Tag: travel

With no flights, Argentine sails across Atlantic to see parents

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina (AFP) — “Mission accomplished!” That joyful declaration came from Juan Manuel Ballestero, an Argentine sailor who, unable to fly home from Portugal due to the pandemic, crossed the ocean alone in his modest sailboat to see his aging parents. “I did it! I did it! I did it!” Ballestero exclaimed at dockside last week when he reached his hometown of Mar del Plata. The 47-year-old had completed an exhausting 85-day odyssey […]

Lufthansa to resume some European services in June

  FRANKFUTR AM MAIN, Germany (AFP) — German airline giant Lufthansa said Friday it will fly twice as many aircraft in June as in recent weeks and return to some European destinations, but the flight plan remains a shadow of pre-coronavirus operations. Spots beloved of holidaymakers like Spanish island Mallorca, Crete and German North Sea retreat Sylt will return to the timetable, with 160 aircraft aloft bearing Lufthansa’s crane or the logos of subsidiaries Swiss […]

Travel restrictions to stand during ECQ extension, but bureau “on standby,” Immigration bureau says

(Eagle News)–The Bureau of Immigration on Friday, April 24, said the travel restrictions that were imposed for the duration of the enhanced community quarantine will stand during the extension in selected areas, including Metro Manila. In a statement, Immigration commissioner Jaime Morente said the entry of foreign nationals is still “highly restricted,” with only Filipinos, their foreign spouse and children, accredited foreign government and international organization officials, and foreign airlines crew allowed entry into the […]

New EBC shows coming to YouTube

Eagle News — Quarantine got you running out of things to watch on Netflix? Or tired of watching the same thing on Netflix? Well you’re in luck! As EBC strives to create wholesome content for every member of the family, eight brand new shows will be streaming LIVE on Eagle News via YouTube starting Monday, April 13. For the HipHop/R&B enthusiast in your family, check out The Vocal Chamber—an E25 Records original series, independent artists […]

President Duterte: Land, domestic air, sea travel to and from M. Manila suspended from March 15 to April 14

(Eagle News)–Travel to and from Metro Manila is suspended starting March 15 to April 14 as a precaution against the novel coronavirus. President Rodrigo Duterte made the announcement on Thursday, March 12, as he revealed the country was on code red sublevel 2, “the highest as prescibed by the (World Health Organization).” “The purpose, to protect and defend you from COVID-19. The purpose of government is to see to it that things are in order,” […]

Refugee restaurant seeks to win Spanish hearts

by Diego URDANETA Agence France-Presse MADRID, Spain (AFP) — Hala and Alex learned to cook with their mothers, Yoli learnt while preparing meals for her large family. The trio, who were forced to flee Syria, Sudan and Venezuela respectively, are now the chefs at a unique Madrid restaurant that aims to change the lives of refugees and alter how people see them, at a time when the arrival of large numbers of migrants fleeing poverty […]

Luxembourg becomes first country to provide free public transport

LUXEMBOURG (AFP) — Luxembourg will become the first country in the world on Saturday to offer a free public transport system as the government tries to reduce particularly dense car traffic. Some cities have already taken similar partial measures but the transport ministry said it was the first time such a decision would cover an entire country. The free transport, which is being flagged as “an important social measure”, will affect approximately 40 percent of households […]

SpaceX announces partnership to send four tourists into deep orbit

by Ivan Couronne Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — SpaceX announced a new partnership Tuesday to send four tourists deeper into orbit than any private citizen before them, in a mission that could take place by 2022 and easily cost more than $100 million. The company signed the deal with Space Adventures, which is based in Washington and served as an intermediary to send eight space tourists to the International Space Station (ISS) via […]

Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific asks all staff to take unpaid leave

  HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific is asking its entire workforce to take up to three weeks of unpaid leave, its CEO announced Wednesday, as the airline faces a crisis in the wake of the new coronavirus outbreak. The request lays bare desperate times at Cathay, which was hammered last year by months of political chaos and protests in Hong Kong and is now being further hurt by the […]

Americans should ‘reconsider travel’ to China over virus: State

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US State Department on Monday encouraged Americans to “reconsider” any plans to travel to China amid a deadly outbreak of a coronavirus that originated in the city of Wuhan. The State Department also issued a stern warning for its citizens not to travel to Hubei province, where Wuhan is located. So far, 82 people have died as a result of the virus, all of them in China. The department […]

Trump to add a ‘couple of countries’ to US travel ban

DAVOS, Switzerland (AFP) — US President Donald Trump said Wednesday his administration was preparing to add a “couple of countries” to the controversial list of states whose citizens are subject to travel bans or severe restrictions on entry to the United States. “We are adding a couple of countries to it. We have to be safe. Our country has to be safe,” he said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, adding that the names […]

Fosun buys Thomas Cook brand for £11 million

BEIJING, China (AFP) — Chinese conglomerate Fosun has snapped up the Thomas Cook brand for £11 million ($14.2 million), weeks after the renowned British travel group went bust and left hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers stranded abroad. Thomas Cook’s demise in September sparked 22,000 job losses worldwide and triggered Britain’s biggest repatriation since World War II, with the government paying to fly home 140,000 tourists. The 178-year-old British institution declared bankruptcy in September after an […]