Travellers face £5 charge to get through passport control faster! Charges of up to £17.50 at UK airports to jump immigration queues could be rolled out nationwide, a new report suggests.
English newspaper The Guardian reports today thst travellers are to be charged to get through passport checks quickly at British airports, with some paying as much as £17.50, the Home Office has confirmed.
The charge is an attempt to cut queues, but unions called it a gimmick and accused the government of failing to properly fund border controls.Officials said they were working with some airport operators to introduce the scheme but denied reports in the People newspaper that it will be introduced in every UK airport with a charge of at least £5 per person.
The Home Office said its Border Force was “working closely with several airport operators to introduce a fast track passport control service, which will provide passengers with another choice of a secure and convenient route through the UK border”.
This is an attempt to find financial solutions to meet the increasing volumes of passangers, without creating longer queues at our borders.
I am personally not sure that it is a good idea. I am a keen supporter of diversifying flows at our borders, but I want the queues to be divided based on risk and compliance – not payment.
Having said that we need to acknowledge that there is a real existing challenge here.
You can read the entire article here: The Guardian: Travellers face charge
Source: The Guardian
Boxing’s greatest-ever bout, the Thrilla in Manila took place on this very day in 1975.
Having just returned from a visit to Manila yesterday it is hard for me not to think about Muhammad Ali today.
Pure skill was much of it. The brutal delicacy of the ring-craft, so rare in the heavyweight division. Among the lumbering sloggers he dodged and danced, floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee. Faced with a solid, flat-footed opponent, as all seemed to be compared with him, he would circle, torment and mesmerise, throwing short punches at speed. All that weaving, skipping, leaning leisurely away, before coming in for the kill.
Muhammad Ali was The Greatest. For sure in the history of boxing. Maybe even the greatest in sports ever. Loved by the people all over the world. Mourned by many when his life ended recently.
An athlete, preacher, politician, larger-than-life charachter. He is missed. His voice is missed in the turbolent world of terrorism, nee types of conflicts, contradictions and growing hatred – that we live in today.
Here is The Economists tribute article to Ali (click here): The Economist: The Greatest
Yesterday night Swedish exceptional soccer superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic did it again, scoring the only goal when Manchester United beat Zoraya Luhansk in the UEFA Europe League Group Round, 1-0 at home on Old Trafford in Manchester.
The goal was number 57 for Ibrahimovic in the European tournaments, same number of goals as legendary Italian striker Alessandro Del Piero. Zlatan has now scored goals for seven different clubs in the European cups. Nobody has scored goals for more clubs in the European tournaments.
In Vigo Swedish national team striker, John Guidetti (The Next One) scored the decisive first goal in the 84th minute when Spanish Celta Vigo beat Panathinaikos 2-0 also in the UEFA Europe Legaue Group Round.
In Napoli the home team won 4-2 against Benfica, but the real story was the singing of the Napoli fans before the game.
At the last line of the pre-game song the fans – in all 42,000 spectators – screamed so loud that it was registered at the local seismological institute as a minor earthquake, according to the Corriere dello Sport. This is what sport and soccer means to people.
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