Latest news with #Acar
Skift
19-05-2025
- Business
- Skift
Fairmont Launches First Brand Campaign in 4 Years
Fairmont hopes it can keep its longtime guests while becoming more inclusive and winning over a new wave of travelers. Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has launched its first global brand campaign since 2021, and though there's a luxury backdrop, the hotel group says the message is about how guests feel in quiet, everyday moments. Fairmont is rolling out a series of bookable offerings under the banner 'Special Happens...' These include after-hours spa rituals under the stars, yoga by a waterfall, and chocolate-making workshops. The goal, according to Raffles & Fairmont CEO Omer Acar, is to focus on moments that feel personal, not grand. And the idea is to turn that concept into a service standard – no easy feat across 92 hotels in 30 countries. Acar said Fairmont is building "a new service culture," training colleagues worldwide to create "special" moments, not just for VIPs or major events, but also in everyday guest interactions. There's also an ad campaign called "Make Special Happen." A short film, shot at the Fairmont Royal York in Toronto, follows a cast of characters preparing for a grand celebration. It's clearly luxury – with hand-delivered, handwritten invitations – but it's inclusive and not stuffy. Acar said the idea for it didn't come from a creative agency but from an internal workshop. "We started a year ago with a select group of general managers, regional vice presidents, and executive team members sitting in a room to identify what is special about Fairmont," he said. "Fairmont is a hotel company that has been making special things happen for decades." Looking for Relevance Across Generations Fairmont was founded in 1907 and has hosted historic events that include the signing of the United Nations Charter, Truman Capote's Black and White Ball, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono's Bed-In for Peace. The campaign draws on that heritage while trying to make the idea of "special" feel contemporary. With input from consultancy Codec, the company identified five "cultural communities" it hopes to reach, categories it calls: the escapist, active lifestyles, status tastemakers, the social culturalist, and the event mavens. "A study was done about who the pillars are and our guests are. Who are we addressing? Who have we been addressing, and who should we continue to address?" said Acar. Acar says Fairmont wants to appeal to a younger generation of travelers without alienating its longtime guests. "We are looking at a new generation, but we are also not forgetting our heritage," Acar said. "It's important to highlight that it is not only focused on one group of travelers, but it is celebrating multi-generational travelers." "We want the brand to be stylish, not only trendy, because the style has staying power, and trends, as you know, come and go. So, if we follow this, we don't believe we can lose." Acar added.
The National
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The National
Freedom Flotilla crew stranded off Malta coast after 'Israeli strike'
Organisers of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition have blamed Israel for the alleged attack and said that 12 people have been left on board the vessel while six Turkish citizens were taken to Turkey after the alleged attack on Friday. No lives were lost but four sailors were left with minor burns and cuts. The group, which is taking aid shipments to Gaza, say they are in negotiations with the Maltese authorities, saying their demands to carry out their own investigation on the Conscience were denied. Yasemin Acar, a member of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition's steering committee, told The National that the vessel is floating in the Mediterranean Sea 17 miles off the coast of Malta and that crew members had supplies to keep them fed and hydrated. 'They have enough because the vessel carries humanitarian aid,' she said. 'Food and water is of course on the vessel.' The 'precise attack' which came 'probably from Israel' happened shortly after midnight on May 2, according to Acar, and flight tracking data analysed by CNN has found that an Israeli Air Force cargo plane flew over Malta for 'several hours' before the time the ship was allegedly bombed. Asked why she believed Israel was responsible, Acar said: 'Who else would attack a humanitarian vessel carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza? Who else could it be?' READ MORE: Palestinians in Gaza speak out as Israel starves them Acar said Malta had refused requests for members of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition to oversee an investigation of their vessel, but that a 'survey' by the Maltese authorities was carried out on Monday. She said: 'Our demand was that we have our own investigators with them to oversee the whole process and know what's being done but that wasn't allowed. None of our demands were heard or accepted. 'Right now, we're trying to get our vessel to the Malta shore, so they can dock here so the repairs can be done here.' BREAKING: At 00:23 Maltese time, a #FreedomFlotilla ship was subjected to a drone attack. The front of the vessel was targeted twice, resulting in a fire and a breach in the hull. The ship is currently located in international waters near #Malta. An #SOS distress signal was sent. — Freedom Flotilla Coalition (@GazaFFlotilla) May 2, 2025 The group has not been in touch with the crew members who were 'rushed' away from the scene and taken to Turkey, Acar said. 'We have not been in touch with them, we could not be in touch with them, we were not allowed on the ship,' she added. READ MORE: Palestinian ambassador demands UK 'enforces' international law in Gaza 'Yesterday, unfortunately, we were not told where they were brought, we were only told that they were being picked up. They were immediately put in a van and rushed to the airport. We do not know why it was so difficult or they didn't want us to get in touch.' In a statement issued on Friday, the Maltese government said that firefighters put out the fire on the boat around an hour after receiving a mayday call. The statement added: 'The ship remains outside territorial waters and being monitored by the competent authorities.' The Maltese government was approached for comment.
