Category: Travel

Berlin Airport Strike Strands Patrons at Biggest Travel Show

Visitors attending Europe’s biggest travel fair were stranded in Berlin as striking ground workers forced almost all flights in and out of the German capital to be canceled. About 670 arrivals and departures were scrapped at Berlin’s Tegel and Schoenefeld airports on Friday, after the Ver.di union called on more than 2,000 airfield and terminal employees to walk out in a pay dispute.

AT&T Outage Takes Down 911 Emergency Lines across the US

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U.K.’s Osborne to Reap $790,000 From 48 Days’ Work for BlackRock

Former U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne expects to earn 650,000 pounds from 48 days of work for BlackRock Inc., according to parliamentary filings. The Conservative politician, still a backbench lawmaker, expects to earn 162,500 pounds each quarter for 12 days’ work as an economic adviser at the BlackRock Investment Institute in London, according to the Register of Members’ Financial Interests, which details the outside earnings of U.K. legislators.

North Korean Banks Barred From Swift Global Messaging System

North Korean banks subject to international sanctions have recently been banned by Swift from using its global financial messaging service, according to a statement from the Belgium-based Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication. Swift said it had recently been informed by Belgian authorities that they would no longer provide the “necessary authorizations” for it to continue offering services to North Korean banks covered by United Nations sanctions.

Emirates Invites Barflies to Pull Up a Seat With A380 Makeover

Flying bars that cater to premium passengers on the world’s biggest fleet of A380 superjumbos are set for a saloon-style upgrade as Gulf carrier Emirates seeks to use the sky-high hangouts to lure affluent travelers. Out will go the semicircular benches on which passengers have perched since Emirates introduced the on-board lounges almost a decade ago, to be replaced by an altogether more comfortable setup featuring a table for four located either side of the counter and below the superjumbo’s windows.

Exercise ‘anywhere, anytime’

And in Australia, the wearing of so-called activewear – whether or not you are doing sport – has become something of a phenomenon. A music video gently poking fun at the use of the clothing for such high-octane activity as drinking coffee or going shopping became a viral online hit in 2015.

Wall St Dips on Trump Tumult, North Korea Action

U.S. stocks pulled back on Monday in a broad decline as investors grew uneasy over the latest tumult surrounding the Trump administration and geopolitical tensions emanating from North Korea. The S&P 500 has rallied about 11 percent in the wake of President Donald Trump’s victory in November, with investors betting on the implementation of reduced regulations, lower taxes and increased infrastructure spending.

China Roils South Korean Stocks With News of Travel Curbs

South Korean stock trading offered a case in point Friday, with a selloff in hotels, cosmetic makers and other tourism-related companies that made the country’s benchmark the worst performer among Asian equity markets. The slide followed a Yonhap news agency report on China ordering travel agents to halt sales of holiday packages to South Korea.

Hershey, With Scant Global Traction, to Cut 15% of Workforce

Hershey lags so far behind its international competitors, that it was no surprise when it announced Tuesday it would slash 15% of its workforce, mostly outside the U.S., to amp up profitability. Internationally, the Hershey, Pa.-based chocolate maker has been losing market share to such rivals as Mondelez , owner of Cadbury confectionery, and privately held Ferrero and Nestle .

Musk’s SpaceX Plans 2018 Flight Circling Moon With Civilians

Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. plans to send two private citizens on a trip around the moon late next year as it continues to work with NASA for a planned crewed mission to the International Space Station. The passengers, who each paid a “significant deposit,” will undergo health and fitness tests and begin initial training later this year, the company said in a blog post Monday.

United, American Begin Selling Cheaper Economy-Class Fare

American and United have started selling cheaper “basic economy” fares as they battle discount airlines for the most budget-conscious travelers. American announced early Tuesday that it began selling the new fares for flights starting March 1 on 10 different routes from its hub airports in Dallas, Miami, Philadelphia and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Trump’s Defense Chief Says in Iraq: We’re Not Here for Your Oil

The U.S. military is “not in Iraq to seize anybody’s oil”, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said as he arrived for talks with Iraqi leaders on Monday, distancing himself from remarks by President Donald Trump. Mattis was the highest-ranking Trump administration official to visit Iraq since Trump irked Iraqis with a temporary ban on travel to the United States and for saying America should have seized Iraq’s oil after toppling Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Berlin: Bond/360 takes ‘Becoming Who I Was’ for North America

Bond/360 has taken North American rights to Becoming Who I Was , a documentary from directors Chang-Yong Moon and Jin Jeon about a boy recognized as the reincarnation of a Buddhist master. Bond/360 will bow the film, which screened in Berlin’s Generation Kplus sidebar, first in New York then nationwide on its Karma Cinema label before going out on a multi-platform release.

Meet the man who’ll dismantle net neutrality ‘with a smile’ – CNET

Ajit Pai, the newly christened chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, won’t let a little thing like a hurricane stop him from his obligations. When the rest of the East Coast was taking cover from Hurricane Sandy in 2012, then-FCC Commissioner Pai was sitting in his kitchen at his home in Northern Virginia delivering a keynote speech via video conference to attendees at the 4G World Trade show in Chicago.

