These 10 video games will satisfy your wanderlust – USA Today 10Best

Posted on by

Photo courtesy of iStock / gremlin

Whether based on real world locations or set in fantastical settings out of designers' imaginations, navigating through these video games can mimic the sense of wonder and curiosity sparked by physically traveling to a new place. If you've been bitten by the travel bug, grab a controller (or your mouse) and give one of these games a whirl.

Photo courtesy of Lydia Schrandt

Fallout 4 takes players into a post-apocalyptic version of the city of Boston and its surroundings. The open world offers more than 150 hours of play time, with plenty of familiar locales to explore. See if you can find Fenway Park, the Old North Church, Bunker Hill Monument and Walden Pond. If you feel like spending a day at a theme park, albeit a pretty dark and twisted one, make sure to snag the Nuka-World expansion.

Photo courtesy of Unknown Worlds

Set beneath an alien planet's Technicolor oceans, Subnautica is downright gorgeous. It's so pretty, in fact, that you might quickly find yourself running short of oxygen or coming snorkel-to-nose with some pretty nasty sea creatures if you arent careful. A sense of mystery and wonder pervades every element of this game, from its mechanics (youre given very little instruction) to the overarching narrative.

Photo courtesy of Ubisoft

Just about every game in the Assassins Creed series scratches the travel itch by allowing players to explore various cities from all sorts of points of view. The latest installment, Assassins Creed Odyssey, transports you through both space and time into Ancient Greece. Do some tree bathing in the Forest Islands, stop by the Temple of Artemis in Phokis, explore the scenic village of Lalaia or walk among the flower-filled meadows of Erymanthos Peak.

Photo courtesy of Lydia Schrandt

If you like HBO'sWestworld, youll probably appreciate this Wild West-themed, open world game that debuted in 2018. The map in Red Dead Redemption 2 is believed to be Rockstars biggest to date, stretching from the mining town of Annesburg to the snowy Mount Hagen. Thats a lot of ground to cover, and if youre feeling uncertain of where to start, someones even come up with Yelp-style reviews of every saloon in the game.

Photo courtesy of Lydia Schrandt

Skyrim the fifth installment in the Elder Scrolls series is set in a fictional medieval realm, albeit one heavily influenced by Scandinavian culture. The hard, cold, open world landscape offers plenty for the controller-toting traveler to explore. Look for the Northern Lights on a clear night, snap some screenshots of the castle at Winterhold and marvel at the impressive architecture of Markarth. Skyrim even transports you into the ethereally illuminated Nordic afterlife.

Photo courtesy of Adam Tyner

The Uncharted series from Naughty Dog has long sent gamers treasure hunting in stunning locations, and The Lost Legacy is no different. Players control treasure hunter Chloe Frazer, who starts out in India on a quest to find a legendary tusk of Ganesh, all while moving through jungles, temples, mountains and vast urban environments. While the game is rather linear, each environment features several paths to explore.

Photo courtesy of Maggie Tyner

This open world driving game spares no expense when it comes to reproducing spectacular scenery. Forza Horizon 4 takes place in Great Britain, allowing players to take a virtual road trip to many famous landmarks, like the Glenfinnan Viaduct that also featured in Harry Potter, the Lake District and the Gatehouse in Edinburgh.

Photo courtesy of Adam Tyner

Far Cry 5 a first-person shooter from Ubisoft takes place in a fictional region of Montana, though all of the states natural beauty remains on full display. Players take on the role of a young sheriffs deputy tasked with bringing down the head of a doomsday cult. Several locations in the game were inspired by real settings, including the Logan Pass Visitor Center, Our Lady of the Rockies, Lake McDonald Lodge and the Melville Lutheran Church.

Photo courtesy of CD Projekt RED

With the recent release of Netflix's adaptation of the long-running Polish book series, now's the perfect time to visit the land of Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Its massive open world draws inspiration from elements of Poland, France, Scandinavia and the Netherlands, with a few elves, basilisks and wyverns thrown in for good measure. The game has its fair share of stunning locations to seek out as well, among them the eerie Isle of Mists, the architectural wonders of Vizima, the city of Oxenfurt (inspired by Oxford), and Freyas leafy garden.

Photo courtesy of No Man's Sky

No Mans Sky offers far more than an open world; its an open universe, where you can literally go planet-hopping on an intergalactic jaunt through space. With 18 quintillionprocedurally-generated worlds, youll never run out of planets to check out.

Go here to read the rest:

These 10 video games will satisfy your wanderlust - USA Today 10Best

WTTC welcomes European Commission guidelines to safely restart Travel & Tourism in Europe in 2020 and beyond – Hospitality Net

Posted on by

London, UK - The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), has welcomed a major new EU initiative which aims to help restart summer holidays across Europe in 2020 and beyond, and save millions of jobs in the Travel & Tourism sector.

The European Commission's Tourism & Transport Package has been designed to ensure a coordinated approach at a European level, to ease restrictive measures and restore mobility.

The move by the European Commission is hoped to herald a phased restart of travel across Europe this summer, while ensuring the safety and health of travellers and those who work in the Travel & Tourism sector.

The initiative follows a similar drive by WTTC, which represents the global Travel & Tourism private sector, which on Tuesday launched global 'Safe Travel' protocols for travel in the 'new normal'.

"We are delighted that the European Commission recognises the strategic importance of the Travel & Tourism sector, not only to the European economy, but also to boost jobs. Its initiative acknowledges the sector is in a critical situation, which needs a long-term pathway to recovery.

"WTTC has been in constant discussions with the European Commission and we encourage all member States to follow these important guidelines. Strong coordination and cooperation across Europe will avoid unilateral and fragmented measures which would only lead to confusion and disruption for travellers and businesses alike.

"We fully support the European Commission's stance on quarantines and agree these should not be necessary if appropriate and effective containment measures are in place at departure and arrival points for flights, ferries, cruises, road and rail transport. We urge Member States to carefully reflect before deciding whether arrivals need to self-isolate as this would be a major deterrent to travel and put those countries at a competitive disadvantage. We call on governments to find alternative solutions rather than maintaining or introducing arrival quarantine measures, as part of post-pandemic travel restrictions. Once a traveller is tested and confirmed as safe to travel, further restrictions such as quarantines should not be necessary.

"Our research shows at least 6.4 million jobs will be impacted across the EU this year if a coordinated approach for the Travel & Tourism sector isn't followed. By following these guidelines and supporting these protocols, we have a chance of saving these jobs and protecting the livelihoods of millions of people across the EU.

"We look forward to continuing to work with, and support the European Commission, specifically Commissioner Breton and his team, to create a more sustainable and innovative Travel & Tourism sector."

WTTC's own 'Safe Travel' protocols, include a wide range of new worldwide measures to restart the sector, measures designed to rebuild confidence among consumers, so they can travel safely once the restrictions are lifted. For further information please click here.

WTTC is the body which represents the Travel & Tourism private sector globally. Members consist of CEOs of the world's Travel & Tourism companies, destinations, and industry organisations engaging with Travel & Tourism.

WTTC has a history of 25 years of research to quantify the economic impact of the sector in 185 countries. Travel & Tourism is a key driver for investment and economic growth globally. The sector contributes US$8.8 trillion or 10.4% of global GDP, and accounts for 319 million jobs or one in ten of all jobs on the planet.

For over 25 years, WTTC has been the voice of this industry globally. Members are the Chairs, Presidents and Chief Executives of the world's leading, private sector Travel & Tourism businesses, who bring specialist knowledge to guide government policy and decision-making and raise awareness of the importance of the sector.

Read more here:

WTTC welcomes European Commission guidelines to safely restart Travel & Tourism in Europe in 2020 and beyond - Hospitality Net

Special deals and domestic travel: ‘The world has shrunk, but not necessarily in a bad way’ – The Guardian

Posted on by

Beth Hackney has already bought three travel guides. One for Australia and two for New Zealand. The second they open up New South Wales, Im going to be like a rat up a drainpipe, she says. Im going to get in a car and go.

The Australian lawyer has been living in Hong Kong for years, but has been effectively stuck in home town Sydney since January after coronavirus lockdowns turned a short-term contract into an indefinite stay. The closure of international and state borders has scuttled a lot of travel plans for the 35-year-old: Tasmania. South Korea. New York. Greece. France.

Now, however, after months of not being able to leave the city, Hackney is looking forward to travelling her own country or state in earnest.

Im actually really excited when things relax a bit to go and see Australia, and New Zealand. And while it isnt necessarily the travel I had wanted or had planned for this year its not the start of the Tour de France in Nice, its not Greece its the travel Im getting, and the more I think about it, the more excited I am.

With the anticipation of relaxation of regional, if not state, borders in the near future, there is speculation about what potential there is for a local-led rebound for the hard-hit Australian tourism sector.

Australians already constitute a significant majority of the total tourism market. Between day trips and overnight stays, local tourism was worth more than $100bn last year, and had been growing. International travellers, however, spend $45.4bn, or about third of the total market a significant shortfall to make up in the event of long-term international border closure.

