According to estimates by the Airports Council International (ACI), the number of air passengers who traveled in 2005 reached 4 billion people. The 6.7% growth in passenger traffic was not hindered by high fuel prices, fear of terrorists, or bird flu.
Thus, in 2005 a world record was set for this indicator. In 2004, the number of air passengers reached 3.9 billion people. //Reuters
New rules for entry into Belarus
New 'Rules for the Stay of Foreign Citizens and Stateless Persons on the Territory of the Republic' have come into force in Belarus. This document was approved by a government resolution. Among the new requirements mandatory for all who visit the country is the need to have a certain amount of money.
Thus, according to the Rules, foreigners entering Belarus for a period of less than one month must have an amount equivalent to approximately $14 for each day of stay in the republic. Foreigners have the right to reside only at the place of registration. They must register within three days from the moment of entering the republic.
At the same time, new rules for the transit of foreigners also came into force. Now a foreign citizen intending to spend no more than 48 hours in Belarus must confirm that he has 145 thousand Belarusian rubles for each day of stay (about $70). Foreign guests traveling in transit must manage to travel through the territory of Belarus in no more than two days. In addition, foreigners traveling in personal vehicles are obliged to drive only on international highways.
According to the new document, the authorities can refuse foreigners entry into the country's territory. According to unofficial data, the list of foreign guests undesirable for Belarus already includes several tens of thousands of people. These are mainly foreigners who have previously committed crimes or offenses on the territory of the republic, as well as persons involved in terrorist and extremist organizations. The need for the introduced norms is explained by the Belarusian Interior Ministry as allowing to reduce the number of unwanted tourists and improve the fight against international crime.
Meanwhile, observers in Minsk directly link the tightening of the state's migration policy with the upcoming presidential elections scheduled for March this year. Through the new rules, the Belarusian authorities get the opportunity to protect themselves from exporters of "color revolutions". The lists of persona non grata may well be supplemented with the names of activists from youth organizations in Ukraine and Georgia who distinguished themselves during the velvet revolutions in those countries.
Natural disasters claimed the lives of almost 100 thousand people last year
In 2005, natural disasters claimed the lives of 92 thousand people and affected another 157 million. These data were published by a UN unit - the Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.
Compared to 2004 levels, natural disasters have become more numerous (305 in 2004 and 360 in 2005). The number of victims decreased noticeably - in 2004 there were 244.5 thousand (mostly victims of the Asian tsunami). At the same time, the number of people whose lives were directly affected by natural disasters increased by 7 million. The damage caused by natural disasters in 2005 reached $159 billion ($92.9 billion a year earlier). The increase in the number of disasters is primarily associated with an increase in the number of floods and droughts. The number of floods in 2005 increased by 57% compared to 2004, and droughts by 47%.
The Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction considers natural disasters that killed more than 10 people and affected at least 100 more, which led to the affected state requesting international assistance.
London concerned over claims against the British Council
The British Embassy in Moscow expressed bewilderment over the resumption of an investigation into the activities of the British Council's office in St. Petersburg.
The Russian prosecutor's office suspects the British Council of illegal entrepreneurial activity and tax evasion in connection with the organization's creation of paid English language courses. The prosecutor's office claims that the British did not have a license for educational activities. An investigation into this matter was conducted in the summer of 2005 by the main investigative department of the St. Petersburg City Internal Affairs Directorate at the initiative of the local FSB, but was terminated. Now the prosecutor's office claims there were no sufficient grounds for terminating the investigation.
"We express regret over the recent actions against the British Council, which we consider undesirable. We believe that the ongoing actions against the British Council are difficult to understand," said Alan Holmes, press secretary of the British Embassy in Moscow.
As Stanislav Smirnov, press secretary of the British Council in St. Petersburg, reported, the educational center at the center of the investigation will be closed from April 6 "due to the high cost of moving to another premises." //Interfax
Telephone codes changed in Russia
Since February, Russia has finally switched to new city telephone codes. On February 1, the transition period ended, during which it was possible to call using both the old and the new code.
Let us recall that since December 1, all telephone codes of Russian cities that began with zero have changed their first digit to four. In particular, Moscow moved from the familiar 095 to 495. In addition to Moscow, 18 other Russian regions whose telephone codes began with zero were "affected". The changes affected the Belgorod, Bryansk, Vladimir, Voronezh, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kostroma, Kursk, Lipetsk, Moscow, Oryol, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tambov, Tver, Tula, and Yaroslavl regions.
Air passengers will be matched with an ideal seatmate
Passengers of American airlines will be able to choose their seatmates. The New York-based company AirTroductions offers domestic flight passengers a service for selecting a pleasant travel companion. Customers of several American airlines cooperating with AirTroductions have the opportunity, before a planned flight, to fill out a special questionnaire online and specify in it the parameters of an ideal seatmate.
According to AirTroductions' founders, the new service will allow frequent flyers to avoid uncomfortable situations, such as ending up next to a loudly snoring companion, and instead spend the flight in pleasant conversation with someone who shares their interests.
Filling out the questionnaire to find an ideal travel companion is free, but to get the data of a person matching the specified requirements, you will have to pay $5. It is suggested to meet your future seatmate at the airport before check-in and ask for tickets for adjacent seats.
However, experts are skeptical about the idea of matching an ideal travel companion: in their opinion, most passengers prefer to rest during the flight, work on laptops, or listen to music rather than talk to strangers. //Reuters
Smoking completely prohibited at Westin Hotels
The American hotel chain Westin Hotels & Resorts has announced a complete ban on smoking in all its 77 hotels in the United States, Canada, and Caribbean countries, and not only in rooms but also in hotel bars and lobbies. From now on, the right to smoke in a Westin hotel room will cost a special $200 fee for additional room cleaning.
Smoking is completely banned in about 200 hotels in North America, but Westin has become the first major hotel chain to extend this policy to all its properties. In addition to attracting customers who cannot tolerate the smell of tobacco smoke, Westin plans, through the new measure, to reduce its expenses on room cleaning and the risks of litigation from guests and hotel employees exposed to secondhand smoke. //Travel.ru
Surveillance of Americans turned out to be fruitless
The surveillance of Americans authorized by President Bush after September 11 proved to be of little effect. The Washington Post writes, citing government sources, that the wiretapping of international telephone conversations and the monitoring of email did not help identify potential terror suspects or individuals with ties to terrorist organizations.
Bush argued that surveillance is necessary because if a U.S. citizen or resident communicates with a member of Al-Qaeda, the authorities need to know why. However, within the intelligence services themselves, they noted that they were more interested in whether the interlocutor or recipient of the message was a participant in the terrorist underground.
The international conversations of several thousand Americans were subject to wiretapping, but only fewer than 10 people per year raised sufficient suspicion to request a warrant for placing their phones under permanent wiretap.
The total number of Americans who were subject to surveillance remains unknown, as the Bush administration refused to provide this information even at closed hearings in Congress. Several informed sources told the Washington Post that over the past four years several thousand people had been under observation, with one source citing a figure of five thousand.
In December 2005, The New York Times published an article reporting that after the September 11, 2001 attacks, Bush allowed wiretapping of phones and reading of emails without court approval. The president was forced to admit this fact. However, the White House stated that the decision was made in the interests of national security.
In mid-January of this year, one of the leading American human rights organizations, the American Civil Liberties Union, filed a lawsuit against the U.S. National Security Agency. The plaintiffs ask the court to declare the espionage program against U.S. citizens illegal and immediately prohibit its implementation. They also argue that the program violates Americans' rights to freedom of speech and privacy, as set forth in the First and Fourth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. //Lenta.ru