Independence Day in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Monthly Archives: June 2008
Tokyo Tower , Japan
POLICE have issued a warning about an online scam promoting cheap airline tickets.The scam involves a website , believed to be run out of South Africa, which boasts the lowest airfares in the world, according to Queensland Police.The company asks customers to pay for the tickets through cash remittance agencies. Once the money is paid, the fraudsters purchase the tickets using stolen credit cards which are often cancelled by the time the purchaser is ready to travel.A police spokesman said anyone seeking to buy air tickets online should make appropriate checks.
REGIONAL Express has become the latest airline to increase its fuel surcharge, blaming the rising cost in oil prices.From July 2, Regional Express, or Rex, will increase its surcharge by $4 to $44.Rex general manager of network strategy and sales, Warrick Lodge, said oil hit US$140 per barrel this week, prompting the airline to lift its surcharge. Oil prices rose again overnight to a record $142 a barrel.
“We have to react promptly to ensure the partial recovery of this cost for the essential services that we provide,” he said in a statement.Despite rising fuel prices, Mr Lodge said, Rex has lowered the average ticket price by more than 15 per cent – inclusive of the fuel levy.”When excluding the fuel levy, the average ticket price has fallen by more than 30 per cent,” he said.The fuel surcharge increase also applies to the Rex subsidiary airline, Air Link.
It follows a decision by Qantas to cut routes in response to the rising cost of fuel.Qantas’s Gold Coast to Sydney and Uluru to Melbourne routes will be the first to go, followed by subsidiary Jetstar’s exit from the Sydney to the Whitsunday Coast, Adelaide to Sunshine Coast and Brisbane to Hobart routes in July, Qantas said last month. The airline lifted its fuel surcharge on international tickets in January, while Virgin Blue increased its surcharge in February.
Virgin Blue will cease its once-weekly Sydney-Proserpine service from July, and its thrice-weekly Darwin to Melbourne direct service from August.According to its website, Rex is Australia’s largest independent regional airline, with more than 1200 flights weekly to 23 destinations from Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.The Rex Group operates Regional Express, air freight and charter operator Pel-Air Aviation and Dubbo-based regional airline Air Link, as well as the pilot academy, Australian Airline Pilot Academy.
AS excitement builds ahead of a snow-bearing frontal system in our mountains, New Zealand’s Mt Hutt will re-open today after being crunched by a massive snowstorm that cut roads and created severe avalanche dangers.After a week of snowfalls, Mt Hutt, got slammed on Saturday with 45cm of snow.Giant snow drifts created extreme avalanche dangers but it will be powder heaven from today.The best is still to come locally with a promising system timed to sweep across the NSW mountains later today, bringing wild gales and snow to low levels.
Conditions on NSW’s snowfields today:
THREDBO: No new snow but 160 snowmaking guns operated overnight. The average snow depth is 9cm but the man-made cover on Friday Flat is limited to a thin strip. The start to the day will be clear blue but snow clouds are forecast to roll in later. Top temperature of 4 degrees.
PERISHER: No new snow but 88 snowmaking guns operated overnight and the average snow depth of 9cm remains across Perisher Valley, part of Blue Cow and Smiggins Holes. The snow is hard-packed and slightly wind blown. Eleven lifts to operate today. A fine morning but conditions expected to deteriorate later today. Top temperature of 4 degrees. Fresh snowfalls expected.
CHARLOTTE PASS: No new snow overnight. Clear and sunny skies early but cloud will increase in the afternoon. A maximum temperature of 6 degrees is forecast. Kosi Carpet and Easy Starter will be open, with Kosciuszko triple chair open for foot passengers only. Snow showers expected today, with a stronger cold front forecast for tomorrow.SELWYN: No snow on the ground at the moment but the first proper falls of the season expected to arrive over the next 24 hours.
THREE French trekkers had a lucky escape yesterday when their helicopter crash-landed at a remote Himalayan base camp.”Our helicopter had a minor accident just as it was taking off from Annapurna base camp,” said Ashish Sherchan, the director of Fishtail Air, whose chopper was flying the trekkers to the nearby tourist hub of Pokhara.