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Activists say aid vessel bound for Gaza was struck by drone
Activists are demanding an investigation after they say a humanitarian ship headed to Gaza was bombed by a drone in the Mediterranean Sea overnight Friday. The passenger vessel Conscience made a mayday call shortly after midnight, reporting a fire on its bow, the government of Malta said. The ship, located off the coast of Malta in international waters at the time, was being operated by activists with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which is campaigning to end Israel's ongoing blockade of aid into Gaza. MORE: WFP delivers its last stocks of food in Gaza as malnutrition worsens, agency says Israel began the aid blockade on March 2 after the end of the temporary ceasefire deal, saying they were imposing the blockade to put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. Malta's government said that 12 crew members and four civilian passengers were on board and none were injured. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the reported attack. FFC spokesperson Yasemin Acar told ABC News in a video interview from Valletta, the capital of Malta, that most of those aboard were asleep when they awoke to the sound of an explosion, Acar said the vessel was struck twice "which why they knew they were under attack." The group claims the blasts were caused by a drone whose immediate origin the group did not know. ABC News has not been able to verify the group's claims. MORE: Gaza on the brink: Closed border crossings push population toward famine Video and photos provided by the FFC showed fire and smoke on board Conscience, as well as damage to the bow of the vessel in the aftermath of the reported attack. ABC News showed the FCC photos showing the damaged sustained to the Conscience to Trevor Ball, a former U.S. Army explosive ordinance disposal specialist. "The damage is consistent with two small blast munitions, which can be deployed by drone," Ball said. "You'd need remnants to confirm that though, well as country of origin." Acar said the vessel had been carrying humanitarian aid, which Israel's government is not allowing to enter Gaza. In an online statement, the FFC called for an investigation into the reported attack and demanded that "Israeli ambassadors must be summoned and answer to violations of international law, including the ongoing blockade and the bombing of our civilian vessel in international waters." ABC News has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. State Department for comment on the incident. The moments after the reported strike are visible in ship tracking data from MarineTraffic. Shortly after midnight, the Conscience can be seen veering off its course. According to MarineTraffic, the vessel left Bizerte, Tunisia, on Wednesday and was scheduled to dock in Malta on Friday. There, the FFC said, the vessel planned to bring aboard more passengers -- including climate activist Greta Thunberg and retired US Army Colonel Mary Ann Wright -- before continuing on to Gaza. Data from online flight tracker ADSBExchange shows that a military transport plane operated by Israel's military flew over Malta in the hours before the attack. The Lockheed KC-130H plane entered Maltese airspace at around 3:25 p.m. local time. Data shows the plane flying in a zig-zag pattern around the eastern coast of Malta at an altitude as low as 4,350 feet before beginning its return to Israel at around 7:30 p.m. local time, nearly five hours before the reported attack on Conscience. -ABC News' Dana Savir and Benjamin Siu contributed to this report. Activists say aid vessel bound for Gaza was struck by drone originally appeared on
03-05-2025
- Politics
Activists say aid vessel bound for Gaza was struck by drone
Activists are demanding an investigation after they say a humanitarian ship headed to Gaza was bombed by a drone in the Mediterranean Sea overnight Friday. The passenger vessel Conscience made a mayday call shortly after midnight, reporting a fire on its bow, the government of Malta said. The ship, located off the coast of Malta in international waters at the time, was being operated by activists with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which is campaigning to end Israel's ongoing blockade of aid into Gaza. Israel began the aid blockade on March 2 after the end of the temporary ceasefire deal, saying they were imposing the blockade to put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining Israeli hostages still being held in Gaza after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel. Malta's government said that 12 crew members and four civilian passengers were on board and none were injured. It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the reported attack. FFC spokesperson Yasemin Acar told ABC News in a video interview from Valletta, the capital of Malta, that most of those aboard were asleep when they awoke to the sound of an explosion, Acar said the vessel was struck twice "which why they knew they were under attack." The group claims the blasts were caused by a drone whose immediate origin the group did not know. ABC News has not been able to verify the group's claims. Video and photos provided by the FFC showed fire and smoke on board Conscience, as well as damage to the bow of the vessel in the aftermath of the reported attack. ABC News showed the FCC photos showing the damaged sustained to the Conscience to Trevor Ball, a former U.S. Army explosive ordinance disposal specialist. "The damage is consistent with two small blast munitions, which can be deployed by drone," Ball said. "You'd need remnants to confirm that though, well as country of origin." Acar said the vessel had been carrying humanitarian aid, which Israel's government is not allowing to enter Gaza. In an online statement, the FFC called for an investigation into the reported attack and demanded that "Israeli ambassadors must be summoned and answer to violations of international law, including the ongoing blockade and the bombing of our civilian vessel in international waters." ABC News has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the U.S. State Department for comment on the incident. The moments after the reported strike are visible in ship tracking data from MarineTraffic. Shortly after midnight, the Conscience can be seen veering off its course. According to MarineTraffic, the vessel left Bizerte, Tunisia, on Wednesday and was scheduled to dock in Malta on Friday. There, the FFC said, the vessel planned to bring aboard more passengers -- including climate activist Greta Thunberg and retired US Army Colonel Mary Ann Wright -- before continuing on to Gaza. Data from online flight tracker ADSBExchange shows that a military transport plane operated by Israel's military flew over Malta in the hours before the attack. The Lockheed KC-130H plane entered Maltese airspace at around 3:25 p.m. local time. Data shows the plane flying in a zig-zag pattern around the eastern coast of Malta at an altitude as low as 4,350 feet before beginning its return to Israel at around 7:30 p.m. local time, nearly five hours before the reported attack on Conscience.
