Security measures are being tightened at Spanish airports
Starting next week, passengers on domestic and international flights departing from Spanish airports will be required to present identification both when boarding the aircraft and when checking in luggage. As RIA Novosti reports, this was announced on Friday by the press service of the Spanish Civil Aviation.
This measure is being introduced as part of a program developed in Spain to enhance air travel safety. Until now, passenger checks at Spanish airports were carried out only on international routes - selectively or in special cases. The change in rules is due to the tightening of security standards on European Union airlines, which followed the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States.
US resumes visas for sea and air crew members under simplified scheme
Starting May 24, the consular section of the US Embassy offers a new simplified procedure for renewing visas for sea and air crew members (the so-called drop-box procedure), Interfax-Ukraine reports.
Members of sea and air crews who qualify for this procedure can apply for visas on Tuesdays from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM without a prior interview appointment, the US Embassy press service reports.
Applicants must submit completed visa application forms, a passport, required supporting documents, pay the document processing fee (consular fee), and provide fingerprints for electronic scanning.
The consular section already has a similar simplified procedure for tourist and student visas. Now the consular section is offering this service to sea and air crew members.
They can use the simplified visa renewal procedure under certain conditions. Specifically, they must hold a valid or used D or C1/D visa that expired within the last 12 months; sea crew members must provide a copy of their current or last contract, as well as a seafarer's book; air crew members must provide a valid crew member certificate issued by the competent authorities of Ukraine.
Once the consular officer reviews the case and decides to issue a visa, the seafarer's book or crew member certificate, as well as the passport with the visa, will be sent to the owner by courier mail.
Moldova to issue biometric passports from 2006
Citizens of Moldova will start receiving passports with biometric data stored on an embedded microchip from April 2006. This is provided for by amendments to the law "On Identity Documents in the National Passport System" adopted by deputies last week, RIA Novosti reports.
The microchip will record information about eye color, hair, fingerprints, and the iris, as well as other biometric data. Passports will be replaced as documents currently held by citizens expire. Citizens will be able to have two passports so they can cross the border while documents are being reviewed at the embassy for a visa.
Japan to impose stricter penalties on drunk drivers
Japan plans to significantly toughen penalties for drunk driving after a drunk driver crashed a Jeep into a group of schoolchildren, RIA Novosti reports.
Hikaru Sato, 26, who was returning home in the city of Tagajo, Miyagi Prefecture, drank a strong alcoholic beverage and got behind the wheel. After a while, he failed to stop at a red light and crashed into a group of schoolchildren crossing the street. As a result, three teenagers died at the scene, and 22 received various injuries.
Recently, cases of drunk drivers behind the wheel have become more frequent in Japan, often drivers of heavy trailers. As Japanese TV channel NHK reports, citing a source in the country's main political department, a proposal to tighten the legislation will be submitted to parliament in the near future.
Lufthansa to take on discount carriers
Germany's largest airline Lufthansa will cut prices on its flights to European countries this summer to the level of discount carriers, Reuters reports. According to a source at the airline, this will be a temporary measure that may, however, be extended depending on results.
Lufthansa's chief financial officer Karl Ludwig Kley said the day before that his airline's aggressive pricing policy is a response to discounters' plans to bring 90 more aircraft to the market this summer. Lufthansa plans to increase its fleet at Hamburg airport by five Boeing 737-800 aircraft starting in June and sell tickets for flights to Europe for no more than €100. If the move proves effective, the company will add three more aircraft in August.
According to an informed source, Hamburg is just a testing ground for the experiment, and if it succeeds, the experience will be extended to other European airports. According to another source, the airline's ticket prices could fall to €60-65.
Hamburg is indeed crowded: Lufthansa will compete here with budget carriers DBA, Air Berlin, and HLX. The latter is owned by tour operator TUI. Europe's largest Irish discounter Ryanair also operates flights from here on six routes. Germanwings, in which Lufthansa itself holds a 49% stake, flies between Hamburg and Stuttgart.
Average wedding in the US costs $26,000
Over the past 15 years, Americans' spending on weddings has increased by 73%, and today an average wedding in the US costs $26,000. As RIA Novosti reports, the study was conducted by the well-known American publishing group Fairchild.
A study has shown that the average price of a diamond ring that a young man gives to his future bride during an engagement is now $4,146. The average cost of flowers for a typical American wedding is $1,121, and photo and video coverage costs $2,570.
According to the study, 2.1 million weddings will be held in the US in 2005, with total costs of $125 billion, roughly comparable to the GDP of a country like Ireland.
At present, the average age of brides and grooms in the US is between 27 and 29. Only a quarter of those getting married have their wedding expenses paid for by their parents. Almost a third of American newlyweds pay for wedding expenses themselves.
Estonia wants to introduce a tourist tax
The Pärnu municipal government is considering introducing a tourist tax. If the decision is approved, travelers will have to pay not only at local hotels and cafes, but also when entering the resort city. In other words, as Turist.ru notes, Estonia's Pärnu has followed in the footsteps of Latvia's Jūrmala.
As the head of the city assembly, Margus Tammekivi, told the newspaper «Pärnu Express», the decision to introduce the tax is economically justified. According to him, the budget lacks funds for investments, and the municipality does not consider it possible to raise additional funds from local residents. If the proposal is approved, Pärnu will go down in history as the first Estonian city where tourists are charged for the opportunity to visit the so-called summer capital of the republic.
Today, no other Estonian city, including Tallinn, has a direct tourist tax. Officials are still only thinking through the most profitable ways to collect money from holidaymakers. Estonia may borrow from Jurmala's experience and charge a certain sum for every car entering the city. A second option is the introduction of a local tax on individual businesses, which could amount to 0.25% of turnover.
As for Jurmala, in addition to the direct fee for vehicle entry, there is also a tourist tax. Last year, the Latvian health resort thus managed to replenish the treasury by 40,000 lats. Estonia found this figure attractive enough. According to representatives of the Pärnu municipal government, a tax of, say, 0.45 lats per tourist per day would not change the overall situation in the city. But it would add 4,300 lats to the city budget. The main thing is to present this news carefully so as not to offend tourists under any circumstances, the Pärnu authorities are confident.
By the way, in Riga, the idea of a tourist tax similar to Jurmala's, in the amount of one euro per day, was discussed at the beginning of this year. However, no concrete steps have been taken in this direction so far.
British pub-goers have been deprived of happiness
Thousands of pubs across Britain are set to do away with so-called "happy hours" - the time when drinks are served at a discount in drinking establishments. According to the BBC, the campaign is part of a large-scale effort to combat drunkenness.
All 32,000 members of the British Beer and Pub Association supported the proposal to abandon cheap alcohol. Carlsberg, Heineken, Scottish and Newcastle, Youngs, Theakston and Diageo, which own drinking establishments in Albion, have joined the campaign. The association also hopes that other pubs and supermarkets that sell alcohol at a discount will follow suit.
Commenting on the latest initiative, official representatives of the non-profit organization said they hope to help the government in the fight against drunkenness and anti-social behavior.
It must be said that the pub campaign was perfectly timed. According to statistics, the British economy loses 20 billion pounds annually due to drunkenness. The government has responded positively to the association's latest initiative.