Latest news with #AlanSmith
Times
22-05-2025
- General
- Times
Is the landowner responsible if a tree brings down a phone line?
Who is responsible if a telephone line crossing over a property is brought down by the landowner's tree falling on the cable?Alan Smith The landowner is only likely to be responsible for the damage to the telephone line if they knew or ought to have known of the risk of damage. (I am assuming the tree is not on or near a highway or railway. If so, different considerations may apply.) A court would take into account whether there is evidence that the landowner had carried out regular inspections of the tree and whether the telecommunications company had notified the landowner of the risk of damage. Assuming the tree was generally healthy and there were no obvious signs that it was likely to fall,
Daily Mirror
21-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Wizz Air passengers 'faced worst experience ever' costing them extra £1,200
A couple had to cancel a trip to Rome in Italy after they were bumped from an overbooked Wizz Air flight from Marrakech in Morocco after they had arrived at the airport Wizz Air passengers who found themselves without a flight home and with their holiday plans in tatters have issued a warning to future passengers. The couple endured the "worst experience we ever faced with an airline" when they were denied boarding on May 1 on a night flight from Marrakech in Morocco to Italy's capital, Rome. They turned up at the airport ready to board the low-cost Hungarian airline, only to be told that the plane was overbooked by 15 customers. "We had flight tickets and when we presented ourselves to the check-in desk, people at the check in informed us that we may not be able to board on this flight, and so we waited for one hour and half with the other denied passengers, noting that the people doing the check-in were not even Wizz Air employees. There was no one from Wizzair at the check-in desk," Alan Smith* told the Mirror. "We had to insist very fiercely with the check-in people to be able to take a picture of our flight tickets with no allocated seat on this flight. Wizz Air didn't provide any sort of assistance to these customers. Some customers were in tears, some were lost and disconcerted. Some customers have been denied boarding successively for the same flight on different days." Alan had forked out more than €400 (£337) for the flights. As they couldn't get to Rome, they lost out on a night's stay in a hotel there and had to book a place to stay in Marrakech. The following day the couple boarded a British Airways flight back to the UK, having had to cancel the Italy leg of their trip. "All in all, this cost us more than EUR 1,500," Alan said, describing the Wizz Air experience as "disappointing". "Wizz Air never reached out spontaneously to acknowledge the denied boarding or to apologise," he added. After submitting a compensation claim and receiving a response from the airline, Alan said he kept receiving automatic failure-to-deliver emails from Wizz Air's customer service as its inbox appeared to be full. "The last update is that Wizz Air customer service rejected our claim due to the fact that we are unable to provide a 'denied boarding form' that we were never provided with," he said. "We will never fly again with this company." The Mirror contacted Wizz Air regarding the customer's complaints and was told "the issue stemmed from an administrative error. The team on the ground did not provide the correct form needed to process compensation. As a result, the case wasn't properly recorded in Wizz Air's system, which prevented customer service agents from issuing a refund. "Wizz Air fully acknowledges the stress and inconvenience this caused the customer and sincerely apologises. Full compensation is now being processed, along with an official letter of apology from the airline. Like many airlines, Wizz Air sometimes overbooks flights, and in rare cases, this can lead to a passenger being denied boarding. In such situations, we always provide rebooking options and compensation. 'In this instance, the customer was regretfully not given the necessary form to log their case in our system, which caused an error during the compensation process. We have since contacted the customer to offer our sincere apologies and to issue the full compensation they are entitled to. We have since provided additional training to our colleagues, and we are committed to ensuring a situation like this does not happen again.' Your rights If you are bumped without your agreement, you are entitled to compensation, as long as you checked-in for your flight on time. No matter whether you volunteered or were forced to be bumped, your airline must also let you choose between two options: Your airline must offer you an alternative flight. It's up to you whether to fly as soon as possible, or at a later date that suits you. Airlines often refer to this as being 'rerouted'. If you want to fly as soon as possible, your airline must also provide care and assistance while you wait for the flight. This includes food and drink, means of communication, accommodation and transport to the accommodation. The airline must provide you with these items until it is able to fly you to your destination, no matter how long the delay lasts or what has caused it. If you don't want to fly, you can get your money back instead. You'll get a refund for all parts of the ticket you haven't used. For instance, if you have booked a return flight and you are bumped from the outbound leg, you can get the full cost of the return ticket back from your airline. The level of compensation depends on the length of your flight and the timings of the alternative flight you are offered. Visit the Civil Aviation Authority website for more information. *Alan's name has been changed.