NBC News
02-05-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Gaza activists say their aid vessel was hit by drones off the coast of Malta
A ship carrying aid and volunteers heading for Gaza was attacked by drones in international waters off Malta early Friday, the group organizing the mission said. Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the aid group running the mission, blamed Israel for the attack but did not provide evidence for that allegation. NBC News' reached out to the Israel Defense Forces and the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but did not immediately receive any response. The attack came exactly two months after Israel, on March 2, imposed a full blockade on the entry of humanitarian assistance into Gaza including food, medicine, and other critical supplies. Freedom Flotilla Coalition posted video footage on X early Friday showing a fire on the Conscience — the name of the vessel hit by the alleged drone attack — with volunteers from more than 21 countries having boarded in Malta for the mission to Gaza. 'On the morning of their scheduled departure, the vessel was attacked,' the organizers said in a statement Friday, adding that the ship issued an SOS distress signal shortly after armed drones caused a fire and a substantial breach in the hull. 'Israeli ambassadors must be summoned and answer to violations of international law, including the ongoing blockade (of Gaza) and the bombing of our civilian vessel in international waters,' the group added. The Maltese government said everyone involved in the aid mission was 'confirmed safe' after it carried out a rescue operation. 'The vessel had 12 crew members on board and four civilian passengers; no casualties were reported,' it said in a statement Friday. Images released by the Maltese government showed a tug vessel putting out a fire on the vessel following the alleged drone attack. The Conscience was '17 kilometers [around 10.5 miles] from the shore of Malta, [when it] was attacked by two drones,' Yasemin Acar, one of the organizers of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, told NBC News from Malta shortly before the group posted the video online and a rescue operation was carried out on the vessel. Acar said the struck vessel had initially been sailing with a flag registered to the Pacific island nation of Palau, but that the country's government had removed permission for its flag's use. Before the rescue of those on board was successfully executed, Acar said 'there is panic... Of course, everyone is in shock. Everyone is scared.' Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur for the occupied Palestinian territories, said in a post on X on Friday that she 'received a distressed call from the people of the Freedom Flotilla that is carrying essential food and medicine to the starving Gaza population.' 'I call on concerned state authorities, including maritime authorities, to support the ship and its crew as needed,' she added. Senior Palestinian lawmaker Mustafa Barghouti accused the Israeli government of 'behaving like a pirate' and 'violating all international law with impunity' in a post on X on Friday. While Freedom Flotilla Coalition did not cite evidence for its allegations against Israel and the country's government did not respond to the accusations, there have been previous instances of Israeli forces preventing activists and humanitarian groups from shipping aid to Gaza. In 2010, a flotilla on a similar mission was stopped and boarded by Israeli troops near the coast of Gaza. Israeli forces' use of force resulted in the deaths of nine people on board and multiple others were wounded, a panel established by the U.N. secretary general said. Since Israel launched its offensive in the enclave following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led terrorist attacks, more than 51,000 people have been killed in Gaza, including thousands of children, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, whose numbers are described as reliable by the World Health Organization. Some 1,200 people were killed during the militant group's attacks in southern Israel, with around 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli counts, marking a major escalation in a decadeslong conflict. International aid groups and nongovernmental organizations have said that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached its worst level in 18 months and that aid systems are on the verge of collapse. While Israel is obligated to meet the basic needs of the civilian population in Gaza under its control under international humanitarian law, the U.N.-run World Food Programme last week said it had run out of food in its warehouses in Gaza and warned of mass starvation in the besieged enclave that is home to more than 2 million Palestinians. In video footage by NBC News' crew on the ground in the Mawasi neighborhood in Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis, children stood in a narrow alley holding empty pots at the Rafah Charitable Kitchen — the only soup kitchen serving the displaced in the area. 'We sleep hungry and wake up hungry. We eat nothing, only water to fill our stomachs,' 10-year-old Asmaa Al-Kurd told NBC News.