“The tail hit the ground, and the helicopter has been slightly damaged but there were no casualties among the three French tourists and pilot,” after the accident at around 4000 metres, the company official said.The three tourists were later taken by army helicopter to Pokhara, 150km northwest of Kathmandu.”Had the chopper been much higher there would have been casualties,” Sherchan said.The trekkers had completed the Annapurna circuit, one of the best known trekking routes in tourism-dependent Nepal, whose northern border with China is the stunning Himalayan range.
SINGAPORE Airlines has taken delivery of its fifth Airbus A380 superjumbo which the airline will use on its Singapore-London service starting on July 16.The A380 will be the second deployed for the London service after the world’s biggest plane made its debut at Heathrow Airport on a Singapore Airlines flight from the city-state in March.However both planes for London will be temporarily redeployed to the carrier’s Beijing route to cater for increased demand ahead of the Olympic Games from August 2 for a week, the carrier said in a statement late Saturday.
Singapore Airlines is the first airline to fly the A380, the largest airliner ever built.The first A380 jet arrived in Singapore a year and a half late, in October 2007, after it was delayed by problems including electrical wiring glitches.It started flights to Sydney, and the carrier this year also began flying A380s to London and Tokyo.The giant plane can carry up to 853 passengers but SIA, one of the world’s most profitable airlines, chose a setup with a maximum of 471 seats.The design includes 12 suites, each with a full-length bed behind sliding doors, sheets by French design house Givenchy and flat-screen televisions.Singapore Airlines has committed to buying a total of 19 of the planes.
PEOPLE who believe bad things come in threes may have second thoughts about flying with Lan Chile after the airline suffered a second rare accident on its Sydney-Santiago run . The airline made international headlines last year when flaming pieces of a re-entering satellite came within five nautical miles (9.2km) of an Airbus A340 travelling from Santiago to Auckland and Sydney.
And last week, lightning punched a hole in the nose of a Lan Chile Airbus carrying almost 300 people as it approached Auckland from Sydney,A New Zealand report quoted a witness as saying the strike caused a hole “the size of a dinner plate”, although the plane landed safely.The plane was among four aircraft struck by lightning last Wednesday as New Zealand was hammered by almost 15,000 strikes in 24 hours.
An Aerolineas Argentinas plane was also damaged and two Air New Zealand aircraft were struck but emerged unscathed.Experts estimate each commercial airliner is struck by lightning once or twice a year. While it can sometimes leave a burn mark, it is unusual for lightning to punch through the skin of a modern jet.This is because the charge travels through the plane’s aluminium skin and the energy is usually dissipated sufficiently to prevent major problems.
Pilots usually try to fly around thunderstorms – mainly to avoid more damaging problems from hail or turbulence – but this is not always possible, and not all lightning is associated with storms.In some cases, experts say, the aircraft itself can trigger a lightning discharge.
THOUSANDS of airline flights through northern NSW and parts of Queensland went unmonitored after five controllers called in sick on short notice over the weekend.The blackout affected almost every major airline on Friday and Saturday, although it is understood Qantas chose not to fly through the affected areas.It comes as air traffic controllers are one of the sickest workforces in the country, with 15,700 sick days between 900 controllers last year – up to four times the national average.By law, controllers are not able to work if they even have a head cold or anything that could affect performance.
“This has been happening with more and more frequency,” said Robert Mason, president of the controllers union Civil Air, yesterday. “We’ve been short staffed for a long time and it’s very difficult to get people into the job. The problem is not so much people calling in sick it’s the availability of people to come in and cover them.” On Friday three controllers covering the Tops East airspace in Queensland called in sick, leaving the sectors unmonitored between 3pm (AEST) and 9pm (AEST). Fourteen air traffic controllers on rostered days off were contacted but none could cover the holes. On Saturday, another two staff covering two east coast sectors, stretching north from Newcastle to Coffs Harbour and west from the Hunter to Armidale and the state’s western border, called in sick. When the areas cannot be monitored due to staff shortages or technical failures, Airservices Australia issues a Traffic Information Broadcast by Aircraft (TIBA) notice.It is up to individual airlines to decide whether it is safe to fly though the sectors, relying on their own broadcasts and instruments to avoid collisions.