Trump to Bring Down Price of Wall on Mexico’s Border

President Donald Trump pushed back early on Saturday on assertions that the wall he wants built on the U.S. border with Mexico would cost more than anticipated and said he would reduce the price. Trump made his comments in two Twitter posts but did not say how he would bring down the cost of the wall.

Rpt: Trump Border ‘Wall’ to Cost $21.6B, Take 3.5 Years to Build

President Donald Trump’s “wall” along the U.S.-Mexico border would be a series of fences and walls that would cost as much as $21.6 billion, and take more than three years to construct, based on a U.S. Department of Homeland Security internal report seen by Reuters on Thursday. The report’s estimated price-tag is much higher than a $12-billion figure cited by Trump in his campaign and estimates as high as $15 billion from Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

The History of the Credit Card

When New York businessman Frank McNamara started Diners Club in 1950, he had big dreams for his new company and the credit card it would issue. “‘Someday,’ he predicted, ‘restaurants all over New York will honor this card,'” former Diners Club executive Matty Simmons recalled McNamara telling him early on.

2 Uber CEO challenged for Trump connection after immigrant ban

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is facing criticism online for his relationship with President Donald Trump after the administration imposed a temporary ban on travel to the United States from seven majority Muslim countries. Kalanick said in a Facebook post that the 90-day ban could hurt “thousands” of Uber drivers and he will raise his concerns directly with the president during a Friday business advisory group meeting in Washington.

Airports Gripped by Confusion as Courts Limit Trump Travel Curbs

Confusion reigned Sunday at airports in the Middle East and Europe over exactly which citizens from the seven nations subject to President Donald Trump’s travel ban are still permitted to fly to the U.S. Airlines at hubs from Dubai to London Heathrow were grappling with the implications of two court rulings in the U.S. late Saturday that have temporarily blocked the enforcement of parts of Trump’s executive order. In the hours after the presidential edict many airports imposed blanket bans on U.S. travel for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, with Amsterdam Schiphol turning away seven people with valid visas, and Cairo denying boarding to migrants accompanied by United Nations officials.

Fire Sparks Double Bonanza for Refiners as Fuel Profits Jump

A slew of blazes at plants across the globe is shrinking supplies and boosting profits from turning crude into products such as gasoline and diesel. At least 13 refineries, including in Ruwais in Abu Dhabi, Deer Park in Texas and Tuapse in Russia with a combined capacity of about 1.8 million barrels a day, were struck by fire this month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

United Airlines Software Glitch, London Fog Ground Flights in U.S., Europe

Travellers faced a series of disruptions after a software glitch halted United Airlines traffic and London’s Heathrow Airport cancelled more than 100 flights amid intense fog. Travellers in the U.S. and Europe faced a series of disruptions late Sunday and into the start of the week after a software glitch halted United Airlines traffic and London’s Heathrow Airport cancelled more than 100 flights amid intense fog in the British capital.

United Airlines Software Glitch, London Fog Ground Flights in U.S., Europe

Travellers faced a series of disruptions after a software glitch halted United Airlines traffic and London’s Heathrow Airport cancelled more than 100 flights amid intense fog. Travellers in the U.S. and Europe faced a series of disruptions late Sunday and into the start of the week after a software glitch halted United Airlines traffic and London’s Heathrow Airport cancelled more than 100 flights amid intense fog in the British capital.

Hong Kong’s Housing Curbs Could Help End Singapore’s Slump

So says Cushman & Wakefield Inc., which expects the slide in the city-state’s home prices to end this year as foreign investors turned off by Hong Kong’s move to increase the stamp duty for overseas buyers look to Singapore instead. Desmond Sim, head of research for Singapore and Southeast Asia at CBRE Ltd., said Singapore house prices are approaching their trough, with a forecast price move of flat to minus 2 percent.

VietJet Forecasts 30% Profit Rise Ahead of February Listing

VietJet Aviation Joint Stock Co., the Vietnam carrier known for its bikini-clad flight attendants, expects profit to surge 30 percent this year on rising passengers as it prepares for its Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange listing debut in February. A total of 23 overseas investors bought 66.5 million shares — equivalent to about 14 percent of VietJet — during a pre-listing stake sale last month, billionaire founder Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao said.

Fine Wine, Fast Profits: The Man Who Led BSI Bank Into the Abyss

He was the leader of one of the largest mass defections in private banking history, with more than 100 staff following him from RBS Coutts Bank Ltd. in the thick of the global credit crisis to create a financial phenomenon in Singapore at a little-known Swiss bank. Hanspeter Brunner, together with former deputy Raj Sriram and chief operating officer Gary Tucker, were the kernel of a plan by BSI SA, founded in 1873 in Lugano, to build up a $10 billion wealth-management business serving the burgeoning ranks of Asia’s millionaires.