

Speaking to Breaking Travel News at the inaugural Global Tourism Resilience Conference in Kingston, Jamaica, last month, Nicola Madden-Greig, president of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), discussed the methods used by the region to get through the COVID-19 pandemic and come out the other side poised to thrive. Chief among them was close collaboration among the public and private sectors, multiple industries, and various island destinations.

‘Kids on Us’ at Zulal Wellness Resort invites under-16s to join their parents on an unforgettable health and wellness journey

The Middle East’s largest and first full immersion wellness destination, Zulal Wellness Resort by Chiva-Som, is providing an unmissable opportunity for families and groups of friends to enjoy a wellbeing escape like no other,  by offering an additional complimentary room for two children under 16, with any two adults booking until 31 August 2023 in its family Zulal Discovery resort.

‘One Resilient Common Future’ revealed as the theme for Commonwealth Day 2024

The Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, has announced the theme for Commonwealth Day 2024 as ‘One Resilient Common Future’.

‘Our Islands, Our Vibes Content Creators Competition’ and Award Ceremony launched

The Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Sustainable Development and Culture further advanced its focus on Domestic Tourism by partnering with passionate creative Digital Content Creators.

On the 17th April, 2023, the Ministry held an award ceremony and launched an Our Islands, Our Vibes Content Creators’ Competition to increase local patronage of the tourism products and services offered in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.