Zawya
18-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Alan Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Agthia Group, shares insights
Alan Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Agthia Group, shares insights, highlighting the group's financial performance for the first quarter of 2025. Agthia Group PJSC - one of the region's leading food and beverage companies, today announced a resilient first-quarter performance, with underlying Group revenue growing by 5.2% year-on-year when excluding the impact of non-recurring factors such as last year's one-off wheat trading activity and the devaluation of the Egyptian pound. This underlying growth highlights the strength and resilience of Agthia's core business amidst a dynamic operating environment. Despite short-term pressure, Agthia continues to invest in its future allocating AED 25.1 million to capex and AED 129.2 million to increase its stake in Abu Auf raising its share from 70% to 80%, deepening vertical integration in the snacking segment. In May 2025, Agthia strengthened its leadership in the UAE water market through the strategic acquisition of Riviere, a prominent player in home water delivery segment. This milestone move significantly expands our household customer base tripling our reach and deepens our market penetration in a key growth category. said Smith. In this regard, Alan Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Agthia Group, stated: 'we continue to see strong performance across key verticals. BMB delivered a solid 8.4% growth in revenue, driven by rising exports to the United States and continued consumer demand for its premium snack portfolio. Abu Auf also maintained its growth trajectory, recording a 4.3% revenue increase in AED terms; however, the devaluation of the Egyptian Pound significantly impacted the reported figure, which in local currency terms stood at a notable 48.9%. Excluding the one-off wheat trading activity in Q1 2024, our Agri-Business delivered a solid underlying performance, achieving revenue growth of 2.9%. The Water and Food segment remained a core contributor, growing 10.6% year-on-year. Within the UAE, water revenues increased by 6.1%, while our international water portfolio showed strong momentum particularly in Turkey, which grew by 9.9%, and Saudi Arabia, where we achieved 4.8% growth. Meanwhile, the Protein segment saw a 15.7% decline in revenue due to continued pressure in the Egyptian market and a temporary slowdown in export sales from Nabil in Jordan. This was partially offset by the growth coming from our new protein facility in Saudi Arabia, which commenced operations in July 2024. Our combined operations, comprising Nabil export from Jordan and our new facility in KSA, delivered a robust 17.2% sales growth within the Kingdom, underscoring the strategic importance of our expansion in this key regional market.' And commenting on how the US tarrifs would affect Agthia's operation Smith said: While Agthia's direct exposure to the U.S. market remains limited accounting for approximately 1% of our total revenue ongoing trade protectionist measures, particularly tariffs on essential commodities, may pose indirect challenges to global supply chains. As a diversified group operating across multiple segments and geographies, we remain vigilant in monitoring global trade dynamics to proactively address and mitigate any potential cost implications. Our sourcing strategy is built on diversification, trusted supplier partnerships, and a strong regional presence, which collectively grant us the flexibility to navigate fluctuations in commodity pricing and availability. In parallel, we continue to optimize procurement processes, manage inventory efficiently, and explore alternative markets to reinforce our supply chain resilience. Despite potential volatility in global trade, our operational agility and cost discipline ensure that we are well-positioned to uphold the value we deliver to both our shareholders and our consumers.
Axios
16-05-2025
- Climate
- Axios
Colorado forecast: Prepare for a long and hot summer
Below-average snowpack and rapid snow melt will contribute to an early and hot summer across the West, the latest summer forecast shows. Why it matters: Dryer and warmer conditions raise the chances for wildfires and drought conditions. State of play: Neither El Niño nor La Niña conditions are present, leading to above-average temperatures and active monsoon seasons in the Southwest, according to meteorologists at Colorado-based OpenSnow. Zoom in: For Colorado, the higher temperatures will arrive in June and persist through September with intense heat waves. In terms of precipitation, the monsoon season is expected to start earlier than normal in late June but only clip southwestern areas of the state. The Front Range will see drier-than-normal conditions at the start and equal chances of above- or below-normal precipitation through the rest of summer. What they're saying:"If June is hotter and drier … it could mean a rough fire season, especially early on before the monsoon kicks in," said OpenSnow meteorologist Alan Smith.
