Jim's free blog

  Located on the southern coast of the Galapagos island of Santa Cruz, Puerto Ayora is the largest port in the area and is home to quite a number of people. Puerto Ayora is known for the high standard of living that is enjoyed by its residents. A relaxed atmosphere pervades the town and tourists will find that, though they might be busy taking in the sights, they will still be able to unwind. Services such as telephones and grocery stores are readily available and there is even a local radio station . The waterfront is filled with souvenir shops, travel agents, restaurants and hotels. Everywhere you will find items such as t-shirts sporting pictures of the blue-footed booby and amazing carvings of tortoises. Pelican Bay is a great place to watch fishermen building boats and sorting their catch while hungry pelicans look on. The late afternoons become a sporting affair with rounds of volleyball and soccer being played by locals. As the sun sets you will be able to m...

  Africanews is celebrating its 5th anniversary this week. It's been a long journey and an opportunity to look back at the world over the past 5 years and to project ourselves into the future. Africanews had a pleasure to discuss with African legendary footballer, the former Ivorian striker, Didier Drogba. Below is the conversation. Yannick Djanhoun (Africanews Correspondence in Ivory Coast): Hello everyone and welcome to Africanews. Today, in an exclusive interview we welcome one of the big names in the football world. Didier Drogba is here with us. Hello Didier? Didier Drogba: Hello. Yannick Djanhoun: As Africanews celebrates its five years, we want to talk to you about something that you are passionate about the African continent. Didier Drogba: Right. Yannick Djanhoun: What is your opinion on African in the last five years? Didier Drogba: The Africa...

In the average typical Greek family, for many decades, the degree of cohesion and dependence between successive generations of its members was very high. This cohesion and dependence had both social and economic characteristics.  One of the serious issues looming ahead of us and will spur the need for deep adjustments and reforms, is the issue of changes in the traditional Greek model of family cohesion. In fact, the phenomenon has already been detected but is still in a semi-dormant state, but it will appear much more intense in the coming years. In the average typical Greek family, for many decades, the degree of cohesion and dependence between successive generations of its members was very high. This cohesion and dependence had both social and economic characteristics. The family supported children during the education cycle, which on average exceeded the nominal period of the academic programs.  It then helped the children with income until they became part of a professi...

The decision was taken due to a surge in the number of confirmed Covid-19 infections detected on the island.  Greek civil defense authorities, following consultations with a blue chip panel of epidemiologists and public health experts, on Tuesday afternoon abruptly a complete lockdown on the eastern Aegean island of Kalymnos, until at least Monday morning. The decision was taken due to a surge in the number of confirmed Covid-19 infections detected on the island.  The lockdown includes a strict prohibition on non-essential travel outdoors, even for attending religious services, and the closure of the retail sector, except for the purchase of non-durable at super markets, mini markets, fruit stands etc.  The decision was taken a day after the food and beverage sector was opened throughout Greece for outdoor service of seated customers, and less than two weeks before the country kicks off the 2021 tourism season. crowdholding | cn | cn2 | ru | ekemel |

The tanker was reportedly anchored near the Chinese port of Qingdao, with local authorities and the tanker’s operators citing heavy fog during the accident. International press reports cited a fuel oil spill in the Yellow Sea on Monday morning (local time), after a Chinese-owned bulk vessel collided with a tanker carrying – according to the same initial reports – some one million barrels of bitumen mix.  The tanker was reportedly anchored near the Chinese port of Qingdao, with local authorities and the tanker ’s operators citing heavy fog during the accident. The collision involved the Liberia-flagged tanker A Symphony (IMO 9249324) and the bulker Sea Justice, the former’s manager, Goodwood Ship Management, said in an e-mail. According to a Reuters dispatch, citing Goodwood, “…the force of the impact on the forward port side caused a breach in cargo tanks and ballast tanks, with a quantity of oil lost into the ocean.”  “The oil spill came after a collision between two vesse...

Americans anxiously awaiting a verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin reacted with jubilation and relief on Tuesday after a jury found the former Minneapolis police officer guilty of murdering George Floyd during an arrest last May. But elation over the trial’s outcome, capping nearly a year of social upheaval, racial tensions and political strife stoked by Floyd’s killing, was tempered by calls for a continued fight against inequalities pervading the U.S. criminal justice system. In George Floyd Square, the Minneapolis traffic intersection named after the 46-year-old Black man who died with his neck pinned to the street under Chauvin’s knee, throngs of people screamed, cheered and applauded at the news of the guilty verdict. The square has become a place of pilgrimage and protest since Floyd’s death made him the face of a national reckoning with racial injustice and police brutality. ‘I can’t breathe’ His dying words, «I can’t breathe,» were recalled in street demonstrati...

The first flights of TUI Germany to Greece for this season start on May 14 with destinations in Crete and the Western Peloponnese. The first flight will be out bound for Heraklion from Hannover , while five more flights are planned to Crete from Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Cologne, and Frankfurt. On May 15, TUI Fly will fly to Kos, Rhodes, and Corfu.  The TUI program from Hannover includes 3,000 accommodations in 21 Greek islands. These include six Robinson and TUI Magic Life Clubs in Crete, Rhodes, Kos, and the Western Peloponnese. According to TUI Germany CEO Marek Andyszak, the Greek islands, like last year, are in great demand, and – therefore – he is urging Germans to plan their vacation and hurry to book their vacation soon. “Once the borders open, popular hotels will close quickly,”  Marek said. He added that with vaccinations continuing throughout June, and through priority vaccination of tourism workers, holiday resorts, and a green digital passport, the foundations ha...