It is in the nearly $65bn that Australians spent overseas last year that Tourism Australia, and others in the sector, see hope for reviving the now dormant industry. And hope may not be misplaced polling by the Lowy Institute last week found that 35% of Australians are now less likely to travel internationally than they were before coronavirus, borders open or not.

Some analysts have predicted a net gain for Australia. Richard Clarke, a global hotels and leisure analyst at research firm Bernstein, has calculated that Australia could stand to benefit from a closure of international borders, should the spending of Australian international travellers be redirected to domestic travel.

He says even if 60% of the amount of money Australians spend overseas is instead spent by travelling within Australia as happened in the UK after Brexit the total value of spending in the Australian market could end up even.

Tourism Australia is attempting to stoke domestic demand with a significant campaign, which included an hour-long live TV special, Live from Aus, on Channel Ten on Friday night, encouraging Australians to start making plans for travelling locally. They expect travel to pick up slowly, with day trips followed by regional and interstate travel.

Managing director Phillipa Harrison expects people to be keen to get outdoors, explore nature and do things theyve missed out on, like dining out.

However, even though their own polling suggests that 60% of Australians are keen to travel the country as restrictions ease, Harrison is cautious about assuming the local market will make up for the loss of the international one.

There will doubtless be an increase in domestic travel, she says, but it cant fill the gap of international business entirely.

Dr David Beirman, a lecturer in tourism management at the University of Technology Sydney, agrees that the losses of the year from bushfires, drought and floods, coupled with the continued border lockdown, will be a hole too deep to plug.

Whichever way you look at it even if you are the most optimistic person in the world weve already lost several months of travel, he says. This year is going to be pretty diabolical, even at the most optimistic assessments.

However, he says, there is opportunity for tourism to bounce at least partially back. People will be stir crazy, he says. Theyre going to want to go somewhere.

How many people in Sydney go opal mining in Lightning Ridge? Or check out White Cliffs? he says. Wine tours in the Hunter Valley. Astronomical Tours in Siding Springs. Theres a whole range of experiences that we probably dont market as effectively as we could.

For some tourism and hospitality operators, business is already showing signs of lifting. Luxury resort and spa in the Blue Mountains, Lilianfels, has already started receiving calls for bookings in June and July.

John Fink, the creative director of the Fink Group which includes high-end Sydney restaurants Otto, Bennelong and Firedoor, says many people cannot wait to be able to return to the pleasantries of life. Im feeling it, he says. But also, when the word went out that theyre going to start easing restrictions our phones just rang off the hook: When are you opening? When are you opening?

Finks restaurants predominantly serve local patrons, but a significant minority of guests Fink estimates between 10% and 30% depending on the restaurant are international. He is confident that as people are finally allowed out of their homes, they will be craving nice experiences, particularly ones where they can connect with friends. Those who havent been financially affected by the crisis, he says, will have extra money to spend.

I think Sydney will bounce back, he says. As long as everything is safe and everything goes according to plan with the slow easing of restrictions, in the dining scene I can really see Sydney coming back to life.

However, Australia is not just capital cities and hatted restaurants. The regions, particularly tourist towns, have been battered by back-to-back unprecedented crises this year.

For the Youth Hostels Association Australia, the crisis has decimated business. The network is reliant on international travellers, who make up two-thirds of their guests. The remaining third is dominated by school and business groups. Just 19 of its 70 hostels are open, catering to a far reduced clientele. The backpacker not-for-profit has put nearly all eligible staff on jobkeeper, stood down others and made redundant yet others still. The regional hostels have fared particularly badly.

Were basically bunkering down and really waiting for the borders to open, says the chief executive, Paul McGrath.

While his key market is no longer able to travel to Australia, McGrath is pretty confident that domestic travel could make up for the losses of foreign travellers. People are going to want to get out and get into nature or go to the beach, he says. Just get out of their suburbs and cities.

YHA is hoping that restrictions on regional travel may lift in time for the July school holidays. If border restrictions ease as winter bites in the southern states, he expects a mass migration to holidays north. If so, they will be encouraging people to support the bush, and marketing to families in earnest for the first time. The organisation is in the process of converting small dormitories into family rooms, as a low-cost option for family travellers.

Thats where I see a great opportunity to capture the attention of families for whom it may have previously been cheaper to go to Bali or Fiji, he says.

And, says McGrath, they will be offering discounts to get people back into their accommodation. We will certainly be price driven.

Tourism lecturer Beirman says that YHA is not the only tourism operator likely to be offering deals. If youre a smart consumer, and you have the money, get in early because therell be a whole bunch of special deals going on. Regions, hotels, attractions will want to lure people to come to them and I think therell be some very good deals in the short term, he says.

However, he says, that discounting wont last, and travel in Australia may become more expensive in the longer term. A lot of the tourism businesses which have been making no money for months are going to want to fill back the coffers.

In the meantime, Hackney, who typically has multiple holidays in far-flung destinations a year, is hoping that restrictions are open in time for her parents annual holiday to NSW coastal town Forster.

In the current climate, even something as simple as going to Forster feels like such an immense treat, she says. Her holidays, she says, will now be slower, more meandering, with a focus on enjoying the things around her. This has been a reset.

The world has shrunk, she says. But not necessarily in a terrible way.

View original post here:

Special deals and domestic travel: 'The world has shrunk, but not necessarily in a bad way' - The Guardian

Endangered species may be yet another virus victim – The Japan Times

Posted on by

Kuala Lumpur Social distancing may save human lives, but it's wreaking havoc on some of the world's most threatened species.

In Botswana, which depends heavily on tourism, poachers have taken advantage of suddenly empty wildlife reserves to kill at least six endangered rhinos during the COVID-19 pandemic. In South Africa's North West province, at least nine more were killed as sightseers stayed home. Fears are rising that tigers, elephants and countless lesser-known species might soon face similar threats.

For decades, theres been a broad consensus among governments, conservationists and industry that well-managed tourism gives local communities an economic stake in preserving wildlife. It's a good idea that has supported the conservation of threatened habitats around the world. But the cruel lesson of the coronavirus is that this model isnt sustainable in a steep economic downturn. If conservationists want to preserve species and habitats for the long term, they'll need to rethink some long-held assumptions.

Few sectors have been hit harder by the virus than international tourism. Globally, daily flights are down by almost 80 percent since early April. Those planes that remain in the air are generally flying domestic routes in Asia and the United States. The World Travel & Tourism Council, a trade group, estimates that small island developing states like the Seychelles and the Maldives generate as much as 30 percent of their gross domestic product from tourism. Since flights have been canceled, that industry has been erased.

The downturn has been especially painful in places where biodiversity is the primary draw for travelers. Madagascar, for example, has spent decades promoting its unique habitats and rare species. Its goal was not just to preserve biodiversity, but to create lasting economic benefits for local communities. It has succeeded spectacularly: Madagascar is home to 144 protected areas, most managed by NGOs, which typically work with local communities to ensure that the benefits of tourism and conservation are widely shared.

Thanks to the pandemic, that model is now all but defunct. Since January, the combined impact of travel restrictions and cancellations has wiped out $500 million in expected revenue. Ranomafana National Park, home to 12 lemur species and other rare animals, is generating no revenue at all. Those losses will surely ricochet through the countrys economy and civil society.

And Madagascar isnt alone. Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have all suspended tourism activities to protect mountain gorillas from the virus, leading to lost revenue for both local communities and conservation efforts. In Costa Rica, a global draw for birders and ecotourists, wildlife guides say that 100 percent of future bookings have been canceled. In Cambodia, conservationists have seen an uptick in poaching of protected wildlife, including the giant ibis, due to the pandemic's effect on local economies.

The threat to endangered species is likely to worsen. Studies long ago established that poverty and poaching are strongly correlated, but it doesn't take a social scientist to understand that communities deprived of tourism revenue will look elsewhere for income. Without an economic rebound, the pressure to poach will only ramp up over time. In previous major epidemics, it took an average of 19 months for visitor numbers to recover, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. The depth of the current downturn will almost certainly require longer.

For now, debt relief and other assistance to developing countries with rich biodiversity could help. Longer-term, conservationists will need to ensure that the economic benefits generated by preserving wildlife and habitats are widely shared. A first step should be including locals in decision-making and the management of wild populations. In practical terms, that generally means giving them hunting and agricultural rights in otherwise protected areas. In Namibia, that approach has resulted in a net increase in rhino, elephant and lion populations over the past few decades. It could work in other regions too.

Meanwhile, governments and NGOs should tap into the growing sustainable-investments industry for assistance in creating market incentives for conservation. Last year, the Zoological Society of London and Conservation Capital announced a five-year, $50 million impact bond designed to protect rhino populations. If their numbers grow, investors will get back their capital, and a yield. Similar bonds could promote conservation and economic development in emerging regions worldwide. Of course, there's no simple recipe for maintaining global biodiversity. But the failure of ecotourism in the midst of a pandemic is a reminder that it takes more than a safari to ensure there's enough habitat for humans and animals to share.