The Guardian
16-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
‘If it had been a film, we'd have won': former Palace finalists share Cup memories
Palace 3-3 Manchester United (aet); replay: Palace 0-1 United Being captain of that side was a special time. We had been thrashed 9-0 by Liverpool earlier in the season so after getting past them in the semi-final when Alan Pardew scored the winner at Villa Park, it felt like we had nothing to fear. You get to this stage of the season and a lot of teams will be tapering off because they don't have much to play for. What Steve [Coppell, the manager] and Alan [Smith, the assistant] did straight after the semi-final was really kick on – it was like a pre-season again. We'd play a game on the Saturday and have Sunday off and then straight into a long run on the Monday. We were really confident in our physical side of the game. As soon as we came off the pitch after winning the semi-final, we found out what the FA Cup final is all about. Eric Hall became our agent and had us doing all sorts of things. Some of the guys were on Blue Peter but I missed that because I was at the pre-Cup final dinner with the Duke of Edinburgh and the United captain, Bryan Robson. Please don't ask me about our appearance on Sky to sing our version of Glad All Over – I remember John Salako and Gary O'Reilly giving it some! It was quite embarrassing having to sing in front of a live TV audience … Looking back at the final, the frustrating thing is that we were seven minutes away from lifting the Cup after Ian Wright scored in extra time. If it had been a film, we would have won the game and it would have been one of the greatest achievements in sport. We'd been beaten 9-0 by the team that we had then beaten in the semi-final … That's the sad thing – history is made by certain moments and Mark Hughes came up with that moment. Bryan Robson says we kicked them off the park in the replay but I remember them being just as physical. I think it was Brian McClair who brought me down in the box and the referee gave a free-kick but you could see the divot inside the area. I'll never forget that. I'm from Manchester and was brought up as a Blue; every time we played against City it was a bit special. All my family would be in the Kippax at the old Maine Road and I used to love playing against them. But as a footballer Crystal Palace are my club. Ever since I joined in 1987 right up to today I feel a part of it. The support of the club when I was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2003 is something I'll never forget. I can see the same enjoyment among the players today that we had under Steve all those years ago. We loved going out there and beating bigger teams. Unfortunately Crystal Palace weren't a big enough club to keep players like Ian Wright and Mark Bright and our team was disbanded. But hopefully times are changing and Palace will be able to build on their progress under Oliver Glasner. I hope it's third time lucky for them on Saturday. Like us in 1990 they've got nothing to fear. City have got quality but so have Palace. I just hope that it's a day that history is made. When I arrived in 1984, Palace had nothing. Steve Coppell has to take a lot of credit for everything that team achieved. Steve was a bit of a fitness fanatic so we spent a lot of time working on that. There's a place called Farleigh Downs, which was the hill we used to run up, and the lads had to get up it eight times. It was some run. But because they were so willing to do anything that Steve told them they did it. He had that much respect among the players. We also must have been one of the first to do any sort of video analysis. We had this guy called Vince Craven who came in who used to be at Wimbledon and helped them win the 1988 FA Cup final against Liverpool. He was way ahead of his time. Vince would break up the clips with bits of comedy, otherwise the players would start losing interest. He was a natural and it really helped with our attacking set plays. Eric Hall sorted everything out for the players like the suits and a deal with Ray-Ban sunglasses. The sad thing about that was that it pissed with rain about an hour before kick-off so they couldn't wear them. Eric still managed to find 20 umbrellas from somewhere though! United were under a lot of pressure because Alex Ferguson knew he had to win that game – if he hadn't then who knows what might have happened? To have beaten Liverpool in the semis and scored four goals without Ian Wright, who had been out with a broken leg, was some achievement. But he was our talisman: we won some games when we shouldn't have done when he would pull a goal out of the blue like Eberechi Eze does now. In the final, Steve could have put him on earlier and kept on saying: 'Shall we, shall we?' When he came on he was like a coiled spring, a bundle of combustion that burst on to the pitch. In many ways by scoring two goals it was his Cup final. Of course, it wasn't to be because Hughes equalised and they won the replay. But his performance made other clubs interested in him. We finished third the next season before Ian left to join Arsenal. We didn't get into Europe and I think that hit Steve hard. He had done so much work since joining the club in 1984 and by that time we were finding it much more difficult to hold on to our players. Some of them thought: 'What more can we do at Palace?' Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion I'll be sitting next to Steve at Wembley on Saturday and Palace have a genuine chance. You can't help but think this is the third time they've been there and they are coming into form at the right time again … Palace 1-2 Manchester United We were like a proper family in the dressing room. You felt everyone in the community wanted Palace to go to the top level. I remember being so excited when we reached the final by beating Watford in the semi-finals – we had special suits made for the day and it was very exciting. Everyone remembers Alan Pardew's dance when Jason Puncheon scored after coming off the bench. It came from a corner – we had worked on that move in training and he said before: 'That's how we're going to score.' The manager was always telling us about the goal he scored in the semi-final against Liverpool in 1990 so it was his way of celebrating. It showed how close we all were to him. Alan was always around the players making jokes and he gave us a lot of confidence. When you went on the pitch you wanted to do everything for him. He would often ask after my family and check how I was settling in. And he helped me with my English – the reason I speak it now is partly because of him. I thought we were going to do it when Punch scored. But it's football; sometimes you just have to accept it. We were so close and hopefully now they will finally win it against City. That would make me very happy. A few months after the final, I was in a car crash that forced me to miss almost two years of football. I was very lucky to get back on my feet and playing games again. I'm still in touch with the chairman [Steve Parish] and he gives me some advice. I'm really close to people who are still there and I feel like the support of the fans helped me to get back from injury much quicker. I really appreciate that. I was the first player from Senegal to play for Palace and that makes me proud. When I go back home you see a lot of Palace shirts everywhere.
