By Paradise Afshar, CNN (CNN) — Actor Drake Hogestyn, known for his role as John Black on the soap opera “Days of Our Lives,” has died following a battle with cancer, his family announced on Saturday. He was 70 years old. “It’s with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Drake Hogestyn. He was thrown the curve ball of his life when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but he faced the challenge with incredible strength and determination,” reads a statement from the Hogestyn family, which was posted to the Days of Our Lives Instagram account. “After putting up an unbelievable fight, he passed peacefully surrounded by loved ones.” Other news outlets, including Variety and the Hollywood Reporter, have also reported his passing. The family’s statement describes Hogestyn as the “most amazing husband, father, papa, and actor,” and highlighted his love of performing for the “Days of Our Lives” audience and working with the show’s cast, crew and production team. “We love him and we will miss him all the Days of Our Lives,” the statement said. Hogestyn made his “Days of Our Lives” debut in 1986 and appeared in more than 4,200 episodes, according to IMDb. His work on the long-running soap opera earned him Soap Opera Digest Award wins in 1994 and 1995 for hottest male star, and another win in 2005 for favorite couple. The-CNN-Wire & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

CMC –  The Bermuda government has defended its decision to extend the duty relief for capital investments to restaurants and hotels to improve their facilities until 2029, saying it would help the British Overseas Territory remain competitive. Parliament last Friday approved both the Restaurants (Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Amendment Act 2024 and the Hotels (Temporary Customs Duty Relief) Amendment Act 2024. Junior Finance Minister Jache Adams, said that the relief was last extended in 2019 and formally expired on March 31 this year and that extending the measure for an additional five years would help the island remain competitive. “A vibrant and exciting hotel sector is an essential component in the Government’s quest to provide a first class experience for our island’s visitors. “Fortunately for Bermuda, most hoteliers are committed to upgrading their facilities to the highest standards possible, and those which have already reached world-class status are determined to maintain that achievement,” Adams said. He said the legislation would come into effect retroactively effective April 1, with the relief to now end on March 31, 2029 and that hotels claimed a combined total of US$8.8 million in customs duty relief in the past five years, while the claims by restaurants had increased to  US $2.5 million. Adams said the relief was separate from that offered in the Tourism Investment Act, which offered hotels relief on payroll tax and land tax.

BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC – Belizean authorities have launched an investigation in relation to a number of documents which purport to be genuine birth certificates but are not and are being used in the efforts to gain genuine immigration status. The Belize Police Department confirmed that it has been conducting investigations at the request of the Vital Statistics Unit (VSU), the Ministry of Immigration and the Social Security Board. The authorities say none of these documents were issued or printed by the VSU and that “this was confirmed by our IT Department, which scrubbed the documents to determine whether they were generated from the VSU system”. The police said persons are being interviewed, statements have been given, and charges are forthcoming. “Further security measures have since been implemented at the VSU, Ministry of Immigration and Social Security Board. These measures cannot be disclosed for obvious reasons,” adding “the ongoing VSU Digitalization project will strengthen our systems and reduce the potential for incidents like these. “The VSU, Ministry of Immigration and the Social Security Board assure the Belizean public that further measures have been taken to preserve the integrity of the systems in place. “Belizeans are urged not to engage in the dealing or procuring of fraudulent documents as it is only a matter of time before these acts are uncovered and prosecuted,” the authorities said in the statement.