By Cyber Era NG Special Correspondent

For the purpose of reinforcing the bilateral relation, a Memorandum of Understanding is now executed by and between DHL Global Forwarding, the air and ocean freight specialist of Deutsche Post DHL Group and Turkish Cargo, the air cargo brand of Turkish Airlines, at the IATA World Cargo Symposium which has started on April 25 in Istanbul. The cooperation between the two global air cargo providers will not only further improve each other’s operational efficiency, but also enhance Istanbul’s potential to become a leading logistics hub for the world.

Based on the MoU DHL Global Forwarding will leverage SMARTIST, the mega cargo facility of Turkish Cargo at Istanbul Airport, as one of its global hubs. This will increase the air cargo traffic handled via Istanbul significantly. The combination of Turkish Cargo’s intercontinental air cargo network with Türkiye’s unique geographical advantages, enables Turkish Cargo to support DHL Global Forwarding global hub concept with its vast specialized knowledge and advanced operational capabilities at Istanbul Airport .

“Spanning the European and Asian continents, Türkiye is geographically well-positioned to act as a logistics hub for Europe, Asia as well as the MEA region and the US. We are happy to intensify our long-lasting partnership with Turkish Cargo, that not only provides us with reliable air cargo capacity, but also state-of-the-art logistics infrastructure to handling air freight,” states Global Head of Air Freight, DHL Global Forwarding, Thomas Mack. 

Commenting on such cooperation, Turkish Airlines Chief Cargo Officer, Turhan Özen said; “Integration of SMARTIST, our mega cargo hub, with the global network of DHL Global Forwarding will enhance our service quality and strengthen the hub position of Istanbul further. This cooperation will also enable us to offer more effective, productive and uninterrupted air cargo service to our customers and add value to the industry upon the establishment of a powerful partnership by and between Turkish Cargo and DHL. We hereby wish that this MoU, which stands out as a great source of pride and excitement to us, be beneficial to both parties thereto.”

Turkish Cargo and DHL will continue to explore new areas for partnership and deepen their cooperation further in future.

Identical twins Alyssa Strickland and Brittney Strickland-Varnedoe are the first Black women promoted to feeder on-road supervisors at UPS’s fourth largest facility in the world, the SMART Hub in Atlanta. Known for its innovation and automation technology, the industry-leading facility  can process over 104,000 packages per hour.

The sisters’ primary responsibility is to put new tractor-trailer drivers through rigorous safety training to make sure they can maneuver big rigs on the road and deliver for millions of customers each day. That’s a semi-big deal.

In less than two years at UPS, the twins rose to management positions and have become an inspiration for other women in operations.

Did you know: UPS has one of the strongest and longest-standing promote-from-within cultures in America. In fact, more than 14,000 part-time UPS employees advanced to full-time jobs in 2021, and more than 18,000 current management team members were promoted from union positions.

About Alyssa: A former high school science teacher, Alyssa started her UPS career in 2018 when she took a job as a part-time operations supervisor. The early morning shift meant she could spend time with her newborn son during the day. She now enjoys her full-time management role and coaches basketball after work and on weekends.

About Brittney: Joining UPS in 2020 as a part-time package handler, Brittney soon accepted a promotion to part-time feeder supervisor before taking a full-time position as a feeder dispatch specialist. Alyssa coached Brittney through UPS’s Driver Training School that preps management for training roles, and she graduated on her two-year anniversary with the company. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her four-year-old son.

Gateway Casino and Entertainment, which operates a casino at Western Fair District in Ontario, has been hit by a ransomware cybersecurity attack that has forced the closure of all 14 casinos in the province. The attack occurred on April 16 and has left Gateway scrambling to restore its IT systems and reopen its sites.

Chief executive of the Canadian Gaming Association, Paul Burns said the timing of the attack was unfortunate given that casinos have been enjoying their first full year of uninterrupted play since 2019. However, he remained confident that patrons would return after this setback, citing the industry’s resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Financial reports submitted by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. support the suggestion that the industry is recovering provincewide. In its 2021-2022 fiscal year financial report, OLG reported profits to the province of $1.6 billion, up 335 per cent from its fiscal 2020-21 of $359 million. In 2022 and this year, it projects profits to the province will rise to $2.3 billion.

Gateway officials have said that they cannot confirm a reopening date at this time, but they are working with all relevant parties to restore their IT systems, reopen their sites, and get their employees back to work. The company is also working with a third-party business to help it recover from the attack.

It remains unclear exactly what happened when the attack ground the gambling business to a halt, but Gateway officials have called it a “ransomware attack on our IT systems.” They have also stated that there is no evidence that the personal information of customers or employees has been leaked.

Ransomware attacks occur when hackers lock up a computer system until a sum of money is paid to them. In a recent case that hit a local municipality, St. Marys had to pay a $290,000 ransom in Bitcoin. It is not yet clear if Gateway will need to pay a similar ransom to restore its IT systems.