Adam Minter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is the author of "Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion-Dollar Trash Trade and "Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale."

Originally posted here:

Endangered species may be yet another virus victim - The Japan Times

Travel restrictions live: Lift holiday ban before planning ‘air bridges’, Government urged – The Telegraph

Posted on by

The British Government should look first at how to change the Foreign Office (FCO) advice warning against all but essential international travel before chasing the idea of air bridges, experts in the travel industry have urged.

Abta, the British travel association, said it welcomed the idea of agreeing air bridges with other nations, as suggested by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, but added that the introduction of any quarantine measures would have a damaging impact on both inbound and outbound tourism.

It would be helpful if the Government could indicate its criteria for the transition from the current FCO advice against non-essential global travel to the re-opening of travel to destinations, a spokesperson said.

Justin Wateridge, managing director of tour operator Steppes Travel, said: If the Government really wants to help, it needs to look at the Foreign Office advice and get a definite time scale for it, rather than this indefinite ban on travel, which is helping nobody when we're trying to plan with clients. If they want to introduce things like air bridges they need to look at some of the fundamentals first."

Noel Jospehides, director of Aito, the Association of Independent Tour Operators, asked: Is this a carefully-considered and workable option? Our fingers have been badly burnt by earlier off-the-cuff comments by Mr Shapps, and this Government, unfortunately, has a record of making grand statements only to retract or change them substantially a day or so later.

Greece and Portugal have already suggested they would be open to reciprocal agreements with the UK that negate the need for quarantine restrictions, but the UK Government is yet to reveal details on when its quarantine policy might be introduced, how it would work and how long it will last.

Follow live updates on the day's news below.

Visit link:

Travel restrictions live: Lift holiday ban before planning 'air bridges', Government urged - The Telegraph

Noma, one of the world’s best restaurants, to return as a wine bar – CNN

Posted on by

(CNN) As coronavirus restrictions ease around the globe, one of the best restaurants in the world, Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark, announced Friday that it would be reopening next week with a new concept: An outdoor wine bar with two burgers -- one meat, one vegetarian -- on the menu.

The restaurant closed in mid-March because of the Covid-19 pandemic. As Denmark starts to reopen two months later, lucky Danes get a chance to have a new, albeit limited, Noma experience.

Noma is no stranger to change -- founder Ren Redzepi closed the first version of the restaurant 14 years after opening to start again with Noma 2.0, which opened in 2018. In the interim, Redzepi has done pop-ups in Japan, Mexico, even one under a bridge in Copenhagen.

The agility of this restaurant and its team is one of its most singular attributes, as well as its bringing Nordic cuisine to the attention of gastronomes the world over.

After opening the wine bar, Redzepi plans to reopen the original, new Noma in due time.

"Being closed for so long means that it will take weeks for our team to get the kitchen back to the levels we were at before closing. We do not yet have an official opening date for the restaurant to share, but we will have more information on this very soon."

See the original post here:

Noma, one of the world's best restaurants, to return as a wine bar - CNN

Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. adapt to current environment with enhanced support – Travel Daily News International

Posted on by

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. The mantra We Care More can be found painted on the walls of the worldwide headquarters of Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc., yet this saying has never rang more true than now, when its employees, network of home-based travel agents and travel partners need to hear it most.

Everybody is craving social interaction and is anxious about the future. With a belief in transparency, the Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. leadership team has been providing business and industry updates daily through Town Halls, motivational webinars and a series of blog posts from Co-CEO/Chairman Brad Tolkin, Chief Operating Officer Debbie Fiorino and Senior Vice President/General Manager Drew Daly. Other educational content includes the ins and outs of virtual events so our agents can continue engaging with their clients. In addition, cruise line executives are hosting educational webinars to provide guidance on navigating this uncharted territory. All webinars are recorded to ensure every single agent has an opportunity to receive the information if they are unavailable to attend live.

Parent company World Travel Holdings has been a leader in the virtual workspace for more than a decade, so the corporate headquarters team was able to quickly deliver new virtual resources and tools. Previously scheduled in-person regional trainings and events have become interactive virtual conferences, enabling even more of our agents to attend and engage with the headquarters team while getting access to the same educational content the live events provided.

We say it 365 days a year and during these unprecedented times, one thing has never changed that our number one priority is taking care of our customers, and our customers are our Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. travel agents, said Fiorino. We are in the business of making business dreams become a reality, and this means making adjustments to ensure our agents can afford to stay in business while the industry is at a standstill.

To ease the financial burden, agents have the option to defer their monthly fees for at least three months, as well as keep their administrative fees based on prior sales. Also, the company is helping its agents understand the opportunities provided to them through the CARES Act with one-on-one conversations, as part of its webinars and educational resources. As part of World Travel Holdings, a powerhouse in the cruise travel industry, the company advocates on behalf of its agents to ensure they receive their protected commissions.

As a result of the current environment, the supplier changes and promotional offers have become even more complex, so the headquarters team has created infographics, charts, videos and more to educate and support agents so they can readily assist their clients with Future Cruise Credits and get them rebooked.

We are laser-focused on planning for the future and getting our agents prepared to handle the pent-up demand that we know will arise when people are able to start traveling again, said Daly. We are all in this together and rooting for the travel agent industry as a whole, we look forward to its resurgence.

Training is also paramount for new travel agents, with in-person travel agent training now being conducted virtually, complete with an online video cruise tour. New agents are taking this time to work with their dedicated Business Development Manager to develop a business plan and learn the ins and outs of the industry, so they will be prepared when the industry rebounds.

In addition, the team is using their expertise to swiftly change direction in strategy, creating alternative engagement and marketing assets to support agents in staying in front of their clients. Leading by example to demonstrate what agents can do for their own clients, the Business Development Team has created weekly newsletters and is hosting virtual MeetUps, as a means of engagement. Marketing has taken an educational and aspirational approach, creating social media posts and a Virtual Travel Guide that educates consumers about why they need a travel agent now more than ever, while simultaneously inspiring them to dream about future travels.

I have been a franchise owner of Dream Vacations for five years and this has been a very trying time professionally, but I am so thankful to have the support of my company headquarters, said Dawn Beers OBrien, Dream Vacations franchise owner and vacation specialist in San Jose, Calif. In this time of uncertainty, having this support and encouragement is so important. I am eternally grateful to be a member of the Dream Vacations family.'

See the original post here:

Dream Vacations, CruiseOne and Cruises Inc. adapt to current environment with enhanced support - Travel Daily News International

Enhancing our mission of beauty innovation for a better world Shiseido becomes Platinum Partner for Moodie Davitt Virtual Travel Retail Expo – The…

Posted on by

Japanese premium beauty group Shiseido has signed as a Platinum Partner for the inaugural Moodie Davitt Virtual Travel Retail Expo

The Expo which takes the form of a live 5-day event followed by a 30-day showcase begins on 12 October, just after the conclusion of the Chinese Golden Week holidays. It features a star-studded series of events across the five days, including a Symposium, category workshops and a new consumer research initiative.

Shiseido Travel Retail President & CEO Philippe Lesn commented: The Virtual Travel Retail Expo is an inspiring initiative, which is embracing the power of digitalisation to meet the evolving needs of our global industry.

Shiseido Travel Retail is energised by the opportunity to take a leading role in this new virtual community as a Platinum exhibitor, and we look forward to further enhancing our strong digital credentials in our mission of beauty innovation for a better world.

The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie said: Under the global stewardship of President & CEO Masahiko Uotani and the travel retail leadership of Philippe Lesn, Shiseido has become synonymous with innovation and digitalisation. In 2016, Uotani-san created the Shiseido+ Digital Academy as part of his Vision 2020 corporate strategy to make Shiseido the most digitally advanced company in beauty.

Virtual becomes reality as the pioneering Moodie Davitt Expo takes shape

Since that creation, the travel retail channel has witnessed some outstanding activations and innovations, culminating in the breathtaking Shiseido Forest Valley in collaboration with Jewel Changi Airport. We are honoured to welcome such a thought leader to our inaugural Virtual Expo.

Shiseido Travel Retail underscored its reputation for innovation and commitment to digitalisation at the recent Moodies Awards, when it picked up four major accolades.

Best Launch/Relaunch Campaign Winner Brand: Shiseido Travel Retail The Royal Launch of K by Dolce & Gabbana

Best KOL-Driven Campaign Winner Brand: Shiseido Travel Retail NARS Jet Set in Red

Best Branding Advertising Campaign Winner Brand: Shiseido Travel Retail Shiseido Forest Valley

Best Use of Digital to an Internal Audience/Employee Engagement Winner Brand: Shiseido Travel Retail Share STR

Note:To discover more about the Moodie Davitt Travel Retail Virtual Expo, please email Martin Moodie atMartin@MoodieDavittReport.comor Gemma Aldridge atGemma@MoodieDavittReport.com. Early bird rates expire on 1 June.