That basically consists of pilots broadcasting their position and direction and leaving it up to pilots not to crash into each other. Airlines with flights affected included Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin Blue, Singapore Airlines, Thai Airways and Cathay Pacific.It is understood RAAF Williamtown, north of Newcastle, was also affected.
Australian and International Pilots Association president Ian Woods said the TIBA system was totally unfit for the safety of pilots and passengers. “Did the airlines that operated through these blind spots do a risk analysis on a mid-air collision? I bet they didn’t,” Mr Woods said. “This can’t go on, we either stand up for safety or we don’t.” The Civil Aviation Safety Authority said the situation is managed in the safest way by Airservices Australia. Airservices is in pay negotiations with Civil Air, which wants increases of between 40 and 60 per cent.
Romania is a country in Europe. Although it was not a major tourist destination before the 1990s, now, it has opened itself up to people who would love to see historical places as well as beautiful sceneries. Here are top ten cities in Romania that a visitor should visit.
1.) Bucharest City
In Bucharest, you can visit Romania’s famous museums like the Village Museum and the Museum of the Romanian Peasant as well as Curtea Veche Museum. A lovely walk along the Old City is also a must for any visitor. Likewise, visiting the many churches here as well as monasteries should also be included.
2.) Brasov City in Transylvania
This city has a lot of beautiful places and buildings to see, among them is the Old Town where you will find the Black Church as well as the Piata Sfatilui or Council Square. There are also museums here as well as the infamous Bran Castle, known to be Dracula’s Castle. There are great places to ski here in Brasov also.
3.) Sibiu City of Transylvania
There is an old town here that you can visit if you want a taste of history as well as culture. Likewise, there is also the Citadel of Sibiu and the Huet Square for you to see. You can also see many fortified churches during the Medieval Period that are still standing.
4.) Sighisoara City
For a culture-high, this city is a must-visit as well. Here, you will surely enjoy the sights of the Sighisoara Citadel. You can also visit its Weapon Museum, which houses a lot of medieval weaponry.
5.) Cluj-Napoca City
So far, this is the most popular city in Romania and is the capital of Transylvania. As such, there are a lot of places to see here like the many museums such as the National Art Museum ad the National Museum of the History of Transylvania. Or you can always visit its parks like the Botanical Garden as well as Central Park.
6.) Constanta City
This city is home to many museums such as the National Museum of History and Archeology, which houses artifacts dating from the Greek and Roman eras. You can also find here the Statue of Ovid. If you want more of nature, then this is a great place to sunbath in its beaches or walk in its parks.
7.) Lasi City
The Place of Culture can be found in Lasi City, which is also another tourist destination if you want to know more about the culture and history of Romania. There are also several churches like the Trei Lerarhi Church as well as the Metropolitan Church. You can also take a relaxing stroll or a nice rest in the city’s Botanical Garden.
8.) Suceava City
The main tourist destination here is the Suceava Fortress. This ancient fortress was erected during the 14th and 15th century and was made more impressive by Stephen the Great. As such, this was never overpowered by attackers.
9.) Timisoara City
This is a wonderful city to visit as it has the Opera Square or the Piata where you will also get to enjoy the wonderful sight of the Roman Orthodox Cathedral as well as get to see majestic palaces of the rich Romanians. In this city, you will surely love a walk in its parks. You can also visit the Union Square or the Piata Unirii where you will get to see historical buildings like the Catholic Dome and the Baroque Palace, etc.
10.) Gura Humorului
This is not in par with the other cities but still a good place to visit nonetheless. Along the way to Gura Humorului, do not forget to drop by Bucovina to see the Painted Monasteries. You can also go to Voronet where you and your loved one will surely enjoy a leisurely walk where the landscape is a great sight to behold.
