Kenyan Port Workers Strike Over Higher Health Costs
More than 2,000 workers at East Africa's biggest port in Kenya's coastal city Mombasa went on strike on Wednesday protesting an increase in the amount they will have to pay for state-run health insurance. Cargo ships remained unattended as workers gathered and held discussions in groups at the port, the biggest in the region, which handles imports such as fuel for Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia. "The operations section is among those affected but senior officials at the port are currently meeting, and will communicate later," Sylvan Mghanga, an official from the corporate communications department at the port, told Reuters.
Panama Canal Website Earns Award
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) Web site (www.pancanal.com) received special recognition in the 2003 Golden @ Contest of El Salvador as the "Most Voted For Web site" by users in Central America. Accepted on behalf of the ACP by Roderick Guerra, Ambassador of Panama to El Salvador, the award was sponsored by Microsoft - El Salvador and El Diario de Hoy, a leading newspaper in El Salvador. Launched initially in August of 1998, and updated to the award-winning Web site version in December of 2000, Pancanal.com was constructed by an in-house graphics design team, executing the vision of Webmaster Leyla Raymondo and the ACP Corporate Communications Department.
J. Erik Hvide Steps Down From Helm At Hvide Marine
On June 2, J. Erik Hvide, chairman and CEO of Hvide Marine has decided to step down from his position effective immediately. Hvide's decision, formally stated at Hvide Marine's Board of Directors meeting was furthered by two factors - Mr. Hvide's own personal reasons and the company's declining profits. Hvide, who has been with the company that bears his name for the past 29 years, took the small-family-owned operation started by his father, Hans J. Hvide in 1958, to a leading international provider of marine support and transportation services. The former head executive was a key player in crossing Hvide Marine over to a publicly-traded company in 1996, as well as skyrocketing the company's profits from $40 million to $400 million over the past five years.