A landmark moment from September 2019 at the Shiseido Red Ginza Street pop-up in CDFGs magnificent Haitang Bay store, where guests were invited to check in to the future of skincare. The pop-up occupied the central atrium space and recreated Tokyos iconic intersections, transporting guests into one of the worlds most famous luxury shopping districts.

Shiseido President and CEO Masahiko Uotani (second from left) and Travel Retail President & CEO Philippe Lesn (left) inaugurate the SENSE Art Installation at Shiseido Forest Valley in Jewel Changi Airport last May, a key moment in delivering Shiseidos mission of creating beauty innovation for a better world. Pictured also are Jewel Changi Airport Development Chief Executive Officer Jean Hung and Shiseido Chief Brand Officer Yoshiaki Okabe (right).

Shiseido Travel Retails Share STR won this years Moodies Award for Best Use by a Brand of Digital to an Internal Audience (Employee Engagement)

[Click on the video above to see The Moodie Davitt Report Fashion, Beauty & Social Media Editor Hannah Tan-Gillies turn into an avatar during the Shiseido Travel Retail launch of experiential activations Shiseido Sense Beauty Pop-up and Shiseido Forest Valley in collaboration with The Shilla Duty Free, Singapore Changi Airport, and Jewel Changi Airport Devt in May 2019]

Deploying the impact of digital with this K by Dolce&Gabbana activation at DXB (Dubai International Airport)

Augmented Reality at The Beauty Bar in The Shilla Duty Frees Changi T1 pop-up to honour the Shiseido Forest Valley launch in May 2019

Shiseido Travel Retail won another Moodies Award for the NARS Jet Set in Red Weibo campaign, snapping up the Best KOL-Driven Campaign by a Brand

Making a mark: Digital stamps mark the start of the traveller journey at Changi last May

See original here:

Enhancing our mission of beauty innovation for a better world Shiseido becomes Platinum Partner for Moodie Davitt Virtual Travel Retail Expo - The...

Aviation industry opens up slowly, and steadily – Times of India

Posted on by

With the aviation industry being one of the most affected during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that they come back to rule the skies, but with limited destinations. So now planes are indeed flying around the world on limited international routes. This could help in reviving the aviation industry to some extent, and allow people who urgently need to travel, a chance to do so.

India is already running international flights to limited destinations, while this month China, and South Korea have both opened a travel corridor between Seoul, and ten Chinese destinations. Meanwhile Europe too is opening up its borders, and beginning to allow international flights in a restricted manner. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania had lifted their travel restrictions between them on May 15. Furthermore, reports suggest that New Zealand and Australia should be resuming flights between the two counties soon.

Creating these bubble corridors should help the aviation industry a fair bit; however, this is full of risks. As travellers from around the world, mostly from those countries with high numbers of affected patients, such as Iran, Italy can possibly travel far and wide. There is always a chance that the virus may spread further, and affect those countries that are recovering, or have been able to recover to a considerable extent.

There are no minimum health requirements that can determine if a country can open up its aviation industry yet. Individual countries are doing what they can to determine this, and most nations are setting up a 14-day quarantine period. Australia and New Zealand have been working to determine a travel safe zone, and this is a good way to tackle the issue at hand.

See original here:

Aviation industry opens up slowly, and steadily - Times of India

Facial Recognition Market Report 2020 Industry Size, Share, Growth, Trends, Sales Revenue, Business Strategies, Key Countries Analysis by Leading…

Posted on by

This report focuses on the Covid-19 Impact on Facial Recognition Market status, future forecast, growth opportunity, key market and key players. The study objectives are to present Covid-19 Impact on Facial Recognition Market development in United States, Europe and China. In 2019, Covid-19 Impact on Facial Recognition Market size was million US$ and it is expected to reach million US$ by the end of 2025, with a CAGR of during 2020-2025.

Leading Companies Reviewed in the Report are:

NEC Corporation, Aware, Inc., Ayonix Corporation, Cognitec Systems GmbH, Gemalto NV, Animetrics, Daon, Id3 Technologies, Idemia, Innovatrics, Megvii, Neurotechnology, NVISO SA, StereoVision Imaging, Inc., Techno Brain Group, etc.

Get Exclusive Sample of Report on Facial Recognition market is available @ https://www.adroitmarketresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/908

The report also summarizes the various types of Covid-19 Impact on Facial Recognition Market. Factors that influence the market growth of particular product category type and market status for it. A detailed study of Covid-19 Impact on Facial Recognition Market has been done to understand the various applications of the products usage and features. Readers looking for scope of growth with respect to product categories can get all the desired information over here, along with supporting figures and facts.

The comprehensive value chain analysis of the Facial Recognition market will assist in attaining better product differentiation, along with detailed understanding of the core competency of each activityinvolved. The Facial Recognition market attractiveness analysis provided in the report aptly measures the potential value of the market providing business strategists with the latest growth opportunities.

The report classifies the Facial Recognition market into different segments based on product, material, and application. These segments are studied in detail incorporating the market estimates and forecasts at regional and country level. The segment analysis is useful in understanding the growth areas and probable opportunities of the Facial Recognition market.

Browse the complete report @ https://www.adroitmarketresearch.com/industry-reports/facial-recognition-market

Global Facial Recognition Market is segmented based by type, application and region.

Based on Type, the Market has been segmented into:

by Technology (2D facial recognition, 3D facial recognition, facial analytics recognition), Application, End User (BFSI, media & entertainment, telecom & IT, Government & Defense, Healthcare, Retail & E-commerce)

Based on application, the Market has been segmented into:

By Application, End User (BFSI, media & entertainment, telecom & IT, Government & Defense, Healthcare, Retail & E-commerce)

This market research report provides a big picture on Facial Recognition Market, on a Global basis, offering a forecast and statistic in terms of revenue during the forecast period. The report covers a descriptive analysis with detailed segmentation, complete research and development history, latest news and press releases. Furthermore, the study explains the future opportunities and a sketch of key players involved in the Facial Recognition Market hike in terms of revenue.

Every crucial and decisive detail for the development of the market and the restraining factors that may hamper the Facial Recognition market in near future is mentioned with solutions in the report. Segmentations of the market are studied specifically to give profound knowledge for supplementary market investments. Detailed segmentation of the market, on the basis of Type and Application and a descriptive structure of trends and restrictions of the segments and sub-segments are mentioned in the report. It also provides the market size and estimates a forecast to 2025 with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South & Central America. The report also provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions after evaluating political, economic, social and technological factors.

For Any Query on the Facial Recognition Market @ https://www.adroitmarketresearch.com/contacts/enquiry-before-buying/908

About Us :

Adroit Market Research is an India-based business analytics and consulting company incorporated in 2018. Our target audience is a wide range of corporations, manufacturing companies, product/technology development institutions and industry associations that require understanding of a Markets size, key trends, participants and future outlook of an industry. We intend to become our clients knowledge partner and provide them with valuable Market insights to help create opportunities that increase their revenues. We follow a code- Explore, Learn and Transform. At our core, we are curious people who love to identify and understand industry patterns, create an insightful study around our findings and churn out money-making roadmaps.

Contact Us :

Ryan JohnsonAccount Manager Global3131 McKinney Ave Ste 600, Dallas,TX75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: USA: +1 972-362 -8199/ +91 9665341414

Read the rest here:

Facial Recognition Market Report 2020 Industry Size, Share, Growth, Trends, Sales Revenue, Business Strategies, Key Countries Analysis by Leading...

Partnership brings together education and diagnostic tool on concussion – Med-Tech Innovation

Posted on by

Neurotechnology and brain health analytics player SyncThink and concussion education technology specialist TeachAids have announced a partnership to bring together concussion prevention education and a virtual reality diagnostic tool.

CrashCourse is an interactive educational module that teaches athletes, parents and coaches about concussions. It includes scientific knowledge and helps to dispel myths and misconceptions about the concussion recovery process. This, alongside EYE-SYNC, which allows a clinician to use analysis to decipher between brain systems to determine whether a patient may be performing poorly or impaired, will create a brain health education and evaluation system.

Piya Sorcar, founder of TeachAids, said: There is great synergy between our two organisations. This partnership offers the latest concussion education and combines it with mobile, objective measurement technology.

This implementation will be available to all SyncThink partners which include top athletic organisations and clinical partners providing medical care and education for over 10,000 high school and college athletes. Future functionality may also allow for a CrashCourse certification process within the SyncThink User Management Portal. This implementation could make tracking those who receive concussion education easier while complying with sport governing bodies educational requirements.

SyncThink founder and medical advisor to TeachAids, Jamshid Ghajar said: "Using the SyncThink platform to feature the CrashCourse educational technology for athletes and coaches is brilliant. Now clinicians can use the Eye-Sync tests and metrics alongside CrashCourses latest evidence-based information on concussion."

Currently, Eye-Syncprovides a battery of eye tracking assessments, as well as numerous clinical workflow enhancers, making it possible for the clinician to capture objective data in a shorter period of time. CrashCourse will also be made available through this interface, allowing clinicians to provide critical and timely educational information to their patients and partners in the community.

See original here:

Partnership brings together education and diagnostic tool on concussion - Med-Tech Innovation

A Day That I Will Never Forget Part Three – Fiji Sun Online

Posted on by

Rear Admiral Viliame Naupoto is the Commander Republic of the Fiji Military Forces. The events he recounts here occurred when he was the Commanding Officer of the RFNS KULA. This

RFNS Kula on its way to the aid of a distressed yacht early last year just outside of Suva Harbour. The vessel was decommissioned on December 21, 2019. The vessel served the Republic of Fiji Military Forces Naval Division for 25 years. Photo: RFMF Naval Division

Ireproduce below a search and rescue story that I penned many years back that did not make it to the dailies then. I retell this story in the hope that someone will know the two girls and let me know how they are, better still perhaps a chance to meet them again. I reproduce it exactly the way I wrote it then. Here is Part Three

Our first attempt was to launch upwind, meaning that the ship was to be moving forward, heading into the wind (and waves) at around six to eight knots while the seaboat is launched.

This is an evolution that we set a record in whilst we were doing our work up in Australia before we sailed KULA to Fiji. The way this is tested is usually through a man overboard exercise.

The testing officer will throw Oscar into the sea whilst the ship is steaming at some speed, after which he will run into the bridge with a fake panic look on his face and blurts out man overboard starboard side! or port side depending on which side of the ship Oscar was thrown into the sea.

The officer who is on watch will immediately turn the ship to whatever side Oscar was in and do a few other standard turns and at the same time, someone in the bridge will sound the relevant alarms and announce via the PA System Man overboard, man overboard, man overboard, man overboard starboard/port side, standby to recover by sea boat.

This is when the stopwatch starts and will stop when the seaboat takes off. We would do this evolution in just two minutes and in no time Oscar is back safely on board. If you are getting worked up reading this bit, you should relax, Oscar is a dummy, not a real person!

Launching the seaboat has a few moves. First, the seaboat is winched up from its cradle and then swung out to the side of the ship, and then lowered to the sea and then the boat crew will get in and drive the seaboat away. It is an easy evolution when done in calm seas, but extremely dangerous when the sea is rough.

We were going to attempt this in conditions way beyond the safe working condition. We had no other better choice. The one thing that kept me going was my complete confidence in the ability of my crew. They were a seasoned bunch and very close buddies and at times like this, we were even closer, our hearts beating almost as one.

All hands attended to the launching of the seaboat except for Petty Officer Vasukiwai (our Radio Operator) who stayed with me on the bridge. I manoeuvred the ship upwind at eight knots and gave the okay to commence, but as soon as the seaboat was off the cradle it was sitting on, it became a fast-moving projectile as it began swinging back and forth uncontrollably at a fast pace even with the extra weight that the crew had exerted on it trying to keep it steady.

The ship was pitching at too sharp an angle because of the high waves, that it created a pendulum effect on the seaboat that was difficult to control and there was a great risk of it crashing into one of the crew or smashing someone overboard.

My attention was divided between three situations. I would watch the wave in front then quickly look back to the crew with the seaboat and then across to where the two girls were, just to confirm that the punt had not capsized. We exchanged signals with Sub-Lieutenant Kean and cancelled the evolution.

The seaboat was now back on the cradle safely and I turned the ship around. Now we had to try again but launching downwind in five to seven-metre swells. All this was done in full view of the young girl who was kneeling and it must have been demoralising for her to see us not being able to launch.

I steadied the ship, now downwind and we started the evolution again. This time the ships movement was not as bad, so the crew managed to hoist the seaboat off the cradle and swung the seaboat to the side of the ship ready to lower. Now the trick was all in the timing of lowering the seaboat to the crest of a wave and quickly disengaging the winch hook from the seaboat and let the seaboat drop with the wavetime it wrongly and the seaboat will free fall when the wave disappears from beneath it and the cable could snap causing injury to those in close range and a high chance that the boat will land awkwardly, the outboard engine could be damaged or even fall off or worse still, the seaboat could capsize.

To fully understand this part of the story, let me first explain a few rigging around the seaboat.

Whenever KULA puts to sea, a rope about the size of your thump is always made ready on the Port side of the ship. One end is secured to a bollard from the bow and the rope is then run along the ship side towards the back and the other end is then secured on the railing near the position where the seaboat is lowered. On this end of the rope is a quick disengaging hook. On this hook is a small lever that when you pull, the hook is disengaged.

This rope is called the boat rope. Fixed onto the front end of the seaboat is the partner clip of this hook. When the seaboat is lowered, it will be swung outboard to the shipside, the boat rope is clipped on to the partner clip on the front end of the seaboat and then the seaboat is lowered to the sea. Fixed to the back of the seaboat is another small rope that is used to secure the stern and is used as a steading line when the seaboat is being lowered or hoisted. Once the boat crew are in they will start the engine, let go the stern rope, drive the seaboat forward and away from the ship, disengage the boat rope and attend to the task at hand. Remember this all done whilst the ship is steaming at around 8 to 10 knots.

Our boat rope is rigged differently, thanks to the ingenuity of Petty Officer Vodo. It is rigged in such a way that the boat rope is disengaged by pulling on a small rope that is tied to the lever and the rope is long enough for someone standing on the deck to disengage it. This pieces of seaboat equipment feature prominently in this next part.

Now my attention was on four situations; watching that bow of the ship and the aspect of the wave in front, looking back to the situation with the launching crew, look across to where the two girls were, and now I had to pay attention also to the huge swells coming from behind the ship.

Credit to the launching team, the seaboat was safely lowered and now all that was left was for the boat crew to climb down the side of the ship via the Jacobs Ladder (those rope ladders with wooden planks) into the seaboat and drive it away from the ships side.

Now all this is done while the ship is moving forward at some speed because, in addition to the engines, the ship is also being pushed forward by the huge swells from the back.

Yes, success, a wonderful feeling indeed given the unsuccessful attempt to launch upwind. Next second it was gonedisaster struck!

The seaboat was on the water and the two boat crew were scrambling to climb down the Jacobs Ladder, but before they could even start, I felt from the flying bridge that the aspect of the bow to the surface was too steep which meant that the back end was higher than the front and as I looked back, a huge swell had caught up with us from the back, lifted the stern of KULA and the seaboat (that is hooked up to the boat rope and the steadying rope at the stern ) and pushed us forward at some speed.

To be continued

Feedback: rosi.doviverata@fijisun.com.fj

Read the original post:

A Day That I Will Never Forget Part Three - Fiji Sun Online

Ascension Mercy in Oshkosh coping with COVID-19 – Advance Titan

Posted on by

Courtesy of an Ascension Press Release Ascension also follows the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions protocol for universal masking, meaning staff are asked to wear face coverings while on the clock at the hospital.

As hospitals around the country help fight COVID-19, the Ascension Mercy Campus in Oshkosh has had to adjust in order to continue to provide care for those in need.

Jennifer Derks, vice president of hospital operations at the Ascension Mercy Campus in Oshkosh, Ascension: Calumet in Chilton and Ascension: St. Elizabeth in Appleton, said they now screen staff members before they even walk through the hospitals doors.

All Ascension associates are screened for COVID-19 symptoms before they come to work, Derks said. Its something that we do diligently as a part of our jobs; its what we do to make sure that we can safely care for patients in our community.

Ascension also follows the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions protocol for universal masking, which means staff are asked to wear face coverings while on the clock at the hospital.

Derks also extends this request to incoming patients and visitors. Visiting hours are still under review, but Derks encourages family members and loved ones to schedule virtual visits with friends and family in the hospital.

Some of our sites have provided devices to help people stay connected to their family members, Derks said. Its really important during this time to stay connected, and if folks cant be on campus to be with their loved ones, then were making sure that virtually they can be with their loved ones while theyre here.

Ascension Wisconsin had moved to a temporary virtual visitation policy on March 21 for both inpatient and outpatient settings. Derks said that physical visitors are still welcome for certain patients, but there are restrictions as to how many visitors are allowed.

Women who are in labor and delivery and postpartum are allowed one visitor it must be the same visitor throughout labor and delivery and postpartum, Derks said. One legal guardian is permitted in the neonatal intensive care unit; pediatrics are allowed one visitor.

Furloughed is a word that has been on the tongue of many people recently. People in all fields are being furloughed or let go due to reasons surrounding COVID-19. Derks said that, due to the size of a group like Ascension, staff at the Mercy Campus and other Ascension facilities have not had to worry about that.

One of the benefits of being part of a larger organization such as Ascension, is at the national level, Ascension is committed to protecting the pay of associates during this time, Derks said. That includes a commitment to no lay-offs and a variety of actual paid protection programs. And they will continue to do that for as long as possible.

Having the extra staff has been a large benefit to hospitals around the state and country. Derks said she has been impressed with how many staff members are ready and willing to help wherever they are needed.

We definitely have had the ability to do that with staff [move between facilities], and weve had a lot of folks come forward to say hey, Id like to be able to help someplace else. How can I do that, and how can you help me make that happen? Derks said. And weve been able to do that from a national and state level.

Many hospitals have also witnessed shortages of Personal Protective Equipment. These shortages range from nitrile gloves and gowns to masks and other items. Derks said that this has not been a big issue at any Ascension facilities, but donations are still welcome.

Weve implemented aggressive conservation methods to ensure were prepared for an extended increase in patient volumes and continued supply chain pressure over the coming months due to COVID-19, Derks said. As we get any new products in, all of our new products are reviewed by our implementation team and infection prevention team in a collaborative effort to make sure all of our PPE products are approved before they are circulated for use.

Derks says organizations or individuals who want to make a donation should email *protected email* for more details.

She added that the Mercy Campus also offers a drive-thru COVID-19 testing station, but it is only available to those who have a doctors order stating they have symptoms that need testing.

It is not a testing center where anybody would drive through to get tested; you really need to have doctors orders to do that, Derks said. So thats why were telling folks really to make sure theyre best first connection point is reaching out to their primary care practitioner.

There is an Ascension hotline available for Wisconsinites who may have questions or are concerned that they have COVID-19 symptoms. That number is 1-833-981-0711. Frequently Asked Questions and a self-assessment tool for those with specific health concerns can also be found at healthcare.ascension.org/covid-19.

See the original post:

Ascension Mercy in Oshkosh coping with COVID-19 - Advance Titan

Canucks: 3 ways for fans to enjoy the ascension – The Canuck Way

Posted on by

VANCOUVER, BC - OCTOBER 09: Quinn Hughes #43 of the Vancouver Canucks celebrates his first NHL goal against the Los Angeles Kings with teammate Tyler Myers #57 during the first period at Rogers Arena on October 9, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Ben Nelms/Getty Images)

The Vancouver Canucks fan base is often regarded as one of the NHLs most passionate.

Thanks to some savvy drafting, management has quickly put this team back in the playoff hunt. This team immense potential, and theyre just getting started. Here are the three ways for Canuck fans enjoy the ascension (if the season resumes).

The Canucks have assembled a promising core of players that are lead by a 25-year-old captain, Bo Horvat.Quinn Hughes is only 20 years of age, andElias Pettersson is still a sophomore. This young team still has a lot to learn, and they will inevitably struggle in all kinds of areas that will be extremely frustrating to watch.

All through the 2019-20 season, Vancouver has been criticized for being unable to play a full 60-minute game. Consistent back-checking, winning the battles along the boards, fighting for every faceoff: These are skills that develop as you spend more time in the league. The team will have to learn through their mistakes, and fans need to just bite their tongues and let the players figure it out.

Sidney Crosby won his first Stanley Cup in his fourth NHL season and did not touch it again for seven years . Alexander Ovechkin, arguably the greatest goal-scorer of all time, didnt lift the Cup until he was 32 years old. Greatness takes time but remember, all good things come to those who wait.

With any big fan base comes a lot of hot takes and plenty of division. The Canucks have a massive following which leads to a variety of different opinions. They were able to get the head of scouting, Judd Brackett, trending on Twitter because of all the people who wanted to weigh in on the drama.

Social media often makes small incidents seem like the worlds biggest problem and it can easily distort peoples attitudes. Petersson turning the puck over for the game-winning goal can be magnified a thousand times that night and just blow away the next time the Canucks win. Perspective is important, and its hard to have it when youre constantly on social media.

Canuck fans need to remember that theyre all cheering for the same team. Everyone can have different opinions but at the end of the day, they all want to see the same thing: A Stanley Cup parade in Vancouver.

This sounds obvious, but the journey is just as important as the destinations. All the heartbreaks, all the challenges the team and fans go through are critical in bringing everyone together. If the Canucks won the Cup every year, it would eventually go stale. Knowing that your team put in their blood, sweat and tears to achieve this goal is what will make the moment even sweeter.

Its not every day that teams have the opportunity to watch a player like Hughes go coast to coast or Pettersson score from a seemingly impossible position. The Canucks have built a truly special core, and their talents should never be taken for granted.

The St. Louis Blues waited 51 long years before finally hoisting the Stanley Cup, and it seemed like a giant weight was lifted off the city. The Washington Capitals waited for 42 years. Joe Thornton has played in the postseason 17 times, but hes yet to capture a ring. The Stanley Cup is the hardest trophy to win in sports, and knowing that you stuck by your team through thick and thin will make the ultimate victory so much better.

Originally posted here:

Canucks: 3 ways for fans to enjoy the ascension - The Canuck Way

‘Is Jesus body in space?’ And other Ascension questions you didnt know you had – Catholic News Agency

Posted on by

Denver Newsroom, May 14, 2020 / 02:00 am MT (CNA).- When Jesus rose from the dead three days after the crucifixion, he appeared for 40 days thereafter to his apostles and many of his other followers in his physical, glorified body.

And that glorified body, while it was still recognizable as the man of Jesus, could do some pretty amazing stuff - like walking through walls and suddenly appearing or disappearing.

After 40 days, while together with his apostles, Jesus was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.

The belief of the Catholic Church, expressed in Scripture and in the Apostles Creed, is that Jesus ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.

Like many mysteries of the Catholic faith, the Ascension seems to raise more questions than it answers. CNA spoke with two theologians about some of our burning Ascension-related questions.

If Jesus physical body ascended into heaven, does that mean heaven is a physical place? And if it is a physical place, could we theoretically fly there in, say, a spaceship?

The short answers are: sort of, and probably not.

Dr. Michael Barber is an associate professor of Scripture and theology at the Augustine Institute in Denver, Colorado. He contributed to a book on the final judgment and is the author of Salvation: What Every Catholic Should Know.

Barber said that in order to understand heaven and the Ascension, we have to look to scripture and understand the characteristics of Jesus resurrected body first.

We've got in 1 Corinthians 15, the fact that in the resurrection, Jesus isn't just resuscitated. It's not like he just comes back to life - his body is changed. As Paul says, we will all be changed in the resurrection. So there's actual change that takes place in Jesus's body, Barber told CNA.

And you see this in the Easter narratives. The apostles are hiding in the upper room. They've locked the door, but somehow Jesus stands in their midst. How did he get into the room? he added.

Barber said that according to St. Thomas Aquinas, what this aspect of Christs resurrected body tells us is that basically what happens is that heaven is outside of the universe in what Thomas would call an uncontained place.

This means that Jesus ascended body, along with the Blessed Virgin Marys assumed body - two bodies the Catholic Church teaches are definitely in heaven - do not need to be in some preexisting place out of the universe...because their bodies are not contained and not limited by space and time.

St. John Damascene would say, and he's quoted in the Catechism of the Catholic Church... that Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father and he exists there and he's seated bodily, Barber said.

So heaven does have a physical dimension to it. But we also don't want to think of it like we would imagine places in the material cosmos. It's not like Jesus ascends into heaven and then he's going out past the rings of Saturn and out past Andromeda. There's some sense in which he transcends space and time. How this exactly works precisely isn't fully revealed to us...so we're trying to make these things more intelligible, but it is difficult to really narrow it down, he said.

Though we cannot say with certitude where this place is to be found or what its relation is to the whole universe, revelation does not allow us to doubt of its existence, Barber noted, referencing the writings of Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, a French Catholic theologian and Dominican friar who wrote about the Ascension and the last things.

Put it this way: it's a mystery, Barber added.

Michael Root, a professor of systematic theology at the Catholic University of America, told CNA that what the Ascension affirms is that Jesus retains his body after the resurrection and when he is in heaven - importantly, he does not shed his humanity.

That's a major affirmation implicit in the Ascension, is that (Jesus) remains fully human, he has a body. I presume we will see the marks of the crucifixion on his body, as St. Thomas did. But that leaves us with a question, your question: Where does the body go? Root said.

I think the first thing to be said is: we don't know, he added.

Root noted that in the Middle Ages, Christians thought of the universe in a very different way than Christians do today. At the time, Christians thought the world was surrounded by seven crystalline spheres, which were the seven heavens, and contained things in the sky such as the sun and the moon and the stars. Beyond those spheres was empyrean heaven, where Jesus was said to dwell.

In the Divine Comedy, Dante uses that cosmology.

God is in in heaven beyond all the heavens, which makes one think one could travel to it. It would be very difficult - there's a lot of questions on how you could get through these crystalline spheres. But that's the way they fit it into picture (of the universe), Root said.

Our understanding of the universe and science is now quite different, Root noted.

I don't think we should expect that we could fly to where Jesus is with a rocketship, he said, though it might be that heaven, and therefore Jesus body, exists in a dimension that is not accessible by humans.

Modern science will sometimes talk about a space-time continuum. Quantum physics will talk about maybe there being other space-time continua than ours. Does his body ascend into a different dimension, other dimensions than we have? he asked.

But one always has to say: We have to think about this somehow, but we shouldn't pretend that our way of thinking about it...that we can put a whole lot of weight on it.

If Jesus body and Marys body can be in heaven, why must everyone else wait until the end of time to be reunited with their glorified bodies?

Barber said the answer can be found in Romans 8:16-17: The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

We are fellow heirs with Christ provided we suffer with him, Barber noted. You can't get to Easter Sunday, apart from Good Friday. You can't have a resurrected body, you can't share in Jesus's resurrection, without also participating in his death.

This imitation of Christ, even unto death, is the ultimate expression of faithfulness that one can achieve, Barber said.

Christ wants to do in his mystical body, the church, what he did in his personal body. He wants us all to be resurrected with him, but we also have to be conformed to his image, as Paul says in Romans 8:29. That involves learning obedience, it means exhibiting faithfulness by embracing our cross and picking up our cross, he said.

Death is the ultimate expression of faithfulness. A lot of people want to imagine that Mary's assumption means that she was glorified without her death, but John Paul II doesn't really go in that direction. John Paul II seems to indicate that no, Mary actually died, because if she hadnt been allowed to do so, it would almost be to deprive Mary of making the ultimate gift of herself. Because of the fall (of man), death is a curse. But what Christ does is he redeems death.

Root added that we must wait for our resurrected bodies because we must wait for the transformation of all matter - which will happen at the end of time, when there will be a new heaven and a new earth, as noted in the book of Revelation.

Part of getting our bodies back, so to speak, will be the transformation of all matter. I mean, in some ways, I don't want my body back. I'd like a better one, one where my knees don't hurt, other such things. So our resurrection is a part of the consummation of all things, he said.

In a way, he said, that transformation has already occurred in Jesus and Mary, who are already reunited with their glorified bodies in heaven.

But...the resurrection of all the rest of us must be a part of that transformation of all things, the transformation of matter, the glorification of all things.

From thence he will come again to judge the living and the dead: How is the Final Judgment different from the judgment of each persons soul at their death?

In the Apostles Creed, the next line after Jesus ascension into heaven is that he will come again to judge the living and the dead. How is this different than each soul going to either heaven, hell, or purgatory at the time of that persons death?

That's a really important question, and it's a helpful thing to reflect on, Barber said.

You know, a lot of these aspects of Catholic teachings at first, they seem really strange and they seem almost unnecessary...It seems like there's just these different beliefs that crop up and they don't really fit together. And so it just looks like this man-made religion that doesn't really have a lot of truth to it.

But that is not the case, Barber said, and the Catechism explains these two judgments further.

When you die, you stand before the throne of God and you need to make a given account, Barber said, a belief which can be found in Hebrews Chapter 9: "It is appointed for men to die once and after that comes the judgment."

So we know that there's a judgment at the moment of our deaths, Barber said. But then we also know about the general judgment of the dead. Jesus talks about this in Matthew 25. He's going to come back and separate the sheep from the goats.

What this judgment means, Barber said, is that Jesus will fully reveal, to its furthest consequences, the good each person has done or failed to do during his life.

So here's the reality, during our own life we can't know (all of the consequences) of our choices, of our actions. We don't see, even in our lifetime, how the decisions we make affect future generations, he noted.

But the Catechism of the Church explains that on the last day, part of the final judgment is making known everything that has been hidden, which Jesus talks about in Matthew 12, he said.

Jesus says that nothing is covered up that will not be revealed. So on the last day, the things that are said in the dark will be heard in the light. What you've heard whispered in private rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops.

In other words: There are going to be no more secrets.

What the Final Judgment does *not* mean, Root said, is that a souls personal judgment - whether they go to heaven, hell, or purgatory - can somehow be reversed. It isn't that you can hope you'll get a better deal in the last judgment. It's not like that, he said.

The last judgment is a public event, Root added, while a souls own judgment is a private one.

History as a whole has a final destiny with God. God will sum history up...we will all see the glory of God, including his judgment, together. And we will see that the murderer does not triumph, that the meek will inherit the earth. And we will see that cruelty, oppression was always wrong. And it is defeated in the end. So, the stress has often been on the sort of public character of the last judgment, he said.

And, importantly, just as Jesus does not ultimately shed his body, everyones bodies will participate either in their eternal reward or eternal punishment once the final judgment has been made, Root noted.

Our body participated in our good and bad deeds, and so the body must in the end participate in the judgment.

Read the original here:

'Is Jesus body in space?' And other Ascension questions you didnt know you had - Catholic News Agency

Flyover planned for today above Ascension All Saints in Racine and 20 other state medical centers – Journal Times

Posted on by

Help support our COVID-19 coverage

We're providing access to COVID-19 articles for free. Please help support our work by subscribing or signing up for an account. Already a subscriber? Log in.

RACINE Four F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter aircraft from the Air National Guard are scheduled to perform a flyover above Ascension All Saints hospital at sometime between 5:50 and 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Expect the planes to approach the hospital from the southwest.

The flyover is one of 21 hospital and medical center flyovers in Wisconsin planned for Tuesday as part of the nationwide Operation American Resolve campaign intended to show appreciation for the thousands of heroes on the frontlines, as well as the brave citizens and neighbors who have been battling and supporting the COVID-19 response, the 115th Fighter Wing said in a press release.

Several of the pilots performing the flyovers have spouses working on health care teams, according to Col. Jon Kalberer, 115th Operations Group commander.

Coming together during times of uncertainty is the American way, and the reason that citizen airmen in the Air National Guard serve. We want to show our support for that effort, as we are all in this together, Kalberer stated.

The flyover will be considered part of a regular training and proficiency mission, which is a required training to be completed by pilots to remain up to date on qualifications. The flyover will meet the training requirement of being able to arrive at a location at a precise time.

See the original post here:

Flyover planned for today above Ascension All Saints in Racine and 20 other state medical centers - Journal Times

Livingston Parish waterways closed to recreation indefinitely; Ascension waterways open – The Advocate

Posted on by

After heavy rains swept through the area on Thursday, two neighboring parishes with plenty of rivers, streams and bayous are taking different approaches on recreational traffic.

Livingston Parish will close its waterways indefinitely to recreation at 6 p.m. Friday while Ascension will leave its open for now, officials in the parishes said.

The uneven orders mean the Amite River and the Amite River Diversion Canal, popular recreational waterways that fall in and out of the two parishes' borders, will be both open and closed depending on the location.

Livingston Parish officials cited the recent heavy storms, an increase of debris in the waterways and the possibility of more rain as reasons for the closure in proclamation for the closure.

According to National Weather Service data, the Amite River at Denham Springs rose from around 11 feet Thursday morning to more than 17 feet by 5 a.m. Friday.

By 2 p.m. Friday it had dropped a foot but was expected to rise to 19.5 feet by Sunday.

Action stage for that river is 26 feet, and flood stage is 29 feet.

Ascension Parish President Clint Cointment made the decision to keep that parishes' waterways open after consulting with the Louisiana Office of Wildlife and Fisheries and his parish's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.

In a statement, he said both entities concurred with his decision to keep waterways open.

Cointment, however, stressed that Parish officials are regularly monitoring the weather and, if conditions change, new directives will be issued. He also urged boaters to exercise caution while on the water.

The Tangipahoa River at Robert fared worse during the storm, reaching 15.5 feet and minor flood stage by early Friday. Moderate flood stage is 18 feet and major would be 21 along the river in Tangipahoa Parish.

Tangipahoa Parish President Robby Miller said Friday that the area around Robert had some flash flooding overnight but it was receding by noon.

National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Efferson said Friday that while both rivers saw an increase, they were not problematic and are not expected to see river levels continue rising to a dangerous point.

Showers and thunderstorms are likely across the area through the weekend, according to National Weather Service data.

Success! An email has been sent with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

Read the original:

Livingston Parish waterways closed to recreation indefinitely; Ascension waterways open - The Advocate

East Ascension Class of 2020 – The Advocate

Posted on by

The East Ascension High School Class of 2020's graduation ceremony is scheduled for 7 p.m. May 28 at Spartan Stadium.

A drive-thru awards night is planned for Thursday at the school.

The class will be led by valedictorian Emma Cockrum and salutatorian Sadie Noble

Success! An email has been sent with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

Cockrum, the daughter of Corbit and Claudene Cockrum, plans to attend Northwestern State University to study English and eventually become a college professor. She was awarded the Louisiana Scholars' College Scholarship and Presidential Scholars Award.

She was student body president, Beta Club president, swim team captain, Second Team All-Freshman and two-time Second Team All-District for soccer, All-State Academic Composite Team for swim and soccer, Student of the Year, Quiz Bowl Team, National Honors Society, 2019 homecoming court, senior mentor to freshman students and earned the Louisiana Seal of Biliteracy in French.

Noble, the daughter of Toby and Sparkle Noble, plans to study chemical engineering at LSU. She received the Academic Scholar Resident Award and Louisiana Tiger Legacy Excellence Award.

During high school, she won first place at District Literary Rally in geometry, world history and calculus I; and was a member of the Creative Hands Art Club and National Honors Society.

The class also includes:

^ - Associate Degree

@ - Distinguished Honor Graduate (3.5 and Above)

* - Honor Graduate (3.0 - 3.49)

Lindsey Abbess *

Joshua Abrams

Anabelle Acosta @

Reanna Ahles

Ashleigh Alexander @

Adam Allen

Brandy Allen *

Brandon Allgood @

Lesly Amaya @

Jarvon Anderson, Jr.

Patricia Arias

Jerrica Arriola

Kaleb Babin

Ethan Bagwell *

Michael Bailey Jr. *

Tyren Bailey

Jeralyn Banks @

Joseph Barber @

John Bateman *

Mya Bell *

Alexia Benitez-Ramos @^

Allison Bennett

Kwame' Bennett

Yaeli Bernardino *

Jordan Bessix

Emily Blake

Ragan Blanchard

Mia Blazek

Keron Bolding

Dylan Bordages

Leyah Boudreaux @

Terrence Boudreaux

Tiana Boudreaux

Caleb Bourg *

Rachel Bracey

Jeremie Bracy

Jalen Braggs

Connor Braud *

Destiny Braud @

Kourtney Braud @

Bailey Breaux @

Cade Breaux

Jada Brown @

Jasmine Brown *

Liyah Brown @

Londyn Brown @

Vontaveon Brown

Ryan Brunner

Amaiya Buckner @

Alayna Bush @^

Jacob Bush @

Tanayah Bush @

Alexandria Bye *

Eduardo Cabrera @

Janette Cabrera

Elimar Carmona *

Karen Carrasco-Villa @^

De'Anthony Carter

Javon Carter

Justin Cassard @

Aja Causey

Carter Causey @

Camryn Chenevert *

Jillian Churchill @

A'niya Claiborne @

Grace Cortez *

Ryleigh Cotton @

Reece Coupel

Chase Cunningham

Amber Daigle *

Braden Daigle *

Logan Daigle *

Ashayla Davis

Breanna Davis

Ashanta Dean *

Jillian Dean *

Daniel Decoteau @

Laurie Deloach @

Dayani Diaz

Jaylen Dickerson

Amedeo Dickey *

Brooklyn Donaldson *

Phillip Ducote

Cameron Dunbar *

Courtney Dunbar @

Sydnie Dunbar @

Stevie Duplessis @

Excerpt from:

East Ascension Class of 2020 - The Advocate

Traditional graduation ceremonies planning to be held for Ascension Parish Schools – BRProud.com

Posted on by

According to Jackie Tisdell with Ascension Parish School System, traditional graduation ceremonies will be held at each school stadium next week.

7 p.m., Wednesday, May 27, 2020:ST. AMANT HIGH SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT AT THE PIT

7 p.m., Thursday, May 28, 2020:EAST ASCENSION HIGH SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT AT SPARTAN STADIUM

7 p.m., Friday, May 29, 2020:DONALDSONVILLE HIGH SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT AT BOUTTE STADIUM

7 p.m., Friday, May 29, 2020:DUTCHTOWN HIGH SCHOOL COMMENCEMENT AT GRIFFIN FIELD

In order for these ceremoniesto adhere to safety guidelines,graduates will be seatedsixfeet apart on the field;stadiumcapacity will remain at 25%, which means attendee tickets will be limited and strictly enforced; and members ofvulnerable populationswill beencouraged not to attend.EATEL will live stream all four graduations on YouTube so that those who cannot or choose not to attend may still observe the ceremonies. It is important to note that attendance at these ceremonies for graduates is optional. Please also note, if restrictions and guidelines in response to COVID-19 were to prohibit us from holding graduation ceremonies on our campuses, we are looking at other large indoor venues to accommodate these events later in the summer.

Visit link:

Traditional graduation ceremonies planning to be held for Ascension Parish Schools - BRProud.com

Who would you choose, Jesus or the Spirit? – Religion News Service

Posted on by

(RNS) When you create a password at your bank, it asks you some authentication questions. My favorite is, What historical person would you most like to meet? I always wonder how many people say Jesus.

On May 21, we celebrate the Ascension, the day Jesus left the Earth. I think a lot of us would like to have him back. But Jesus did leave and gave us the Spirit. Was that a fair trade?

If you could choose between having Jesus present today or having the Spirit, which would you choose? I think that for most Christians, it would be no contest. Most of us would give up a lifetime with the Spirit for five minutes with Jesus. We want Jesus; we can skip the Spirit.

And yet if that is what we believe, then we really did not understand the Gospels; we really did not understand Jesus.

The feast of the Ascension (May 21) celebrates letting go of the physical Jesus and preparing for the arrival of the Spirit on Pentecost (May 31). We don't want to do this any more than the apostles did when, at the Last Supper in John's Gospel, Jesus tells them that he must go. He must go so that he can send the Spirit.

Jesus tells his disciples in chapter 16 of John, "It is better for you that I go," because otherwise, the Spirit will not come. "But if I go, I will send him to you."

The disciples reply, in essence, "Forget the Spirit, we want you to stick around."

I think our response today would be the same. But Jesus says that it is better for us if we have the Spirit. Why is that?

I think it's because no matter how close we get to him, Jesus is always external, whereas the Spirit is within us. To put it another way, it's the choice between having Jesus or being Jesus.

It is the Spirit that makes us Jesus, makes us the body of Christ. It is the Spirit that gives us life and fills us with love. That is why Jesus must leave so that he can send the Spirit. It is not enough for us to be with Jesus; we must become Jesus, and we can only do that with the power of the Spirit.

Most Catholics get nervous when they hear charismatics or evangelicals talk about being filled with the Holy Spirit. At some point in our lives, we may have had a spiritual experience where we felt the presence of God, but most of the time we plod through our pedestrian spiritual lives with no fireworks.

I think our problem is that we don't know how to recognize the Spirit's presence in our lives. I think we experience the Spirit's presence not just at special moments, but every day of our lives. We just don't recognize it. If we truly believe that God is Love, as the Scriptures tell us, then every time we experience love, we experience the Spirit.

Stained glass window with symbol of the Holy Spirit. Image via Shutterstock

Every child who has a loving parent, has experienced the Spirit. The faithful love we experience from friends and spouses is an experience of the Spirit. The innocent and trusting love of children is a sign of the Spirit. Whenever we feel impelled to love, it is not just hormones; it is the power of the Spirit.

People who risk their lives to care for COVID-19 patients are filled with the Spirit. Those who dedicate their lives to justice and peace or to protecting Mother Earth are impelled by the Spirit.

In his 2016 apostolic exhortation, Amoris Latitia, Pope Francis said that he saw the presence of the Spirit in the womens movement when it worked for equality and the rights of women.

You might say, "This doesn't sound like the Spirit; this is all very human." I would argue that what is most human, what is most truly human in us, is the presence of the Spirit. The Spirit is present in everyone, calling us to be more than we ever thought we could be. Only the Spirit gives us the power to love unselfishly, to sacrifice ourselves for another, to commit ourselves with fidelity in good times and in bad, to put justice above our own advantage.

There is a second reason Jesus must leave: He must be transformed into the cosmic Christ.

In Lukes cosmology, heaven is in the sky. Our knowledge of astronomy and evolution gives us a different perspective. The ascension celebrates Jesus becoming the cosmic Christ who is related not just to Earth and humanity, but to the Universe and all that lives in it. In this sense, the Christ is bigger than Jesus, just as the Universe is bigger than our Earth. The ascended Jesus becomes the cosmic Christ sitting at the right hand of the Father.

In his first Easter homily, Pope Benedict said that the resurrection is the next step in human evolution. We help the world evolve when we unite ourselves with the resurrected Christ by becoming more loving. The Ascension reminds us that the Christ with whom we are united is the cosmic Christ who sits at the right hand of the Creator of the Universe.

As we celebrate the Ascension, we listen to the words of Jesus, but with ears opened by the Spirit. By the power of the Spirit we are united with Christ and with one another as one body. This Christ is not just the Jesus who walked the earth, but the cosmic Christ.

By the power of the Spirit, we join Christ and all creation in giving thanks to our God and Father. And when we break bread, the Spirit opens our eyes to see the Christ in our midst. As we celebrate the Ascension and Pentecost, we pray, "Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful."

Add to Favorite Articles

See the rest here:

Who would you choose, Jesus or the Spirit? - Religion News Service